February 2009 - Team McManus had already run longer than 13.1 miles but the Hyannis Half Marathon would be our first opportunity to be a part of a race at the Half Marathon distance.
I was so nervous about the race! I had the Corrib Pub Run 5K, the Marathon Sports 5 Miler and the Tufts 10K in 2008 but I never raced a half marathon before.
I emailed the Race Director Paul Collyer, told him my story about going from a wheelchair and a leg brace after being diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards to the 2009 Boston Marathon. He reassured me that there was no problem with a time requirement since the Half Marathoners and Marathoners start and finish in the same place.
I introduced myself to him at the pre-race pasta dinner and he said what a pleasure it was to meet me. It was, to quote Casablanca, the start of a beautiful friendship!
Ruth Anne had some kind of a stomach bug and didn't join us at the pre-race pasta dinner. She was a doubtful starter but wanted to make the trip with us.
At the pre-race pasta dinner I was in awe to meet Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers. I told them my story and they were so incredibly supportive of my undertaking of the 2009 Boston Marathon.
While waiting in line to get our posters signed, I struck up a conversation with another runner who was in awe of my story. In addition to experiencing paralytic polio as a child, I endured 9 years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse at the hands of family members. I shared with him how I discovered the redemptive power of running. He told me that I had to come to his running club to speak! This was the introduction to my beautiful running village and friendships through the years with both the Merrimack Valley Striders and L Street Running Clubs.
When we woke up the next morning Ruth Anne said she was going to run the race! We didn't think to take a selfie (did they even do selfies back in the day?) or any photos along the way. We had a race plan from our personal trainer and our Coach but when the rain turned to freezing rain and sleet we forgot all about hydration and fueling.
By the time we returned to the ballroom I was shivering and a bit hypothermic but it didn't matter. I had my first race medal
and a blessing from a Gold Medal Olympian, Frank Shorter. Despite the thousands of runners in the ballroom, we found each other. He put both of his hands on the sides of my arms as my body shivered. He looked deep into my eyes and said, "I have no doubt that you are going to finish the Boston Marathon." He told me to get some hot soup and hydrate and then shower.
A reporter was next to me and despite feeling queasy and shivering I wanted to give him my story. What a thrill to see my name in print in the Cape Cod Times!
As soon as I got upstairs I hurled while giving thanks for what we had just done.
What an incredible sense of accomplishment!
When we returned to Hyannis the following year, I had Frank and Bill sign my bib:
Tomorrow Team McManus will deposit another 8.5 miles in the Bank of Bermuda on the road to the Bermuda Half Marathon. It will be a thrill to return to Bermuda as Team McManus and run our first half marathon race since Hyannis in 2009!
Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
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