Running Friends are the Best

My phone rang on Saturday afternoon. Caller ID indicated it was a call from Devonshire Bermuda.

"Hello. Is this Mary McManus?" said the deep voice with a distinctive Bermudian accent.

I smiled. "Why yes it is," I replied.

"Clarence Smith here. I've been thinking and thinking about you praying you and your family are well."

From "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":
Anthony Raynor and Clarence Smith had me at hello at the Bermuda Marathon Weekend Booth at the Finish at the 50 Expo. Tom started chatting with Clarence "Stoker" Smith. I hung back but cocked an ear to the conversation. I gingerly eyed the pink Bermuda wrist bands, the bling from Bermuda Marathon Weekend races and the samples of pink sand. I glanced at Tom and felt we each had a tug at our souls. The tug got stronger with each moment we talked with Clarence and Anthony. We reminisced about when we went to Bermuda. I felt goosebumps and a warm feeling come over me, while a part of me was wondering why was I even having this conversation about running in Bermuda. Several months ago I was told to cap my distance and prepare for a total knee replacement.

“If you can get up to the Half Marathon distance, you’ll be better off than running the 10K with all of its steep hills,” Anthony said in his delicious Bermudian accent.

“The last time I was in Bermuda I was in a leg brace using a cane and a wheelchair.”

Clarence's wife said, "Look at you now girl."

There was no stopping me now. We exchanged information. Clarence told us he'd pick us up at the airport. I chatted with Anthony about the weather in January.

"Look," he said with a deep warm laugh, "I was told you people still have piles of snow near the Seaport Hotel from this past winter. I can guarantee you this. You will have no snow in Bermuda in January."

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.” ~Mark Twain

It was time to sail away from safe harbor and go the distance again. This time on the magical Island of Bermuda.

“Running is about finding your inner peace and so is a life well lived. Run with your heart.” ~Dean Karnazes

And so began a fantastic International friendship forged through the sport of running.

Whenever we visited Bermuda, Clarence and Anthony would make sure we were treated well. After we ran the 2016 Bermuda Half Marathon, Anthony took this photo with Town Crier Ed Christopher:


Before we went to the airport on our last day, Anthony and Clarence took us out for breakfast at one of the locals favorite places.

When they came to Massachusetts in 2017, we hosted them at our home:


We went on to run in Bermuda until this year and have magnificent memories of our time there.


When Clarence and I chat by phone or Skype it is usually light hearted reminiscing about the time spent together and planning for future visits. But this phone call with quite different. Clarence asked me if I knew about the status of Bermuda and the pandemic which I had from following the news on Facebook. His voice was filled with tenderness and care and genuine concern for how we were doing here in the States. We focused on gratitude and how we have discovered new hobbies during this time. He will be celebrating his 58th wedding anniversary at his home rather than going out for dinner and has a socially distanced event planned with the family and the people who were in his wedding party. I shared about our garden and how we've dislecovered new running routes in our neighborhood.

He shared that he sees Anthony from time to time and he is doing well although he is missing not being able to organize races for now.

I let Clarence know how deeply he touched my heart with his phone call. He was genuinely concerned for our welfare and greatly relieved to know how well we are doing in spite of the circumstances happening around us.

We agreed to stay in touch and look forward to the days when we can travel again to visit each other.

Friends I have met through running are the best and have become like family.



Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com to learn more about my adventures as runnergirl1953 and how I was able to go from being told I'd spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.

My books are available on Amazon

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary