Phidippides Award

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 two days. The Spartans were celebrating a festival and could not come until the full moon, several days later, whereupon Phidippides retraced his steps in two 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 twenty-six 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 forty-two kilometers called the marathon.

What is the Phidippides Award?

The Phidippides Award, inspired by the historic masters runner, is an award available to dedicated members of USATF over the age of forty 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.

Rules & Tables

Rules

1. All applicants must submit the application form.
2. Applicants must be current USATF members. Click here to learn more about membership and how to join!
3. Only one award is allowed per member per year.
4. Awards are based on accumulated points (see points table below) during a given calendar year (January 1 to December 31).
5. When submitting your application form, you must include the website where we can find race results.

Points Table

The point schedule has been revised to include races at distances less than 5km and more than marathon. The points required for each category and age division are comparable to previous years.  Runners can earn the following points toward their year-end point total as follows:

1 mile to 4km	1 point
5km to 5 mile	2 points
10km to 15km	3 points
10 miles to Half Marathon	4 points
25km to Marathon	5 points
Distances Longer than Marathon	6 points

The total points you accumulate during the year will determine the level of award you are eligible to receive. We encourage you to submit your application as soon as you have accumulated the necessary points for your award. And remember that in the 5^th year you qualify for an award, you may ask for a handsome Crystal Award in place of the Gold, Silver, or Bronze Award you have earned that year. The 5 years do not have to be consecutive.

Award	Required Points: 40-59 years old	Required Points: 60-79 years old	Required Points: 80+ years old
Gold	30	24	12
Silver	24	18	6
Bronze	12	9	3
Crystal	Awarded in the 5th qualifying year

 

Phidippides Award Application

Check back soon for the 2020 Phidippides application deadline! 
 

We encourage you to submit your application as soon as you have acquired sufficient points for your age in the category (Gold, Silver, Bronze) you are applying.  

Application deadlines

• Submissions between January 1–March 31 should receive their award the first week of May.

• Submissions between April 1–June 30 should receive their award the first week of August.

• Submissions between July 1–October 31 should receive their award the first week of December.

• Submissions between November 1–January 31 should receive their award the first week of March.

Contact Phidippides@usatf.org if you have any questions on the program.

Award Winners

All previous award winners can be found here.