Helen Parsons ran the race of her life to upset the form book at the Sussex County Championships - ten years after quitting the sport due to the pressure of expectation.

Parsons, 30, caused the shock of the weekend at the K2 Centre when she beat red-hot favourite Sarah Tomlins in the 400m and set a new championship best in the process.

The Crawley athlete sliced almost a second and a half off her personal best as she clocked 55.60sec to move into third place in the Sussex all-time list behind Tomlins and Gaby Howell.

Even more remarkable it was two and a half seconds quicker than she had run so far this season and saw her leap from 116 in the UK rankings to just outside the top 20.

Parsons showed the kind of class which made her such a top prospect as a teenager as she held off Tomlins - ranked tenth in the UK- down the final straight to beat the previous best set by Tomlins four years ago by just 02sec.

It was a breathtaking run by an athlete who was tipped for big things as a junior before walking away from the sport as a 19-year-old.

She said: "It was ideal conditions but I didn't expect to run that fast. I would have been happy to run anything under 57 seconds so this was beyond my wildest dreams.

"I have only been back competing on the track for 18 months after a ten-year break from the sport so I was not really expecting too much.

"I drifted away from athletics a bit when I went to university and stopped altogether when I began working.

Pressure "I found the pressure to perform too much when I was a kid and that spoiled the enjoyment for me.

"I continued jogging and did a few marathons but it wasn't until a friend dragged me back down to training two years ago that I returned to the track.

"Sometimes I think it is silly to make a comeback at the age of 30 but I have really enjoyed it.

"I love the camaraderie of being part of the team and the lack of expectation has certainly helped.

"It's been a lot of hard work to get myself in shape again but races like that make it all worthwhile. My target for the season was to run sub-57 seconds so now I'll have to have a rethink. I wasn't feeling horrendous at the end so maybe I could go even faster."

Parsons also played a big part in another record breaking performance when she helped Racheal Ogden set a new championship best in the 800m.

Ogden was disappointed with her winning time of 4min.27.7sec in the 1,500m on Saturday but bounced back in style to beat the 25-year-old record of 2min.7sec set by Suzanne Morley.

Parsons helped set the pace along with Philippa Aukett before Ogden pulled away on the back straight to win in 2min.6.6sec to climb to 12th in the UK rankings.

Ogden, of Worthing and District Harriers, said: "It was tough in the 1,500m because I was out on my own but we had the best field for years in the 800m and that helped a lot.

"I have been trying to break the record for a long time but I've never had anybody to push me and that made all the difference.

"It was a shame Philippa and Helen were tired from the 400m the previous day otherwise the race might have been even quicker.

"I'm pleased to finish the championships on a high after the 1,500m and it shows I am in good shape. This is a big year for me with the Olympics and I am confident I can get the qualifying time for the 1,500m if I get in some quality races."

Kayley Alcorn capped a fine weekend by setting a new championship best in the under-20 triple jump to go with her tally of four medals medals.

Alcorn leapt 11.43m to surpass the previous record of 11.34 set by Worthing and District Harriers club-mate Emma Perkins four years ago and move into seventh place in the UK rankings.

She also won the high jump and 100m hurdles and picked up a silver medal in the 400m hurdles.

Worthing club-mate Craig Baker also left the K2 Centre with a bumper haul of medals after winning the high jump, claiming silver in the javelin, long jump and shot putt and bronze in the pole vault and discus.

Crawley's Luke Sargeant completed the sprint double in the 100m and 200m while Harvey Byrne, of Chichester Runners, emulated that feat in the under-20 section.

Joe Waller failed to improve on the championship best he set last year in the javelin but still collected the gold medal with a throw of 60.87m while the anticipated clash between Dan Stepney and Rob Mullett in the 800m failed to materialise as Stepney pulled out leaving the way clear for Mullett to complete a comfortable win.