It's a Sign - Signing Off On My Blog After 12 Years

On October 22, 2008 I wrote my first blog post on Healing, Hope and Possibility.

 Two interns from the Boston Unversity School of Public Communication taught me about social media and how to start a blog.

 Healing, Hope and Possibility transformed into Going the Distance   which eventually morphed into The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953.

My blog chronicles my journey on the road to the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. I harnessed the power of the mind/body connection to heal my life from the effects of paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma. My blog takes you on my incredible journey from shortly after the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease to training for and crossing the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and along the many twists and turns that life takes us on.

I experienced set backs and come backs and been both an observer and participant in chronicling the world around us. I have been absolutely delighted to share them all with you and am so deeply grateful for the readership and feedback I received through the years.

When I signed on to write yesterday's blog, there was a new format and a text editor that was unwieldy to use. There was no way to revert to the old blogger. I went into a discussion group about the changes to see if I was missing something and everyone was imploring google to bring back the old blogger but we were told that due to the infrastructure of Google and blogspot we would have to use the new format.

I have been tapering how often I blog for about a year now and have been wondering if perhaps it was time to end my blog.

It took me several hours to get yesterday's blog finished and posted.

It was a sign that it was time to sign off of my blog for now.

I am writing my next book, "Hope: A Collection of Poems and Essays From the Pandemic of 2020" and will of course be continuing to inspire and uplift with my Facebook posts. You can stay up to date on News and Events and the latest information I have to share by visiting my website at www.marymcmanus.com and my books are available on Amazon

Thank you all for your love and support through these 12 years!

From my heart to yours

In health and wellness,

Mary                                                                                                                                 

Poetry in Motion

 

October 1st was National Poetry Day. I discovered the gift of poetry in my soul in February of 2007 after the diagnosis of the progressive neuromuscular disease Post Polio Syndrome in December of 2006.

 

I got still and asked for Divine Guidance seeking the answer to the question what's next in my life? I knew I was at a crossroads and had no idea what would be next for me in my life's journey. I was at the height of my award winning career as a VA social worker and was told that if I had any hope of maintaining the progression of symptoms where they were, I needed to leave work. I was told that I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair and expect a rapid decline in functioning as I aged. I was given a list of resources to consider either making my Cape home handicapped accessible or move to a ranch style house.

 

I was scared, depressed, anxious and yet oddly enough hopeful that somehow a new path would be made clear to me if I allowed the Divine to guide me.

 

As I sat in a leg brace using a cane, a toe up leg brace and at times a wheelchair for mobility, this poem flowed out of me:

Running the Race

 

Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year

Everyone around me filled with nervous fear

Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear

The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.

Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird

I dropped to the ground just like a stone

and no one said a word.

The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse

"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.

Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'

But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.

Miss Holly physical therapist,

curly hair and a warm, broad smile

It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

 

I always wore those 'special' shoes

the kids they poked and teased

With no support and much abuse

with childhood I wasn't pleased.

But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could

I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.

Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give

I accepted the limp and everything else

and decided my life I would live.

But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow

I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

 

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day

Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-

trying to keep depression at bay.

And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide

I discovered there was a Post Polio team

and they were on my side.

 

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,

Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.

Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace

While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.

Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free

For the first time in life, I could truly be me.

The chains are gone and possibilities abound

I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.

I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine

So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.

After all these years I can join the loving human race

I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

 

Poems flowed out of me as if a spigot turned on in my soul. I was healing the past through poems of forgiveness, gratitude and embracing the challenges of paralytic polio and trauma from my childhood while creating a future very different from the ones the doctors predicted for me. My pen became my divining rod for healing!

 

This collection of poems can be found in "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life".

 

 

 

Through the sport of running and crossing the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon, I became a woman transformed from victim of my past to a thriver experiencing the fullness of life free from the shackles of my past. My life became poetry in motion.

 

This past March, with the onset of the pandemic in the US, I once again turned to my divining rod for healing. I am creating my next book Hope: A Collection of Poems and Essays from the Pandemic of 2020. I open my heart and soul to receive messages that will uplift and inspire others noting how creation can help us navigate the most challenging times in our lives.

 

May we all move through life as poetry in motion.

 

From my heart to yours

In health and wellness

Mary

 

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

 

My books are available on Amazon

My Favorite Running Route - Well Worth the Wait!

Perhaps what I yearned for most during these past 6 months of the pandemic was running by the ocean in South Boston. We did one run along Wollaston Beach but it was low tide. We had to bob and weave to social distance and avoid bicycles and skateboards. While I was grateful to see the expansiveness of the ocean, it wasn't the same as hearing and seeing the waves crash against the rocks and running right along the ocean.

We haven't been to Cape Cod this summer where we often enjoy running and racing along the beach in Falmouth.

With the unofficial end of summer on Labor Day Weekend, we deemed it safe to return to Carson Beach and run out to the JFK Library and U Mass Boston.

The weather although a bit chilly and windy at first was perfect.

The sea air invigorated me and I had one of my best 5K times in a very long time.

I breathed deeply and savored the sights, scents and sounds of a late summer's day in Boston.

While I always appreciate my running as a gift and never take a mile for granted, Saturday's run filled my heart with overwhelming gratitude and brought me to tears.

It was 6 long months of waiting to return to our favorite running route ... It was well worth the wait!



Saturday's run inspired me to write this poem from the soon to be released: Hope: A Collection of Essays and Poems From the Pandemic of 2020:
My Soul Settles By The Sea

Running in tandem with waves
my soul settles by the sea
seagulls soaring
seeing Divine's creations
sun sparkles
sprinkling white caps dotting deep blue
steady breath
scent of briny air
sounds of water lapping shore
surrounded by beauty.

Stress dissolves
each footstep bids farewell to troubles
joy bubbles from the depths
Divine Love
heart overflows
refreshment for mind and body.

Once shackled
unbridled from unfathomable past
wounds healed
wind whispers
“Run my child
set yourself free”
my soul settles by the sea.

To learn more about my inspiring journey from the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome 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

From my heart to yours
To your health and wellness
Mary

Believing is Seeing: Dawn of a New Day

I begin every morning with a meditation after I open the shades and let the light of a new day enter my room.

Yesterday's sunrise was spectacular and inspired a poem:


Dawn of a New Day from the soon to be released Hope: A Collection of Essays and Poems From the Pandemic of 2020:

Dawn of a new day
radiant morning light
a kiss to awaken

Daybreak whisks away yesterday’s cobwebs of worry
greeting new day with a heart full of gratitude
possibilities await on the horizon

How will you paint the Masterpiece of today
each moment an opportunity to reveal and revel

Bask in the Love of the Divine
Rejoice in the dawn of a new day!

I reflected on the wonder and awe of creation in the world and in my corner of the Universe.

By all appearances and predictions from the medical community, I 'should' have been sitting in a wheelchair right now with all kinds of adaptive equipment to support a neuromuscular system deemed headed on a rapid decline. It was called Post Polio Syndrome and was the result of the late effects of having contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5. While paralytic polio is a devastating virus that impacts the spinal cord, brain and connections between nerves and muscles, it can be healed (as can any disease) given the right environment. Unfortunately, the environment I lived in growing up was rife with violence and anything but conducive to healing and recovery.

At the age of 53 I had an incredible opportunity to heal my life with the crisis of that diagnosis.

I got still, asked for Divine Guidance and harnessed the power of my imagination through writing poetry. I saw and felt a future very different from the one that the Western Medical model predicted for me. I healed my past with poems of gratitude and forgiveness.
of
In my meditations, I visualized the Divine as my Master Electrician rewiring my body. I worked my body in new ways under the guidance of a physical therapist who believed in the body's innate capacity to heal and then with a personal trainer who subscribed to Henry Ford's mantra of whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right.

Despite all appearances, I believed in my mind's eye that I could and would run the 2009 Boston Marathon:


Before February of 2008, I had never run a day in my life!

In December of 2014, my left knee blew out. I briefly returned to Western Medicine to see what needed to be healed. As expected, the prognosis was grim but I refused to be grim.

After an epic fail with a physical therapist, the Universe led me to an amazing chiropractor. He gave me a new strength training program, chiropractic treatments, KT tape and new mind/body healing resources to get me back on the roads and continue my forward momentum in my healing journey.

I went on to run Half Marathons in Bermuda in 2016, 2017 and 2018!

Every dawn is a new day; an opportunity to see ourselves and the world the way we want things to be. It is so easy to get pulled in the undertow of catastrophic news and the rancor in the political landscape. I start my day with imagining what headlines I would like to read and transform raging fires, devastating hurricanes and the raging fear of a pandemic into a world where Mother Nature is in balance, where people focus on their health and well being and where inevitable storms that are a part of life are no longer catastrophic in nature.

I know that together we can create a new world order; that these recent months of navigating our way through turbulent times will lead us to a better place.

You may wonder how can she hold onto hope and optimism when, by all appearances, everything is falling apart...My answer to that question is that believing is seeing!

To learn more about my inspiring journey and explore healing resources, be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

My books are available on Amazon

From my heart to yours
to your health and well being
Mary

Welcome to Marathon Monday - Saturday Edition

I've lived in Boston since 1971, a transplanted New Yorker and have always felt a connection to the Boston Marathon. Since crossing its finish line on April 20, 2009 just 3 years after having been told I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair after the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease, the Boston Marathon is a part of my heart and soul.



I was blessed to be a member of a panel, "Late Life Running and Whole Life Running," at this year's Virtual Boston Marathon Expo


and support crew for our dear friend Rachel Glazer last Saturday:


This was the final weekend of the Twelve Days of the Boston Marathon.

We decided to get our 5K in on Heartbreak Hill with the hope that we might see a Virtual Runner or two out on the course.

The Hills were alive with the Spirit of the Boston Marathon. Charity Teams were advised to not run on the course and finish at Boylston Street, but Tedy's Team was very creative in creating an out and back route that took them from the Boston Common to the Newton Hills and back for a finish at the Boston Common.

There was a DJ blaring music, cheering on the runners saying, "Welcome to Marathon Monday - Saturday Edition."

Charity teams' support crews and family members lined the marathon route.

On our outbound route we encountered Dana Farber's Unicorn:


There were hydration stations set up with a wide selection of foods to fuel the runners:


while blue and yellow balloons and ribbons lined the course like a hashtag for #bostonstrong and #finishstrong.

We discovered that it is quite challenging to simultaneously be a spectator and a runner. We got in our miles but the pace was slowed by the need to social distance while cheering on those incredible virtual Boston Marathon runners who experienced a historic longest training season ever that extended from January to September.

The only other time I experienced the intensity of the Spirit of the Boston Marathon was in 2014. Just as the bombs stopped runners in their tracks on 4/15/13, so too did the pandemic stop runners in their tracks. Half of the runners who were registered for the 2020 Boston Marathon took on the challenge of a Virtual Boston Marathon around the globe. The BAA, and Conventures, Inc., under the leadership of T.K. Skenderian made sure that even though the world couldn't come to Boston, Boston would go to the world.

A hawk soared above; a harbinger of hope and a message from Spirit to see things from a higher perspective rather than feeling the constraints of the current reality.



We took our traditional photo of the Johnny Kelley statue and our selfie.


As we drove home, we honked and cheered on runners along Heartbreak Hill and Beacon Street.

Tomorrow wraps up the Twelve Days of the Boston Marathon 2020.

We don't know when there will be the next Boston Marathon. September registration is on hold for now while a panel convenes to develop a plan.

There were many "Marathon Mondays" shared and celebrated in Boston and around the world during these 12 days.

Team McManus was thrilled to be a part of the Saturday edition on Heartbreak Hill. While our hearts were broken with the news that the Marathon would be postponed, then cancelled, then made into a virtual event, we rose above with resilience and strength as we in the Boston Strong community have always done and will continue to do.

To be inspired and motivated by my health and wellness journey from having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 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

Used wheelchair to travel...

Our panel, Late Life Running and Whole Life Running for the Virtual Boston Marathon Expo aired yesterday. Boston Marathon Champion 1973 and pioneer of women's running, Jacqueline Hansen took the screen shot and tagged me on Facebook:
Mary, nicely done! Your role on the Boston Expo panel was splendid. You were eloquent and inspiring! I'm so proud and pleased for you! You sure spoke with all your heart :)
💙💛

I am still in awe of how I went from an award winning social work career at the VA, to having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. I've met champions such as Jaqi, Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter and they embrace my story making me feel like a champion in my own right.

I emerged from contracting paralytic polio at the age of 5, enduring years of abuse at the hands of family members, becoming High School Valedictorian and going on to an award winning career in social work when I began to plan my retirement in 3 years with a vision of working at Bloomingdale's and being able to read trashy novels and take vacations with my husband who would then also plan to retire in short order.

But the Universe had other plans and I had no idea what they were when my life came to a screeching halt in December of 2006 with the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. I was told to quit my job, plan to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair needing all sorts of special equipment to accommodate to the rapid decline in functioning as I aged and to either move to a ranch or adapt our Cape house.

As I'd done throughout my life, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance.

This was the answer I received: {From Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility}

And then I felt a stirring in my second chakra (only then I didn’t know it was my second chakra – I thought it might have been something I ate). I went over to my laptop in the corner of the living room and I wrote this poem:

Running the Race
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.
Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.
Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

I sobbed to write those words. I had never spoken about polio or the abuse I endured. I became curious. Why am I writing about winning a 10K race?

At the time, I had no idea that the poem was a foreshadowing of my 2009 Boston Marathon run!


Poems flowed out of me. As I wrote poems in which I imagined a powerful transformation and a future very different than the ones the doctors predicted for me and healed my past through the power of forgiveness and gratitude, I experienced healing in my body and in February of 2008 started to run.

I landed in the middle of a sport where champions and every day runners mingle and talk about running as a metaphor for life. I landed in the middle of a sport where someone like me was cheered instead of jeered despite finishing last at a race. I landed in the middle of a sport where resilience, strength, community, health, honor, respect and wellness are the themes that weave together the fabric of a very powerful community.

When once I used a wheelchair to travel, I am now a 2009 Boston Marathon finisher, inspirational speaker, runner girl,and poet. There's still time to see our panel on Friday 9/11 at 3pm by following this link.

To be inspired by my journey from a wheelchair 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.

Good luck to all the virtual runners! As Meb said, "Run to win. That doesn't mean being in first place but in getting the best out of yourself."

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary

The Spirit of the Boston Marathon

Even though the Boston Marathon was postponed and and then cancelled and transformed into a Virtual Race Experience, the Spirit of the Boston Marathon is going strong - Boston Strong.

My day on Saturday began at 6:15am as Rachel Glazer sent a text to her Team Emmet crew that she was at the starting line in Hopkinton.



I felt the excitement of the start of her Virtual Boston Marathon race day course through me. I remembered that day on April 20, 2009 when we stood at that very starting line with the mobility impaired runners beginning the culmination of over a year of training to run 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston.

As the group texts cheered on Rachel and tracked her as she made her way to each water stop, Team McManus packed up the car with the provisions Rachel had dropped off on Friday for herself and her running buddies and the sign she designed to honor the memory of Emmet who died last year at Childrens Hospital Boston. Rachel's run raised over $8000 for the Miles for Miracle Team. Rachel and her family have been friends with Emmet's mom's family through the years.

We were a group of strangers connected through Rachel who became a community with one purpose in our hearts; to support Rachel to the finish line of the 2020 Virtual Boston Marathon for which she trained for 9 months.



She posed in Wellesley:


The excitement grew as we saw a photo of her at the Johnny Kelley statue via text and knew we would soon see her at mile 20:


We paused to take a selfie:


and sent Rachel and her buddies on their way with #morecowbell.

It was our turn to take to Heartbreak Hill to get in our 5K.

Even though the streets were filled with cars instead of runners and few runners were out running, the Spirit of Boston was palpable on the hills. Every time I received a text, we briefly paused to track Rachel's progress and send her words of encouragement.

When we got the text she was at the Finish Line, I was overcome with emotion. I knew what this race meant for Rachel, her running buddy who traveled from Michigan to run his Virtual Boston 2020 and to the circle of friends who cheered her on. It was the culmination of 9 months of training and fund raising and having her journey fueled by the courage of a boy who died last September.



We captured moments on our run:


and reflected on our Boston Marathon experience in 2009 as Team McManus and 2011 for Tom running with Miles for Miracle team when we raised almost $10,000 for Childrens. In 2009 we raised $10,535 for Spaulding Rehab where I took my first steps on my healing journey with Post Polio Syndrome.

Crossing that finish line is always a powerful emotional experience:


As we drove back to our house we saw a lone runner sporting an MGH singlet. We made sure to give him a honk and a thumbs up cheering as we drove by.

What an honor and gift to be support crew for Rachel for a most unusual Boston Marathon experience. While we miss all the magic and wonder of live races especially the 2020 Boston Marathon, as Rachel said, Saturday was amazing and special in its own way.

It's Twelve Days of the Boston Marathon in 2020 and the Spirit of the Boston Marathon is being experienced here in Boston and around the globe!

This photo of medals designed and made in the USA by Ashworth Awards was posted with a very special #medalmonday hashtag:


It will be a treasured keepsake for the year the Boston Marathon was cancelled yet its powerful Spirit lived on!

To be inspired by my journey from a wheelchair 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.

Good luck to all the runners! As Meb said, "Run to win. That doesn't mean being in first place but in getting the best out of yourself."

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary

The Twelve Days of the Virtual Boston Marathon Experience

We Bostonian runners call the Boston Marathon and the days leading up to the event Christmas in April. There was no Christmas in April this year and we don't know when and how it will happen again although as an eternal optimist I believe the comeback will be stronger than the setback!

This morning my dear friend and event planner, Rachel Glazer dropped off everything Team McManus needs to cheer on Team Emmett. Rachel's friend's son Emmett died last September at Boston Children's Hospital. Rachel raised over $7200 for Boston Children's Hospital. {Tom was part of the 2011 Miles for Miracles Team.} It was a socially distanced visit but the Spirit of the Boston Marathon danced in her eyes as we talked about preparations for her Virtual Race tomorrow.

I believe it's safe to say that runners and all associated with the Boston Marathon have gone through the stages of grieving for our beloved event and all that is happening with the pandemic. But even a pandemic can't snuff out the spirit of the Boston Marathon.

T.K. Skenderian and Conventures have created a 12 day Boston Mandarathon Virtual Expo Experience for runners and fans around the globe. You can experience the event which includes vendors and panels by following this link.

Although Boston and the events leading up to the Marathon were cancelled, we were able to convene our panel for Late Life Running and Whole Life Running via Zoom. It will air on 9/7 and 9/11 at 3 pm.

Late Life Running and Whole Life Running

Authors and running veterans Roger Robinson, Gail Waesche Kislevitz, Jonathan Beverly, and Mary McManus talk with Consecutive Boston Marathon Record Holder Bennett Beach about the benefits and joy that comes with even more miles. Moderated by historian and author Roger Robinson.

While the Boston Marathon usually means reunions with out of town friends or meeting up in person with Facebook friends for the first time, heading to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to reunite with the 2009 Race for Rehab Team and cheer on this year's Race for Rehab Runners, enjoying the Expo and the unique ambiance on Boylston Street, this year's Virtual experience has given me the opportunity to reconnect with runner friends on Facebook and make new connections through friends of friends.

Instead of going to the panels at the Hynes Convention Center, we will tune into them on the website.

Jacqueline Hansen posted a screen shot of her Zoom panel with the Women's Running Pioneers Panel:


The Women’s Running Pioneers

A can’t-miss panel of running’s leading ladies who pushed through one barrier after another to put women’s running on the map. Julia Chase-Brand, who ran the Manchester Road Race in 1961, is joined by 1972 Boston Marathon Champion Nina Kuscsik, 1973 Champion Jacqueline Hansen, former marathon world record holder Cheryl Treworgy, Brazilian barrier-breaker Eleonora Mendonca, four-time Honolulu Marathon winner Patti Dillon, and three-time Boston Marathon winners Bobbi Gibb and Sara Mae Berman in a hilarious and inspiring retrospective. Moderated by journalist Barbara Huebner.

I was blessed to meet Jacqueline Hansen at the 2016 Hyannis Marathon Weekend and we became fast friends. She wrote the Foreword to my book, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance." I'm excited to hear what these pioneers have to say. I never tire of hearing their epic stories.

Last weekend, we ran the Becca Pizzi Virtual 5K.

I am excited for her presentation and reading from her book, "Feat on Feet" which we purchased last week at bib pick up.

Setting Big Goals with Becca Pizzi (Plus Children’s Book Reading)

The first woman to complete the World Marathon Challenge talks about her fearless pursuit of big goals, and reads her new children’s book, Becca’s Feat on Feet at 10:27.

There will be Meb, Bill Rodgers, Dave McGillivray, many other running greats and tips from nutritionists, coaches and injury prevention specialists.

Tomorrow morning, Team McManus will head out to Heartbreak Hill with #morecowbell, and gatorade, water, swedish fish and Rachel's sign to cheer her on to her 26.2 finish.

We will stay connected via Facebook with our runner friends, shop on line at the Expo and savor the 12 days of the Virtual Boston Marathon Experience. We are Boston Strong!

To be inspired by my journey from a wheelchair 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.

Good luck to all the runners! As Meb said, "Run to win. That doesn't mean being in first place but in getting the best out of yourself."

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary

Countdown to the Virtual Boston Marathon Experience

On Sunday March 8th, after a wildly successful weekend at the Hyannis Marathon Weekend, Team McManus hosted a water stop at the corner of Center Street and Commonwealth Avenue for L Street Running Club. We invited other runners who were running through for what would be one of their last long training runs for the season to help themselves to refreshment. The excitement was palpable as runners were eagerly anticipating Boston's rite of Spring scheduled for April 20, 2020. It would have been the 11th anniversary of our 2009 Boston Marathon run on April 20, 2009. I was eagerly anticipating this year's race weekend to cheer on my runner friends and to be a part of this year's Expo. I was invited to be a part of the panel Whole Life Running/Late Life Running that was scheduled for 10am on Sunday April 19th.

Five days after our water stop where we reconnected with our friends who are like family, the announcement was made that the Boston Marathon would be postponed until September 14th. Runners and spectators' hearts and souls felt deflated but a glimmer of hope remained that the pandemic would subside and Boston would be able to run again. You could almost hear the collective groans of runners around the globe that the training season would be extended.

On May 28th the announcement was made that the Boston Marathon was cancelled. While it came as no surprise, there was anger, grief, disappointment and frustration.

The BAA decided to pivot and go with a Virtual Boston Marathon Experience.

I will admit that at first, I was so over the Boston Marathon for 2020. My heart went out to those who worked so hard to fund raise for their charities and there was not an option to parlay that work into an entry for 2021. There was even a question of what the Boston Marathon 2021 would look like given the current circumstances of the pandemic.

As I saw my friends taking a break and then building the miles for the Virtual Experience, my feelings began to shift.

I was in awe once again to see #bostonstrong take hold in the hearts and souls of runners. Last Saturday we experienced a somewhat subdued yet palpable excitement for the Virtual Experience on Heartbreak Hill.

The BAA has selected its Champion Ambassadors who have this to say about the upcoming Boston Marathon Virtual Experience:

“Having won my first Boston Marathon last year, I’m excited to join thousands of participants and cover 26.2 miles as part of the Boston Marathon Virtual Experience,” said Romanchuk. “The community spirit around the Boston Marathon is always strong, and that will stay true this year.”

“The Boston Marathon is a special race, with lots of history and meaningful moments,” said McFadden. “This year’s Boston Marathon Virtual Experience will be a new chapter in race history that I’m honored to be a part of as a Champion Ambassador.”

“The determination and strength of Boston Marathoners is unmatched, and it will definitely be on display around the world for this year’s Boston Marathon Virtual Experience,” said Linden. “While we may not be in Boston, we’re still united in spirit, and as a Champion Ambassador I’ll be supporting from start to finish.”

“Boston Marathoners are determined, and always finish Boston strong,” said Keflezighi. “Training for many months, they’re about to reach the finish of the Boston Marathon Virtual Experience, and as a Champion Ambassador I’m eager to celebrate their journey.”

Team McManus is going to be support crew for our dear friend Rachel Glazer on Saturday on Heartbreak Hill. Rachel is an event planner who is planning for her support crew with a sign and dropping off water and gatorade:


She is running once again for Childrens Hospital holding a very special little boy deep in her heart while she runs Miles for Miracles.

I am following the Race for Rehab Team on Facebook. While we won't be out on the course with our Find Your Strength T shirts on nor will we gather at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel to celebrate the runners and gather with other alumni, we will feel the excitement of the team running their 26.2 miles having raised funds to support Spaulding Rehab. We ran with them in Spirit for 2.62 miles on 4/20/2020 wearing our Race for Rehab jackets that still fit us after all those years. I dedicated my April 20th blog post to the runners who trained so hard and offered a recap of my Race for Rehab Team experience.

Conventures, Inc. has worked tirelessly to create a Boston Marathon Expo Virtual Experience. We convened our panel via Zoom and it will air twice during the Virtual Boston Marathon festivities September 4th-15th.

While the landscape of the Boston Marathon has shifted, the spirit of the Boston Marathon remains. The resilience of the running community remains Boston Strong as we count down to the Virtual Boston Marathon Experience.

My Channel 7 News Story capturing my Boston Marathon journey:


Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com to be inspired by how I became a part of the Boston Marathon experience.

My books are available on Amazon

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary