We woke up to a beautiful sunrise in Hyannis on Saturday morning:
I should say I woke up to a beautiful sunrise while Tom and Ruth Anne slept. I checked in on Facebook and the energy was electric in anticipation of Race Weekend. My friends Carolyn and Brian Baker introduced me to two of their friends, Marianne and Ed Sims and told me that they encouraged them to hear me speak at the Pre-Race Pasta Dinner. They were all staying in Falmouth. Brian and Carolyn have a house in Falmouth where they spend the summer. Marianne and Brian grew up together in upstate New York where they live today.
We went for breakfast at Mulligan's conveniently located in the hotel lobby.
While we enjoyed our food
we overheard the waitress ask an older couple wearing running clothes, “You here for the race?”
“Yes. We love coming here!”
The older woman said, “One year I ran the marathon and qualified for Boston!”
We chatted with them before we left! Camp Hyannis was getting into high gear!
I quieted my butterflies for the exciting day ahead with a 45 minute meditation.
Tom and Ruth Anne helped me get set up at the Expo:
They left for a day of fun in the sun in Hyannis while I got myself ready to greet
Paulie came through and asked me if everything was okay! I thanked him for including me in this Weekend's festivities to which he replied, "You're thanking me? We are so excited to have you! Billy can use some help up on the stage after all these many years!"
I went across the room to meet my Expo neighbors, Flavanaturals. We ended doing a barter -- books for chocolate...nourishing each other mind, body and soul. Be sure to check out their website and experience their incredible product!
At noon, it was showtime as the stream of runners began to fill the Expo.
Mary Tyler was one of the first to stop by and her husband Ted took this photo. She was one of the first people who inspired me to name Hyannis Marathon Weekend, Camp Hyannis.
While I was there to inspire runners, so many runners inspired me and, as one runner said, "Everyone has their why!" Here is a sampling of runners and their whys:
There was a woman with a heart condition whose doctor told her she should never run. She fired that doctor and now is part of a group of runners with heart conditions who go the distance.
I felt goosebumps all over when a mother and her adult daughter stopped by my table. She lives with Cystic Fibrosis and is running her first Boston Marathon for Boston Children’s Hospital. She has already raised over $11,000.
A woman donated a kidney and is running Boston to raise money and awareness for organ donation.
At 2pm Bill Rodgers arrived. He gave me the warmest hug letting me know that he read the book I gave him in 2017, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance." "I knew about the polio but had no idea all you lived through. Wow! Well we are going to have a great time at the Running Clinic tonight!"
I presented him with a copy of my most recent book, "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" while showing off his book,"Marathon Man":
While Amanda was waiting for her husband who was chatting away with Bill, she glanced over at my table. I shared my story with her and she said, "Oh so it's not too late to start!" I met her at the starting line on Sunday and she asked me about what running shoes I wore.
Matt stopped short as he saw my Race for Rehab book sharing with me that he is running for Spaulding this year for his 2nd year in a row. He suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was hit in the head with a softball. He had to learn how to walk and talk after the injury and is passionate about giving back to Spaulding where he made a complete recovery! He smiled when he saw the small size of our team compared to the 100+ runners they have this year.
Jenn is running her first marathon for Dana Farber. As serendipity would have it, she is good friends with David Storto, President of Spaulding Rehab and would like to run for Spaulding next year. She giggled when she saw David's photo in the Team Photo from 11 years ago. We've all aged a little since then. She is a survivor of Thyroid Cancer and had her five year milestone this past Fall which inspired her to run Boston.
A woman walked by my table and I called out to her, "Oh I love your scarf!" She was wearing a Boston Strong scarf that had been gifted to runners after the events of 4/15/13 at Old South Church. I got goosebumps.
She stopped and turned around.
"Well I need it to keep me warm." I could tell by her accent and the needing to keep warm comment that she was not from New England since we had unseasonably warm and dry temperatures with sunshine.
"Where are you from?"
"Houston."
I told her my story and she was moved by it and went on to say that she had a story too. We became fast friends in real life and on Facebook. Does she ever have a story:
Meeting up with old friends is part of the thrill of Camp Hyannis. Tom and Ruth Anne came by for a visit and were just about to leave when one of the first people we met in Hyannis 11 years ago, Ric Beaudoin, appeared.
I spotted MaryBeth and Michelle from the Mystic Runners who I met in 2016 at Camp Hyannis.
From "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":
“It’s a sign!” a group of runners exclaimed as they walked by my table at the Hyannis Race Expo.
They picked up my medal from the Bermuda Half Marathon.
“We were just talking about how we have to run Bermuda. We are putting it on our bucket list.”
The Mystic Runners from Wakefield, Massachusetts were deeply moved by my inspirational journey. In that moment of synchronicity, we became fast friends.
Tom and Ruth Anne had a wonderful day shopping and going to the beach:
We were getting ready to leave the Expo to have an early dinner before my Guest Speaker appearance at the Pre-Race Pasta Dinner when the Baker Family arrived. It was the first time Carolyn and I met in person although she had photo bombed a photo of Brian, Rod Dixon, Tom and myself in Falmouth and was in a photo I took at Dave McGillivray's book launch party last August.
I felt as though we were old dear friends which often happens with runners. I shared with them that Marianne stopped by my table!
Earlier in the day, Michael stopped by my table. He was a dear sweet middle aged man who said that he was intrigued and inspired by my story but did not believe in impulse buying. Shortly before we left for dinner, he returned to my table.
"I'm going to say something and I hope you don't take it the wrong way. I'm going to curse you," he said with a smile.
"I am going to buy your book and I've been hesitating to run another marathon because I was afraid of how long it might take me but after hearing your story, I realize I have no excuses. So when I am in the middle of that marathon, I am going to curse you for inspiring me to run another marathon that I've been meaning to do for awhile but always making excuses. I'll be sure to send you an email after I register for it."
And with that, he bought my book and we headed to The Roadhouse Cafe to grab a bite before my appearance as Guest Speaker.
To be continued....
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary
Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com to learn more about my inspirational journey from a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.
My books are available on Amazon.
No comments:
Post a Comment