This past January, Steve Sipos of Georgetown survived a serious car accident that fractured his spine. Steve, who is 82 years old, has been running his whole life, and he had regularly competed in 5K runs and marathons as recently as last year. After the accident, Steve believed he would never run again, but the seasoned athlete defied the odds by completing the Bird-in-Hand 5K on Sept. 8.

Steve spent six months recovering from the accident, regularly traveling to Strasburg for physical therapy, MRI and X-ray tests and sessions with a chiropractor. Although his physical recovery was going well, Steve thought that being able to run another race was out of the question, and he became depressed.

After six months of rehabilitation, Steve's orthopedic surgeon gave him some unexpectedly good news: Steve's injury had healed enough that he could try going for a run, as long as he stopped once he experienced any pain. In July, Steve laced up his sneakers again and ran his first mile since the accident, gradually increasing the distance of his runs until he was comfortably jogging 4 miles at a time.

When asked what he credited his recovery to, Steve said he received a wave of support from his family and friends. Steve was encouraged to start running again by his wife, Harriet, as well as his daughter and her husband, Karyn and Tim Nancarvis of Lititz. Like many members of the Sipos family, Karyn and Tim share Steve's passion for running, and they participated in the Bird-in-Hand 5K alongside him. Steve's grandchildren Maëlys Tondini and Alex Sipos also ran the race to support their grandfather.

Steve normally completes the annual Fire Company Challenge at the Bird-in-Hand race, which includes running both a 5K and half-marathon over the course of two days. This challenge requires him to train for 12 weeks, but Steve set his sights on completing the 5K with only five weeks to prepare. He began to feel some discomfort two weeks before the race, which required him to take a break from training. "I wasn't sure if I was going to finish, but I told my kids to drag me across the finish line if I didn't make it," Steve said.

Steve had a strong start to the race, completing the first mile faster than his normal time and unhindered by any pain. Steve kept a steady pace, and although Karyn and Alex had already reached the finish line, they returned to run the final quarter mile on either side of him. Steve not only completed the race, but he placed second in his age group. "It was a pleasant surprise for me," he said.

Steve's passion for running began when he was in high school. He lived in rural New York during his teen years, and he would often jog to see a girl who lived on a farm more than a mile away. Steve competed on a cross-country team in college, and he has been completing races across the state ever since. Steve plans to continue running 5K races as he works his way back to half-marathons.