Dare to Go The Distance

The title of the second book in my Trilogy of Transformation is "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance." At the time I did not realize there was going to be a trilogy of transformation. I thought I had gone the distance and celebrated all that I had done and become in the wake of the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome. As I wrote in the Epilogue to "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance," there were more chapters to write and more of the story to tell that had not been captured in "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" or "Going the Distance."

I sometimes feel in awe of the reservoir of strength within me and the Divine Guidance that I have tapped into since I was 5 years old after contracting paralytic polio. I was blessed to meet Jacqueline Hansen at the 2016 Hyannis Marathon Weekend. I was enthralled with hearing her speak at the pre-race pasta dinner and we connected when I bought her book, "A Long Time Coming" after the dinner. There's a beautiful story I share about seeing her out on the 10K course when she gave me a hug and said,"Run with your heart." I was deeply grateful to Jacqueline for agreeing to write the Foreword to "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance."

Foreword

Eleanor Roosevelt once said “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”

I have found this to be true throughout my life. I have also found that I am attracted to strong women friends, who are strong willed, strong minded, with lots of endurance. At least once a day I must tell my-self, “thank goodness I’m a marathoner.” I am guessing that Mary McManus tells herself the same thing. She is certainly someone who has left indelible footprints in my heart. I have rarely met anyone with so many life-threatening challenges who portrays such an onward thinking attitude.

In fact, another Eleanor Roosevelt quotation reminds me of Mary: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

When you read about Mary’s life experiences you will wonder how does she not only endure, but lives her life with positivity in abundance. My closest friend in life lives by the motto “Be relentlessly positive,” which is written on her office door. Mary exudes this same attitude. You will not encounter a more positive person than Mary, despite all the challenges she has endured in life.

Try to imagine what it must have been like to be diagnosed with paralytic polio as a child. Try to imagine suffering child abuse at the hands of those very family members who are charged with your upbringing. Try to imagine them together. It’s unbearable to think about. Then imagine surviving the unthinkable, and in adulthood being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome. This is a story that needs to be told. This is a story of challenge, of resiliency, and a story of heart, tremendous heart.

I am fond of using the word “heart.” When coaching young athletes, which I have done my entire adult life, I often tell them to “run with heart.” As I explain to them, I can coach them on skills, on running form, on race strategy, on everything to do with their running, except I cannot create “heart.” This is something that only they can produce from within. I go on to say that “you have to want this (running or racing) more than I do – more than I want it for you.” “Always run with heart.” I am here to tell you that Mary McManus always runs with all her heart.

Just for a moment, let’s ponder the word “heart.” The Latin word for heart is “cor.” Cor is also the root of the word “courage.” I would attribute both heart and courage to Mary. Even Mary herself has said that “It takes incredible courage to heal trauma . . . healing both paralytic polio and trauma.” Author Parker Palmer wrote that “The heart is where we integrate what we know in our mind with what we know in our bones, the place where our knowledge can become more fully human. When all that we understand of self and world comes together in the center place called the heart, we are more likely to find the courage to act humanely on what we know.”

Besides being a former record-holding runner who became a coach, I am also an educator. I teach teachers about health education, so in turn they will teach the youth. One of the most important lessons we impart is how to build resilient young persons. In brief, I can tell you there are no apparent factors in Mary’s childhood that would lead to her developing into a resilient young adult and woman. Yet, nonetheless, she became so. When faced with the prognosis of spending her life in a wheelchair, she did not “settle.” She chose to reclaim her life with fervor.

A musician and poet, Patti Smith, wrote the book, “M Train,” for which she was described as having the rare gift of projecting radiance despite experiencing melancholy and grief in her life. Patti Smith once said “If we walk the victim, we’re perceived as the victim. And if we enter glowing and receptive . . . if we maintain our radiance and enter a situation with radiance, often radiance will come our way.”

In my heart, I believe our author Mary McManus has mastered overcoming challenges, maintaining positivity, possessing resiliency, portraying radiance; and in doing so, she provides great inspiration for others.

Jacqueline Hansen, M.Ed.
University Course Instructor, Health Education for Teachers
Track & Field, Cross Country Coaching Education
Instructor
Author
January 2017

My family members tried to snuff out the life force within me but I dared to defy them.

Despite all appearances to the contrary, I ran the 2009 Boston Marathon daring to go the distance despite doctors and physical therapists telling me, "If you use it, you will lose it."

After a serious knee injury in December of 2014, I continued my quest to heal my life from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma and went on to run 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons. I was told that I should stop running and would need a total knee replacement in a few years.

On the roads and in my life I have dared to go the distance because after all:


To learn more about my adventure from being told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond, visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

My books are available on Amazon.

To your health and wellness
To daring to go the distance
From my heart to yours
Mary