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The Phidippides Awards

In honor of the very first marathon runner in history, a new award program for Masters Long Distance Running has been established, the "Phidippides Awards". The awards will be predicated upon participants accumulating a number of points over a given calendar year for participating in long distance running events. Each runner will be eligible for only one award per year.

Points will be accumulated pursuant to the following chart:
1 point 5K to 5 mile
2 points 10K to 15K
3 points 10 miles to ½ marathon
4 points 25K to marathon

Runners will be eligible for the following awards, based on the point totals indicated:
Ages 40-50s 60-70s 80+
Gold 20 16 8
Silver 16 12 4
Bronze 12 8 2

The rules are simple and straightforward. The course must be certified so that we can verify the distance run, and there must be a finish time recorded for the runner. Finishing times must be verifiable by a results posting on an event website, or if none is available, a newspaper listing submitted by the runner will suffice.

Since this is a USATF award, USATF membership is required (to become a member, see their website, usatf.org). The award itself is free, and it will be bestowed to the runner upon receipt of his/her application (see below) and verification of the event information.

Download  2008 Phidippides Award Application, printable order form.

For additional information on the Phidippides Awards, see the March 2008 issue of National Masters News.