Marie Fitzherbert Award for Perseverance
Marie Fitzherbert ran the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women for 27 consecutive years, never missing a race from 1977 to 2003. In 2003, even while undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer, she persevered to cross the finish line one last time. In honor of Marie’s determination and perseverance, this award singles out a runner each year for that same commitment to health, fitness, family, involvement in the community, and most importantly, perseverance through adversity.
Below please find the story submitted by Michele Howard, the 2011 winner of the Marie Fitzherbert Award for Perseverance:
I ran the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women for the past 24 years starting with the Bonne Bell. On 5/31/08 I was hit by a drunk driver as my husband and I and friends were leaving a local restaurant after dinner. I was in a crosswalk and did not hear my husband yell to me about the speeding car. I have no memory of the accident or the 4 months I spent in the hospital and selective memories of the 3 consecutive months I spent in rehab. My husband thought I would die. I sustained a head injury, over 100 fractures, lost sight in my right eye, required a plate in my right hip and had severe damage to the ACL in my right knee. When I was in rehab, I asked a sports psychologist if I would ever run again. At the time I was using a walker. When I returned home after 7 months, my brain was not working and I needed to be supervised by friends and neighbors. I couldn’t walk my dog.
A year later I required neurosurgery because of hydrocephalus. The shunt restored me to myself. Later in the summer of 2010, I was walking my dog and decided to try to run downhill to home. To my surprise, I was able to run at a very slow pace and ran a mile for the first time in over 2 years. Two years before, a close friend ran the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women in my honor. The following year I accompanied my friend to the race as a bystander, and cried for half the race, feeling so sad for what I had lost. Last year, my friend and I seeded our selves with the slower runners and I was prepared to walk if I needed to. I completed the race, improving my practice time in the process. It was a miracle. Then I received an acknowledgement that I completed my 25th 10K for Women. I was so proud and grateful. I plan to register for this year’s race. The doctors told my husband that because of my years of running and good health, I had a better chance of recovery. My biggest concern last year was that I would trip over someone because of my visual impairment. I have to run looking at the ground while scanning the foreground. It’s a different life than I had before. I don’t drive anymore and I returned to work after a 2 ½ year interruption. I will continue to run for a long time.
Michele Howard
