All eyes on Florence Barron, rarin' to go in the 91st Tely 10

Florence Barron won't be the first person to cross the finish line in Sunday's Tely 10, but her time could carry the most meaning. 

Barron, who turned 80 in April, has a chance not only to break, but shatter, the fastest-ever recorded time for any woman over 80 who has run the race. 

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"It's not something I think about," she said.

"I'm just gonna run. I've been training well all summer so I think I'm ready for it."

She's an extraordinary athlete.- Art Meaney

Barron is the current record holder for the 75-79 female age group; her time last year of 1:27:28 is also the fastest she's ever run in her 20 years of Tely 10 competition. 

"You can be this age and you can be fit," Barron said. 

"I never think of being old. I always think young."

Forever modest, Barron is quick to offer praise to her coach, Art Meaney — a Tely 10 veteran and the 1979 champion. 

"I'm flattered," Meaney said.

"I just give people like Florence advice and they have to go out and do the work. They have to go and do the training and the work."

Barron trains five days out of seven and enters as many races as she can. She sometimes avoids telling her five kids because they like to brag about Mom a little too much, she said.

Meaney has been involved with running since his days at St. Bonaventure's College in the 1960s, and his passion for the sport led him into the coaching world. He's seen a lot of runners over the years, but not many like Barron.

"Remarkable woman. A true inspiration to all kinds of people men and women whether they're in their 60s 70s or 80s or even a much younger age category," Meaney said.

"She's an extraordinary athlete." 

Barron is an inspiration to all runners, included the fastest female to ever cross the finish line in a Tely 10.

"Florence is incredible," said Kate Bazely, who ran a 55:34 race in 2016.

"She's such an inspiration for me. She is a world-class runner and she could be going for a world record time."

Bazeley, a mother of three girls under the age of five, will be there to cheer Barron on when she crosses the finish line. However, she still has to run her own race.

After missing last year's race following the birth of her youngest daughter, Bazeley has since had surgery and a few minor injuries. 

"Normally I do have a prediction and I'm honest," she said. "This time it's really just to run hard the whole time and whatever that gives me when I cross the line."

While Bazeley's time will be faster than most, this year more eyes will be on Barron than her or two-time defending champ Colin Fewer.

At 80 years old, it's possible Barron will set a record for her age group that could stand for a long, long time.

Or until next year, when she comes back to run again.

The gun goes off at 8 a.m. on Sunday in Paradise to mark the start of the Tely 10's 91st running.