Foliage, Flowers, and Family on a Fun Run

Running is an integral part of Team McManus' life. We cannot imagine a Saturday morning without filling up the water bottles, putting on our fuel belts and choosing a route to enjoy together unplugged and tuning into the rhythm of life.

We get to experience the change of seasons embracing the beauty and the challenges that each season in New England has to offer. While the transition from Winter to Spring is my favorite change of season, I have come to celebrate and find the joy in every season.

We chose Heartbreak Hill for Saturday's 5K run.

There is a house right before Center Street and Commonwealth Avenue on the Carriage Road that has the most beautiful gardens.



We saw an older woman, the keeper of her beautiful gardens lovingly tend her flowers. What a wonderful start to our run!

The trees are just beginning to change colors and many leaves lined the carriage road.


We paused to take our selfie:


We bantered about what foods we are looking forward to preparing this Autumn and Winter and had to pause to take this picture:


We cherished our time together expressing what we are grateful for as we get ready to embrace the season of Thanksgiving.

We shared our feelings about the pandemic and how so much has changed. There is no Heartbreak Hill Run Club with runners conquering the Newton Hills and then gathering in the store celebrating runs and plans for upcoming races. There are no high fives and great job as we'd pass familiar faces or just smile at runners passing by. We talked about the upcoming election and our energy shifted from sadness to optimism and hope.

While there may be so much sadness and heartache in the world, through running, we are able to find our way to celebrate life and appreciate the beauty of the season with foliage, flowers and family fun time.

To learn more about my journey from being told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair in December of 2006 to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond, be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

My books are available on Amazon

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

Autumn Splendor Revealed in Our Morning Runs

We have been blessed with a most spectacular Autumn this year in Boston with moderate temps and glorious sunshine. I'm going to do something a little different in today's blog inspired by a 10 day photo challenge from Steve Jones on Facebook. Here are scenes from our morning runs for you to savor and enjoy as much as we did while getting in our miles.





The evidence for the benefits of nature on mental and physical health are numerous and last year, doctors in Scotland began writing nature prescriptions for their patients.

Why not write one for yourself and experience splendor of the seasons wherever you may be!

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.

You're seeing it live! There's no instant replay!

While I love running in races, there is a certain thrill one experiences while spectating a race. On Sunday October 13th, my daughter and I were support crew for Tom's BAA Half Marathon.

The day proved to be perfect weather for spectators and runners which rarely happens.

The day dawned bright and beautiful:


After we saw friends at t-shirt distribution, we took our pre-race selfie proudly wearing our Team Big Heart shirts:



We sent Tom off to his place at the starting line and we enjoyed the pre race festivities listening to announcements by Tom Grilk and seeing the elite runners and wheelchair athletes warm up:


After the wheelchair start, the runners were off:


Ruth Anne and I found seats at White Stadium where we would wait for the finishers.


The announcer got the crowd psyched up as we waited for the wheelchair finishers to enter the Stadium.

"You're seeing it live! There's no instant replay!"

It was a sprint to the finish for the wheelchair athletes as the crowd roared! I'm glad we brought our cowbells to add to the festivities of watching the finish of a race.

Katrina Gerhard, an Acton-Boxboro High School graduate and current medical student, won the women’s wheelchair race with a time of 1:00:43 and beat the course record by more than nine minutes.

As 24-year-old Brillian Kipkoech of Kenya crossed the finish line in Franklin Park, she learned she just broke the course’s record by finishing in 1:07:40.



The athlete tracker and text message alerts had a discrepancy in Tom's time. I'm glad I signed up for text messages at the start because the tracker had him close to the finish when he was at mile 10.

We cheered on the runners streaming into the finish line keeping a close eye out for Tom.

We had a close call with one of the runners in a red shirt and dark shorts and were at the ready with our camera only to discover it wasn't Tom.

In the far off corner of the Stadium we saw him and waited til he got close to the finish to yell out for him.



Tom was trying to introduce me to the runner he met at Mile 8.

Dick Patrick is an award winning sports journalist. Tom went up to him at mile 8 and asked him how he was doing as he sensed he was on the struggle bus. These two over 65 runners ran through the last 5 miles together sharing runner stories. Dick regaled Tom with stories about Meb; he co-authored "Run to Overcome" and Tom shared my inspirational story of going from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.

Dick and Tom lost each other after they went through the food station so I didn't get to meet him in person but we have been in touch since they crossed the finish line together.

Here's Tom's photo with his medal and our water bottle that bears the #lacostestrong heart.



It was absolutely thrilling to witness two course records broken at Sunday’s B.A.A. Half Marathon in the women’s open division and the women’s wheelchair division. It's always a thrill to see my bestie cross the finish line especially with an illustrious sports journalist.

Spectating a race - there's nothing like it! You're seeing it live and there's no instant replay!

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.