In her first indoor 5,000-meter race ever, Parker Valby of Florida broke the collegiate record in the event, running 14:56.11 at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Saturday.
Valby took down Emily Sisson’s previous record of 15:12.22, which was set in 2015. Her time is also faster than the all-time collegiate best (indoor and outdoor track) set by Jenny Simpson in 2009, 15:01.70.
Valby went through 1600 meters in 4:48.66, then split 9:38.82 at 3200 meters, followed by a 4:42 last 1600 meters. She’s the first woman to break 15 minutes in the event during a collegiate season.
Her record comes on the heels of a dominant 2023 cross-country season, where she went undefeated during the regular season en route to winning the NCAA championships on November 18. Valby also won an NCAA title in the outdoor 5,000 meters in June.
In a post-race interview with FloTrack, Valby said that before the race, she and her coach weren’t sure if she would even run, but she did do two workouts since nationals. She plans on taking a break from running now, which will include a “few weeks off doing nothing.”
She told FloTrack that the high-level competition at the collegiate level has helped her climb to new heights. “I think the bar in the NCAA keeps getting raised higher and higher,” she said. “And it’s honestly so awesome to be a part of that.”
Theo Kahler is the news editor at Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
