My Running Chronicles: I am a runner!

I am a runner. I am a runner because I say I'm a runner. I'm an endurance runner and I go the distance on the roads and in my life. When things get tough, I get tougher. I love running in perfect weather conditions. But it's great to run when the elements are challenging because I get to show how much of a badass I really am.

I am a runner. I was told I shouldn't run; that running is bad for me. Running is my medicine and my therapy. I am a runner who feels powerful when I run. I am a runner who says what is best for my mind, body and soul. Running heals!

I am a runner transformed by each run.



I learn something new about myself in each run. I am a runner who loves a solo run, alone with my thoughts but never alone surrounded by the glory of nature.

I am a runner who runs with the pack, my village, my tribe where we honor each other and practice the runner's code of no runner left behind. I am a runner who finds strength and courage on the other side of fear.



I am a runner who stands at the bottom of hills feeling a flutter in my soul telling myself oh yes you can. I am a runner who stands at the top of hills with sweat pouring off of me, smiling, feeling triumphant.

I am a runner, an unlikely runner, the likes of Wilma Rudolph who was also an unlikely runner after contracting paralytic polio.



In my mind's eye I am an Olympic Champion for running over the hurdles placed before me in my marathon of my life and never giving up no matter how tough the challenge.

I am a runner. I go the distance. I am a runner...Loving life one mile at a time. I am a runner - Happy and free!



What matters most is how I see myself ... I am a runner ... like a boss!


Be blessed! Journey well! To all good things...

My latest book, "Journey Well" is now available on Amazon along with all of my inspirational books. 50% of book proceeds are donated to the Massachusetts Resiliency Center, a safe, welcoming space for survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing to heal and stay in touch with one another; a virtual hub for a widely dispersed community whose lives have been impacted by the tragic events of April 15th and the events that followed.

When terror struck the world's oldest and most beloved marathon on April 15, 2013, it was a defining moment in Mary McManus’ life and the lives of all those in Boston and around the world. It was her wake up call to return to the sport and community that have been medicine and a lifeline for her throughout her marathon of healing the late effects of paralytic polio and experiencing 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent. Mary captures the essence of Boston Strong through her experience of the 2014 Boston Marathon and as she profiles the people who are Boston Stronger. Through her blog posts, poems and journal entries woven together with excerpts from her memoir, “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility,” you will experience, through one woman’s journey of transformation and healing, that no matter what happens to us, we can all learn to journey well.