Lily Parke’s running career started by watching her parents run marathons.
Parke is a senior at Beechwood, she’s headed for the University of Kentucky, and she’ll try to defend her girls Class A state cross country title Saturday at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington.
Running is as important to Parke as breathing.
“I like to compete,” Parke said Tuesday. “I’ve always been competitive, so that’s one part of it. And then (running’s) just kind of … almost an escape; it’s relaxing, it’s peaceful. If I’m having a long day, that’s what I want to do to clear my head.”
Whether it’s traversing hills and dales in the fall or circling the track in the winter and spring, Parke mostly wins; ky.milesplit.com ranked her fourth in the state in cross country in all classes and first in Class A.
You may know Parke better for what she’s done on the track – five state indoor titles (two each in the 800- and 1,600-meter races, and a 1,500-meter win) and four outdoor wins (two 800s and two 1,600s in 2024 and 2025).
What is more: in three-plus years of high school, Parke has never finished lower than third in any Kentucky High School Athletic Association cross country or track event.
So, does Parke have a preference?
“I think I like them pretty equally,” Parke said. “It’s fun to do some faster stuff in track, but I think I like them both equally … I love the fall and running in the fall. It’s just pretty running too; all the leaves are changing and it’s a little chill in the air. It feels nice.”
Beechwood cross country coach Tricia Sturgeon has known Parke for some seven years.
“She’s a phenomenal runner,” Sturgeon said. “She works hard, and she does all the little things. She pays attention to her nutrition, she does strength training. She just does all the little things, too.”
No stroller
Parke is the oldest of Kevin and Marsha Parke’s two children. (Gannon is a sophomore at Beechwood; he finished third in last Saturday’s Class A, Region 4 meet at Idlewild Park in Burlington.)
Marsha Parke said Lily was 5 when she donned her first pair of running shoes and ran/walked a local Girls on the Run race. The original plan was for Mom and Dad to push Lily in a stroller.
“And she didn’t want any part of the jog stroller, so she walked and ran the race,” Marsha Parke said.
Kevin and Marsha Parke have completed at least 30 marathons between them – Marsha lost count – including Boston, New York, Chicago and the Flying Pig in Cincinnati.
“I’ve run Boston nine times, New York three times,” Marsha said. “Chicago is one of my favorites, Boston is one of my favorites.”
Lily started running cross country in third grade; she said watching her parents run was the main reason she took up the sport.
Eight-year-old Lily won her first competitive cross country race, a 1,600-meter run at the Grant County Invitational Sept. 3, 2016. at Sherman Elementary School in Dry Ridge.
Big hill – and a breakaway
Sturgeon said Parke has learned how to race – when to stay within a pack, when to pull away, when to go to the finishing kick.
“I think I just picked it up from experience, honestly, just racing so often and doing it for such a long time,” Parke said.
Parke’s second-place finish led the Tigers to the 2022 team title over Lexington Christian Academy (LCA), a 65-76 win at Bourbon Cross Country Course near Paris. She finished nearly 29 seconds behind Kentucky Country Day’s Haley Schoenegge.
Beechwood defended its team title in 2023, a 41-69 victory over LCA, but Parke finished second by 16 seconds (19:27.65) to Fort Campbell’s Emmie Underwood – a more frustrating finish because she led Underwood (19:11.35) of Fort Campbell most of the race.
“She caught me at the end,” Parke told LINK nky. “I think it’s awesome that she’s a seventh-grader and she’s doing great. I wanted to win, but I’m glad that she had a good race, too.”
You could’ve described Nov. 2, 2024 with three words: at long last. Parke’s 19:01.72 was nearly 24 seconds faster than LCA’s Kennedy Moughamian’s 19:25.35. They were side-by-side for about a half-mile until Parke left Moughamian on a steep hill a mile later.
“The first mile, there was definitely a pack; it wasn’t anything crazy,” Parke said. “ I was just trying to get settled in. And the second mile has that big hill, and I think that’s where I kind of started to break away.”
The state meet begins at 10 a.m. Saturday with Class 3A boys, followed by girls Class 3A at 10:45 a.m., boys Class 2A at 12:30 p.m., girls 2A at 1:15, boys Class A at 3 p.m., and girls Class A at 3:45.
Look for a Parke-Moughamian rematch Saturday. Moughamian won the Class A, Region 5 race and led the Eagles to the team title.
Besides cross country and track, Parke has one more goal.
“I have to run a marathon with my parents someday,” she said.