Parsons Time Not Enough for Record Setting Olney

After winning the Pancake Day Race two years ago, Summer Parsons took a year off. She had every right to as she was nine months pregant at Pancake Day 2015. But Parsons burst back onto the Pancake Day scene in 2016 with a win in Liberal for the second time in three years. Parsons ran the race in 62.61 seconds on a sunny, breezy, 55 degree day in Liberal Tuesday. Parsons bested her time on the 415 yards S shaped curve of 63.5 two years ago.

Parsons time wasn’t enough to unseat the new Pancake Day record however. Olney, England’s Lianne Fisher ran the race in 55.2 seconds for the record. She passes Devon Byrne’s seemingly untouchable mark of 55.6 seconds in 2014. Olney wins the International Pancake Day race for the fourth time in five years. Liberal still leads the series 36-30-1.

Parsons is a 28 year old PE teacher at Garfield Elementary and a Turpin native. She has a husband Alex and two kids. Thirty-three year old Leslie Spikes took second. She is a district conervationist with USDA. She has a husband Corey and three kids. She placed third in 2012. Thirty-two year old Sally Yates was third. She is an accounting supervisor for the City of Liberal. She has a huband Matt and two kids and was racing for the first time, although she did win the Pancake Chase 5K on Saturday in Liberal.

Other runners were Nakiesha Cohens, Shawna Quint, Ashley Werkmeister, Kitty Lum, Abbey Hubbard, Johnette Johnson, Jaresiah Benoit, and Lindsay Claus. Honorary racers were Miss Kansas Hannah Wagner, Miss Liberal Gabby Amparan, and Tessy Barnett.