80-year-old runner steals show at Tely 10, smashes record for age group

Florence Barron ran through the finish line with a swift gait and a slight smile on her face, grabbing her medal and a juice box before coming to a rest.

She had just set her fourth record at the Tely 10 — a gruelling 10-mile road race from Paradise to St. John's — and only needed a few seconds to catch her breath.

"I feel great and I'm glad I was able to do it in the time that I thought I might," she said.

When asked how her record-setting run compared with previous years, Barron smirked.

"Well, this is important, I guess, but so were the others," she said. "I just did it because I like running and I like competing."

The previous record for a woman over the age of 80 was 2:23:49, set by Nora Connors in 2016. Barron broke the record by more than 45 minutes.

She plans to get back to training in the coming days, with the 20-kilometre Cape to Cabot coming up in October.

But on Sunday, she was more in the mood to celebrate.

"My family are here, so I'm sure it's going to be wine tonight."

Men's and women's champs

It came as no surprise for the crowd of hundreds when Colin Fewer was the first person to round the corner on Bannerman Road and sprint to the finish line.

It was Fewer's 11th time winning the Tely 10, this year finishing with a time of 52:05.

"I just wanted to get to that finish line. I don't think I could have made it another mile," he said. "I gave it my all today."

Jennifer Murrin was the first woman to cross the line, coming in four minutes and change after Fewer at 56:58.

Exhausted after a hard race, Murrin was helped by St. John Ambulance attendees and taken into a first-aid tent for a few minutes until she was given the all-clear to walk around.

"I pushed a little hard. It was my breathing," she said. "I was kind of white when I finished, apparently, and ended up in the first-aid tent."

Murrin credited the other runners — namely Anne Johnston and Kate Bazeley, who finished second and third — with pushing her to victory.

"We're all working towards the same goal and we're all feeling the same discomforts, so I guess that's the only comfort. Everybody is in it together."

The 91st running of the Tely 10 had 4,682 registered runners and walkers.