Every finish line is a starting line

Mary McManus, you just PR'ed the 2014 Tufts 10K..what are you going to do now?



I'm going to Cape Cod to spectate the Cape Cod Marathon, Half Marathon and Relay....

and I have an amazing opportunity to heal as I move forward from my running comeback. Six races since June. Two PR's. My first trail race.

I had all sorts of plans lined up for after I crossed the finish line of Tufts. We planned training runs in Andover with the Merrimack Valley Striders to get ready for the Feaster Five and then I signed us up for the Back the Track Race and Walk with Shalene Flanagan for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. In all fairness I was planning to do the walk not the race but still...

Whoa girl!



I need to be patient with my healing process and allow nature to set my pace.

I could feel how my neuromuscular system was at its limit and needs time to integrate all that I have done before taking on any more challenges. I need to pace myself and let nature take its course so that I can heal, build strength and find ease in my body.

A wonderful opportunity presented itself to me to run the Boston Volvo Village 5K Road Race on Thanksgiving morning for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society New England Chapter. I can train right here in Brighton and fund raise for a cause near and dear to my heart.


We will opt out of the Shalene Flanagan event the Saturday after Thanksgiving and instead I will go for my weekly massage treatment to help my recovery after the Boston Volvo Village 5K race.

I'm delighted to work on pacing at my 5K distance. After the Boston Volvo Village race I will keep a base distance of 5 miles alternating 5K with 5 mile runs and continue to work on speed.

In addition to running, I am on a mission to heal the late effects of paralytic polio and violence. I feel delighted that I trained for and crossed the finish line of the Tufts 10K. I crossed the finish line of my running come back. It's a new starting line as I enter a new phase of my healing journey honoring and accepting limits and aware of infinite possibilities as I adopt the pace of nature.



The first 7 years of my healing odyssey are chronicled in Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility available on Amazon. I donate 50% of royalty payments to The One Fund Boston to help survivors and their families who were affected by the tragic events of 4/15/13.



I'm working on my 2nd book, "Journey Well," due out later this year: