During last year's Bermuda Marathon Weekend Half Marathon, I was blessed to have the opportunity to inspire a runner who was struggling with his marathon run. From "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":
Marathoners passed us and we cheered each other on.
"Good job!"
"You too!"
"You okay? You need any water?" I asked a runner who was stopped just beyond mile 10. {The marathoners do two loops of the half marathon course.}
"No I just wish I felt better,” he said as he was stretching on the side of the road.
“I’m not sure if I’m going to make it to the finish line.”
As Tom dropped behind me, I walked with him for a little while.
"Let me give you some inspiration. What's your name?"
"Joe."
"I'm Mary - from Boston. Where are you from?"
"New York"
“Do you see this wristband that says “Inspire?”
“Yes,” he replied.
“Do you know why I received it?”
“No tell me,” he said.
I went on to tell him my story of how I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome 11 years ago and went on to run the 2009 Boston Marathon; how 3 years ago my left knee blew out and I was told to stop running.
“I’m now just 3 miles shy of finishing my third Bermuda Half Marathon in as many years.”
He was enthralled with my journey.
"Okay that's just what I needed," he said and he took off running again.
"You might see me again before the finish line,” he shouted over his shoulder.
We didn't pass him again and presume he had a great finish bolstered by my story.
During this year's Bermuda Marathon Weekend, the Divine orchestrated magical moments. I heard many times throughout the weekend, "I know I was supposed to meet you."
As we sat down in the lawn chairs waiting for the shuttle to take us into Hamilton for bib pick up, a woman sat with a walker. We started chatting.
"Are you running?" she asked.
"No my husband is. I ran the last 3 Bermuda Half Marathons and I'm taking a break this year."
I went on to tell her about my journey. She was enthralled.
"I totally believe in the mind/body connection. I know I can heal this vascular disease."
She took my card and said that she couldn't wait to read my books. "It's no accident that I happened to meet you here," she said.
Alicia was complaining about having a stuffed nose and being concerned about her ability to finish the 10K. I sat in front of her on the shuttle from the Grotto Bay to the Stadium. I was inspired to share my journey with her. "God put me on this van with you," she said. "Here I am whining about a little stuffed up nose and you had all these challenges. Okay. I'm ready for race day now."
"Shhh I want to hear what she's saying," Ken said while I was sharing my journey with someone in the pool. "Do you have Parkinson's?" he asked.
"I get that a lot because of the tremors but no it's a result of having contracted the polio virus when I was a child."
"Well my mom has Parkinson's. I'm bringing her back to the States with me. She's Bermudian. You say you were able to heal all that by harnessing the power of your mind?"
I went on to share with him how I used the best that Western Medicine had to offer me along with visualization.
"Hey send me an email with all your information. I wanna check out your website with all those resources you talked about."
Later that evening as everyone gathered around the bar for football, he introduced me to his friend Ken.
"You have to talk to my wife," Ken said.
She came to join the festivities at the bar.
"Come here hon. You have to talk to Mary."
As I told her about my journey, her eyes filled with tears.
"My dad had polio when he was 11 years old. He is really suffering now. The doctors don't seem to know what to do and he seems so frail. He is only in his early 70's."
I suggested that they do a search for Post-Polio clinics in Florida. I offered to talk with him and offer hope and inspiration.
We were also treated to inspiration during the Weekend.
A group from Minnesota came to celebrate marathons in their 50th and 25th countries and one member's 100th marathon. We loved welcoming them back from Hamilton after their inspirational runs.
The Royal Gazette shared the story of one woman who had a stunning running comeback after having part of her thigh muscle removed to remove a cancerous tumor.
We sat next to Al Hastings and his wife at the coffee shop before the 10K race.
"Are you running?" we asked.
"Well I don't know if many people would call it that."
We laughed and wished him a great time out on the course.
As we were heading to The Swizzle Inn for a post race lunch, we bumped into Al at the entrance to the Grotto Bay. He was proudly holding his first place Age Group award.
He is 82 years old. Four years ago he ran the 10K in Bermuda and was diagnosed with cancer shortly after he returned home to Florida. He underwent extensive chemotherapy and what helped him get through the treatments was the motivation to return to Bermuda to run the 10K again.
That's what I call inspiration!
Inspiration abounds in Bermuda during Bermuda Marathon Weekend. I can't wait to see what 2020 will bring!
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary
My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
“The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance tapping into the powerful connection she experienced to the Divine from an early age. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running. Her story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog, discovering the meaning of different ability and experiencing the stunning view from the back of the pack of a race. You will have the privilege of bearing witness to how Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her. The sport of running provides the backdrop for her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary that tested her mettle while forging friendships to last a lifetime. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life.
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