Leslee Hoover is an avid runner who is more than familiar with the terrain of the Foothills.

The 63-year-old runs 90 minutes a day in the hills near her Eagle home. If it's dark, she'll put on a headlamp and go - along with her two dogs.

"It's such an easy run," she said of the area near the cycling park off Old Horseshoe Bend Road.

She was running with her son's dog, Leroy. The 92-pound Labrador retriever-pit bull mix stopped on the trail in front of her, and she tumbled over the top of him.

She landed on her hip. The impact broke her femur, which had a rod in it from a prior injury (also involving one of her son's dogs).

She carries a cellphone because "you never know what's going to happen." She called 911 and hoped it wouldn't take long to find her.

But within five minutes of her fall, three high school runners found her.

"Oh my gosh, they saved my life," Hoover said. "It was just wonderful."

Micah Drew, Adam Young and Emily Coleman all are runners at Centennial High School.

Micah ran off toward the bicycle park to help the EMTs who had been dispatched find Hoover.

"Adam gave me his shirt - he thought I was cold," Hoover recalled. "He was standing there without his shirt on."

Emily took care of the dog. She and Adam also made sure she didn't lose her gloves or cellphone, and they took the dog back to her car for her family.

Hoover was taken by air ambulance to the hospital and had to have surgery to repair her leg.

Fortunately, she did not injure her femoral artery, which could have been fatal.

"If severed, a person can bleed out," said Eagle Fire Department spokesman Nevil Humphreys.

The teens received the Eagle Fire Life Saving Award in a ceremony Tuesday night at station No. 1. Hoover was there to thank them in person.

Hoover is back to running and can laugh about the whole December ordeal now.

One of the more unexpected moments was when her boss happened on the injury scene while out for a run of his own. Hoover has worked as the assistant to Jim Everett, CEO of the Treasure Valley Y for about a year and a half.

"Only in Idaho would your boss come across you when you're laying in the Foothills with a broken femur," Hoover said. "I kept telling him that I'd be to work on Monday. I was trying to keep it light. I felt so bad that I was ruining their Saturday."

Katy Moeller: 377-6413