Team McManus had so much to celebrate once we finally crossed the finish line of the Bermuda Half Marathon on Sunday.
Tom ran a 7:59 mile in the Front Street Mile. It was a joy to be a part of the crowd experiencing the excitement of the kickoff race of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge.
Here's Tom before the race:
With his bling:
The video of him finishing strong:
On Saturday, it was time for Tom to make on the mighty hills of Bermuda. Here's Tom getting himself psyched up to take on the challenge:
This was my view while I waited for our returning runners:
I used to lament the fact that I couldn't keep pace with the pack and have to carefully choose what races I participate in. During one of my meditations in Bermuda I had the epiphany that I was not trailing behind -- I was a trailblazer having the courage to defy what the medical establishment was telling me about Post-Polio Syndrome, "If you use it you will lose it."
Tom's race photo with the eye of the tiger:
I know he takes me out on every run with him!
All hail the conquering hero:
What made the 10K incredibly special was that Tom helped to get our friend Shawn Whalen to the finish line. He is undergoing total knee replacement surgery today. You can see from these photos that he was struggling but there's nothing like the strength of another runner to help get us to the finish line:
As the above quote says, "The celebration of success overshadows the challenges that were encountered along the way!"
One of the staff from The Rosedon Hotel took these photos that underscore the challenge I experienced coming into the final miles along with the beauty and grace of Jamie-Lee Wright, islandgirl and the angel at mile 12. For the full race report, follow this link:
After crossing that finish line and emerging triumphant from the medical tent
it was time to get our party on.
We had brunch at the Pickled Onion where Jamie-Lee and The Weekenders (the Bermudian running club she is a part of) were celebrating. Jamie-Lee posted her celebration drink on Facebook with this celebratory post "3 events, 3 days, 3 PBs and a cheeky drink or 3 post race.... to celebrate the completion of the Bermuda Triangle Challenge (International Race weekend) 🍾
Didn't make 6,6,6 - I made 6,6,10 (referencing how many minutes she PR'ed by) and broke the two hour mark - BOOM!! 🍾
Taking off 17 mins for these 20 miles, not too shabby":
After Tom and I refueled with eggs, toast, sparkling water and OJ, we walked .... slowly ... back to the hotel. We were going to go for a recovery swim but opted for a nap. I took a long hot shower and then I finished with an ice cold flush. We had a hand held shower in our room which made it easy for me to focus on my back and legs.
Time to head over to the Southampton Princess or South P as the locals call it for the post race weekend celebration!
There was music and dancing...
hanging with running legends, Geoff Smith, Bart Yasso, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Steve Jones, bumping into old friends and making new friends, celebrating with a couple we met from Sweden who were staying at The Rosedon and celebrating everyone's successful races:
When we got back to the Hotel, I curled up with a great book, Brotherhood by Deepak and Sanjiv Chopra and had the best sleep.
We had one more day of our Bermuda Marathon Weekend Adventure .... to be continued ...
To your health and wellness!
~Mary
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