The Phidippides Award, inspired by Phidippides was a Master when he performed his historic runs. According to chronicles Phidippides was sent to Sparta by Athenian officials when they were threatened by Persians landing at Marathon. The trip was 150 miles which he ran in 2 days. The Spartans were celebrating a festival and could not come until the full moon, several days later, whereupon Phidippides retraced his steps in 2 more days. He then fought a battle with the rest of the Athenians routing the Persians. The Persians retreated to their ships and set sail for Athens, which caused the Athenians to send Phidippides from the battlefield to Athens, a distance of 26 miles. He reached Athens, pronounced Nenikekamen (‘we have won’ or ‘We are victorious’) and promptly died. Robert Browning commemorated this story in his 1879 poem Pheidippides. The poem inspired Baron Pierre de Coubertin and other founders of the modern Olympic Games to invent a running race of 42 kilometers called the marathon.
Phidippides award available to dedicated members of USATF (over the age of 40) who earn points through their participation in road races throughout the year. Athletes who earn enough points will be recognized by USATF with a personalized Gold, Silver, or Bronze plaque.
Lisa Buohler might like to incorporate the word “determined” into her resume since the world of athletics she competes in has already anointed her as a shining example of perseverance.
The 45-year-old Lehigh Acres duathlete has retained her world No. 1 age division ranking — she was No. l regardless of age in the United States before “the accident”.
Buohler perfected the idea of a textbook comeback over three years ago after suffering multiple injuries while jogging between Joel and Palm Beach boulevards in Lehigh Acres in September 2011.
The native of England, now an American citizen, was smashed by an SUV traveling 60 mph. She woke up in intensive care with multiple spinal fractures, a lacerated liver, a fractured sternum, and fractures in her foot, hand and knee and a lung contusion.
Buohler was training for the 2011 ITU Decathlon World Championships in Gijon, Spain, and six weeks later the New York City marathon.
“I was ready to leave for Spain in two days with Team USA for Spain when I was hit by the SUV and my spine was fractured in three places plus everything else, so a pretty bad head bruise seemed like nothing,” Buohler said.
Buohler collected strength and spiritual guidance from close friends and husband Sebastian and sons Jacob and Jude, now 20 and 16, respectively.
She spent a week in the hospital and three months in a back brace.
“Coming back, it was so mental, and I was constantly fighting with myself because I had the doctors saying ‘no, no, no’ and I’m thinking a little bit, a little bit, I’ve got to do this,” Buohler said.
“During the recovery I realized how un-independent I was, reliant on friends to help me eat, even roll over in bed,” Buohler said. “It was terrifying.”
The doctors expected her recovery to be similar to an average person, not a world-class duathlete.”I’m not the average Joe and I know my body,” she told herself. “The answer for resuming training was sooner than anyone expected.”
Since the fateful day in 2011 multiple national fitness magazines have made her the cover subject, documenting her recovery and comeback and ESPN aired a feature on her.
Buohler ran her first race post-accident, the Disney Half Marathon, in January 2012, and followed two and a half months later with the Boston Marathon, finishing in 3:30, an 8-minute average. She joined Team USA for the Duathlon Worlds in France that summer.
Buohler, who ran her first marathon in Athens, Greece, in 2010 and followed in Boston, just ran the New York City Marathon. She finished Sunday in 3:17:14, good for 2,100st out of 50,000-plus entries. The Duathlon Worlds also await next October in Australia.
“I don’t believe you have to be better than everyone else but you should believe you have to be better than you thought you could be,” Buohler said.