Although I had written the poem, "Running the Race" as I sat in a toe up leg brace using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility, my thoughts on May 22, 2007 were about taking a leap of faith from my award winning career as a VA social worker just 3 years shy of when I would be eligible for retirement. I imagined being a bestselling author and sharing my journey from social worker to author/poet on Oprah to inspire others to follow their bliss and not wait for a crisis to happen in their lives.
I watched the Boston Marathon living not far from the race course many many times and knew about Bill Rodgers. I came to Boston in 1971 to attend Boston University and I never returned to Westchester, New York that was fraught with traumatic memories from abuse from family members and paralytic polio. I was intrigued by the sport. I remembered getting sunburned one unseasonably warm April day as we cheered on the runners at the top of Heartbreak Hill.
I had reconstructive leg surgery one April and people at the VA teased me asking if I were going to run the Boston Marathon. I quipped back, "Not this year."
Be careful what you wish for....
Less than two years after that leap of faith, I found myself sitting in a ballroom at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center listening to Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers...two running greats!
I thought that the poster they signed for me was long gone. With all the decluttering we've been doing, it must have fallen out of a top shelf in our linen closet. The other day it seemed to "magically appear" on the closet floor:
From "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":
We signed up for the pre-race Pasta Dinner where I introduced myself to Race Director, Paul Collyer. I emailed him before we registered for the race to make sure it was an all paces race. He assured me and then reassured me that I would be fine as long as I finished before the last marathoner crossed the finish line. The marathon consisted of two loops and he used the same finish line for both races. He was happy to meet me and wished me well on my race.
The ballroom with dozens and dozens of round tables covered with white tablecloths set up for 20 people at each table was filled. The sound of chatting runners matched the sound of forks clinking against china. We did not know a soul in the room. We chose one of the few tables where there were vacant seats. We had a delightful conversation with three siblings who had a close loving family. As we served ourselves pasta, salad and Italian bread, I felt the butterflies flutter again in my stomach. I was about to embark on my first 13.1 mile road race. That’s half a marathon! I ate mindfully taking in every moment of the pre-race atmosphere. The conversation quelled as Paulie stood at the podium getting ready to introduce running greats Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter. I quickly learned there is no separation between everyday runners and running greats. I was enthralled with their running stories and tips for our races. They quipped with each other in tongue in cheek trash talk banter. After their talk we were invited to meet them. We had photo ops, a Boston Marathon poster signed by both Frank and Bill and I received words of encouragement as I prepared to run my first half marathon race on the road to Boston.
As I drifted off to sleep, I reflected on all of my blessings and was in awe of this new community called “runners.”
It became overcast at gun time but the temperature was moderate as we crossed the starting line. We were in the 14 minute/mile pace corral just in front of the walkers. We took off at a fast pace - a 13 minute/mile pace. I told myself to release all feelings of lack and limitation and go with the flow. This was a training run so I needed to push my pace while I also monitored my heart rate. By mile 10, I abandoned my fueling and hydration plan. Sleet pelted my face and my only goal was to cross that finish line.
The post-race reception included bagels, peanut butter, bananas, hot soup from the 99 Restaurant, orange slices and water. I was shivering when I came into the ballroom. Among the thousands of runners streaming into the ballroom, Frank Shorter spotted me.
He put both of his hands on my forearms, looked at me straight in the eye and said, “I have no doubt you are going to finish Boston!”
I told him I wasn’t feeling so well.
“Get hot soup and hydrate,” he said while he congratulated me on finishing the race in tough conditions and signed my bib.
Although I wasn’t feeling well, and should have gone upstairs to take a hot shower, there was a reporter interviewing runners. I told him my story and I was in the next day’s Cape Cod Times:
Mary McManus, 55, of Brookline completed her first half marathon after making a remarkable recovery from a life-long battle against post-polio syndrome.
She spent time at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and began running just last February. She competed in her first race in June 2008, finishing a 5K.
“It’s like having a new lease on life,” said McManus, who ran yesterday’s half marathon with husband Tom. “I was limping my way through life, but then decided to do something about it.”
It was a phenomenal weekend; the first of many weekends that would come to be known as Camp Hyannis. I earned my first of many medals for finishing a race but the greatest prize was the friendships forged at the pre-race pasta dinner.
With just 8 weeks to go, I began to anticipate toeing the starting line of the 113th Boston Marathon.
We returned to Camp Hyannis for the next 12 years. I'd see Frank on several occasions and Bill and I became friends seeing each other at other races besides Hyannis. We'd meet up with friends we met in previous years and made new friends each year. I inspired runners with my journey and Paul gave me a table at the Expo to sell my books.
This past February I was blessed to be a guest speaker at the pre-race pasta dinner sharing the stage with Bill Rodgers! He embraced me and my journey and even gave me a shout out at the starting line saying how others should be inspired by my journey.
I still smile as I reflect on this grand journey that began on May 25th 2007 when I took a leap of faith to heal my life from the once ravaging effects of paralytic polio and trauma.
Somewhere, deep inside of me, I knew I had a date with destiny:
A Date With Destiny from "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life"
Don’t wait til you die to let your soul fly free
please listen and hear what happened to me.
My body was broken every imaginable place
yet to the world always a smile on my face.
My soul trapped inside feeling it was broken too
God brought me out of darkness my light I shine on you.
She showed me the way through people I met
it took awhile a message hard to get.
The kingdom of heaven is right inside me
take the leap of faith fulfill destiny.
While I did my soul work and let my soul fly free
my body transformed changes did I see.
My head now aligned the tremor no more
my body aligned such strength in my core.
When once head detached from my heart and my soul
they all work together amazingly whole.
The rules that I live by are my rules alone
I found strength and courage the past now has flown.
I followed my heart to create myself anew
to feel simply Divine despite all I’ve lived through.
Take the leap of faith into grace I can fall
but I’m floating on air answering God’s call
Don’t wait til you die to let your soul fly free
there’s no reason to live a life in misery.
Follow your passions and I will tell you this
the body falls away healed when you follow your bliss.
I've been incredibly blessed with the miracle of healing mind, body and soul and the people I've met along the way including two running greats!
To learn more about my quest to heal my life, visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com
My books are available on Amazon.
From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary
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