The View From the Top

The 2019 Harvard Pilgrim Finish at the 50 started with runners going down the ramps on the 100 level. It was easy to run down the ramps especially at the start of the race with the adrenaline pumping but the only thing we saw were the runners in front of us and the concrete walls of the Stadium surrounding us.



To get ready for the Finish at the 50, we did a lot of training on Heartbreak Hill. It was always a thrill to get to the top of Heartbreak at Boston College. One time, we experienced a mystical encounter as I wrote about in Sensational Serendipity on a Saturday Morning Run.

As we entered the Stadium after running the loop around the parking lot, we knew the long uphill climb was waiting for us. The ramps would challenge us especially in the heat. The elevation up the ramps lasts for about one-quarter of a mile and is a medium grade rise. But spectacular views were our sweet reward:{Photo credit: Tom McManus}


The view from the top became the pinnacle of all that I had trained for since February to arrive at that moment.

My breath caught as I paused to take in the views of the field and the landscape around Gillette Stadium.

It was an apex moment in my healing journey from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.

After running 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons and with the stress of our daughter's severe psychiatric impairment, I wasn't sure if I still had it in me to set a lofty goal like training for Finish at the 50. True it was "only" a 5K but there is really no such thing as "just" or "only" a 5K. Those ramps are quite the challenge. I did speed work on flat surfaces and built up endurance with hills.

As we made our way across the top of Gillette Stadium, I could feel the sense of triumph and joy reverberate throughout my entire being. There were still runners behind us (and there were over a hundred runners who crossed the finish line after we did).



I could feel a bit of fatigue set in as we exited the Stadium to make our way to the tunnel that would take us to the finish on the 50 yard line. I got a boost from Scott Middlemiss giving us a high five as he set off on his 10K race.

I pushed with everything I had knowing victory was close at hand. The victory was more than crossing that finish line.

It was a victory over my past and the effects that paralytic polio and trauma once had on my mind, body and soul. It was a victory over allowing the circumstances of our daughter's challenges to drain me and interfere with my joy of life. It was a victory over limited thinking and was a victory for anyone who was ever told they shouldn't or couldn't or wouldn't be able to.

The view from the top has a great side effect:


Without having trained for and conquered the ramps at Gillette Stadium, I would have never experienced the utter exhilaration of whoosing down the ramps running on to the field at Gillette Stadium claiming my victory!



From my heart to yours
In Health and Wellness,
Mary

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

Hear my interview with Kendra Petrone on Magic 106.7's Exceptional Women Show by following this link

My books are available on Amazon and "Feel the Heal" and "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" are available in Natick Center Cultural District at Paula Romero Dunbar's Celebration Boutique Paper Fiesta coincidentally located on Mile 10 of the Boston Marathon Route. Proceeds from the sale of books for July are being donated to The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation to support Tom's Falmouth Road Race. You can also donate directly by following this link.