Anne Parker AT&T Dash for the Cash Contestant for Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K
Midlothian mom Anne Parker runs for $2500 prize; Dash for the Cash pros vs. people scoreboard tied at 2-2

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Posted Thursday, 26 March, 2009

From Ryan Lamppa, Running USA

RICHMOND, Va. - Anne Parker, who describes herself as a homemaker, mother of four with a busy schedule, a part-time job teaching pre-school, and a neighborhood runner, has been selected to win $2500 on Saturday, March 28 as the 2009 Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K AT&T Dash for the Cash contestant.

"I started running about four years ago," said Parker, a Midlothian resident who teaches pre-school three days a week at Salisbury Church of the Redeemer. "I'm a mom juggling an everyday schedule with kids and laundry and grocery shopping and work; running is time for me."

Parker was chosen at random from over 28,000 people who were registered for the 10K as of the March 1 contest deadline and will be given a head start when the race gets underway at 8:30am. To win the $2500 cash prize, she will have to out-run the rest of the field to the finish line. Based on the predicted time she listed on her race entry form and her past performances in the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K, she will be given a headstart on the course and will attempt to cross the finish line before any of the professional athletes, who will be running the full 10K (6.2 miles). If an elite runner finishes first, he will claim both the 5th AT&T Dash for the Cash prize and the $2000 first place purse for the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K.

"I think it's pretty exciting," added Parker who has two boys and two girls between the ages of 11 and 21. "I've read about it in the newspaper. And last year when my husband, Robert, and I crossed the finish line we saw the guy who won holding his check so we knew he won it."

This will be Parker's fourth Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K. To help her prepare for the AT&T Dash for the Cash, Parker is getting coaching and guidance over these last few weeks from the contest's honorary coach Bart Yasso, who is race and event promotion director and contributing writer for Runner's World magazine.

"I'm not fast, I'm not slow, I'm just middle of the road," she said.

This is the fifth year of the AT&T Dash for the Cash Contest. The four previous races have seen two contestants and two professional athletes win the prize.

For more information on the 10th Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K presented by POWERade, go to: SportsBackers.org