The day got away from us on Friday and picking up shirts and bibs for the Falmouth Walk completely fell off of my radar. We made our decision to do The Falmouth Walk the week before the event. I saw it advertised on Facebook and thought it would be a wonderful way for Tom to stay loose for his Sunday race and for me to experience being a part of the Race Weekend Festivities.
We got up early and fixed breakfast in our room doing a "dry run" for Sunday's breakfast.
We drove down to Main Street and found a parking space right away. The energy for Race Weekend was electric as coffee shops were filled and people were enjoying the splendid weather.
"Go Team Big Heart!" a person said to us.
We stopped in our tracks. Chris Tecce said he knew all about The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation and was looking forward to the Annual Superhero 5K. We exchanged information and the village of all you need is love grows and grows.
If we would have picked up our bibs on Friday, we wouldn't have bumped into him.
We saw a gentleman sporting this t-shirt and he was kind enough to let us take his photo:
He worked at the Eliot Lounge with Tommy Leonard back in the day. He thought it was appropriate to wear since Tommy had passed in January. He said that it's a collector's item!
If we would have picked up our bibs on Friday, we wouldn't have seen it.
We put our bags with our swag back in the car and sat on a bench before go time for the walk.
"Excuse me. I need to stop and tie my shoe."
I saw her name badge, "Lindsay Benson. Social Media Coordinator".
"Are you the social media coordinator for the Falmouth Road Race?"
"Yes I am," she smiled.
"This is my husband Tom. He was one of your featured charity runners."
"Oh yes. I remember. I know all about The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation. It's a cause near and dear to Dave's heart."
I beamed.
"May I take a picture?"
If we would have ... well you get the idea. There were all these wonderful synchronicities that wouldn't have happened if we would have picked up our bibs on Friday evening not to mention that we would have been exhausted and stressed before having dinner with our teammates. We took the time for meditation and relaxation and everything worked out as it was supposed to.
We headed over to the walk and I messaged Brian Baker who, after Sunday's race, ran 41 consecutive Falmouth Road Races! After a few exchanges we finally found each other (after missing each other at the Expo). Much to my surprise, he introduced me to Rod Dixon. I thought Rod wasn't going to be in Falmouth but he changed his plans. What a thrill to meet another running champion! See one of the things that I LOVE about the sport of running is that we get to mingle with the champions and they appreciate what runners who have overcome bring to the sport. One of my favorite photos from the weekend is with Brian and Rod and Team McManus for Team Big Heart:
Tom and I took our traditional selfie at the start:
and captured Dave McGillivray in this photo:
There was a beautiful rendition of America the Beautiful since it was authored by Katherine Lee Bates who was born in Falmouth and we were off on our 3.22 mile walk.
Here are scenes from the walk with a sea of orange shirts of a record 900 walkers:
It's the first walk I've ever done and it was so great to feel no pressure to keep up and just enjoy the camaraderie and community and the beautiful scenery representing Team Big Heart. Our Big Heart shirts were a topic of conversation and we were able to share the story of The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation.
Our Team Captains, Brad and Linda Gilbreth said they would be near the finish to greet us and they took this photo of us as we approached the end of the walk:
And here we are at the finish after stopping to chat with Brad and Linda as the excitement for race day was palpable:
We had a delicious lunch at Anejo Mexican Bistro and went back to the beach to relax.
The Kindness Rock that I placed at the Falmouth Road Race monument on Friday was gone! I got goosebumps thinking about who might have it and spreading the All You Need is Love Mission.
After dinner we got everything organized for a 4:45am wake up on race day...Here's flat Tom ready to run for Team Big Heart and #lacostestrong:
to be continued....
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
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.
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