Runners World Classic Weekend - The Celebrity Mile - A Day Filled with Magic

A dear friend and member of my running family, Kelly told me about the Runners World Classic Weekend happening this weekend. I knew that life was just a little too hectic to fit one more thing in so I told her I'd help spread the word but there was no way I could see us getting up there for the event. Of course Kelly totally understood. And then I "just happened" to see Tom Licciardello's Facebook post putting out the call for volunteers for the Runners World Classic Weekend. How could we say no to our running family....We looked over the volunteer jobs and I thought volunteering for the Celebrity Mile might be a good spot for us. At the time I did not know that Tom's wife Lyn would be our Team Leader or the magic that was going to happen once we arrived on the Merrimack College Campus.

Our first stop was at the Student Center to pick up our volunteer t shirts. We walked into the Expo and were greeted by Anthony Raynor's warm smile and green eyes. We first met Anthony at the Finish at the 50 Expo last year. I was heart broken that they weren't at this year's Finish at the 50 Expo thinking I would have to wait until January to be reunited with the Race Director for the Bermuda Marathon Weekend. Warm hugs and smiles all around and we were introduced to Elizabeth founder of a new company, "Runaway Bermuda." We chatted. I was able to get my Bermuda Marathon Weekend Postcard for my refrigerator to replace our 2016 card, a pink pen and goosebumps realizing that once again I am going to train for the Bermuda Half Marathon.



As we walked toward the Celebrity Mile Tent we had to pass through "Charity Village." Dana Ewan Seigel was standing underneath the "Voices of Hope" tent! We met Dana through our dear friend Jordan Rich a few years ago watching them in a performance of "Love Letters" to benefit "Voices of Hope" that benefits Mass General Hospital Cancer Center.



We went to the Celebrity Mile Tent and reunited with our Strider family. There was this cool lobster ice sculpture:


and everyone worked together as a team to get the tent ready to greet our guests.



Once the set up was complete and we were waiting for the arrival of the celebrities, I asked if anyone had seen our dear friends the DiLorenzos. Tom suggested I check her posts on Facebook to see where she might be. Sure enough she was posting Live from the Finish Line. It was so great to be reunited with her and to see the boys.


Tom waited to see if he could catch a glimpse of Paul finishing the 10K.



It's always a special day when Geoffrey Smith is in the house and we took this fun selfie:


We had so much fun being able to greet the celebrities, get their swag bags, t shirts and bibs and snap a few photos. Boston Police Commissioner Bill Evans was incredibly generous with his time and kept thanking us for volunteering. I was honored and humbled to meet Bill Richard who also kept thanking us for all we did today. You could see how much he has healed and how proud he was to have a solid representation of Team MR8 at the event. I got goosebumps when I saw them gathered before the Celebrity Mile and the lengthy applause Bill received during the introduction. It's always a joy when I get to see Dave McGillvray who has inspired my life and running in so many ways.



Jeff Bauman arrived along with Adriane Haslet-Davis, Carlos and Mel. The media surrounded them and the energy was electric as Jeff was about to participate in his first road race since 4/15/13 walking his first mile. I was blessed and honored to talk with him before he ventured out on his challenge. We had met on the first anniversary of 4/15 at his book signing where I shared my journey with him and he was moved to tears to hear what is possible and then again on the 2nd anniversary of 4/15 as I was just in the beginning of my running comeback. I was thrilled to let him know I'd run the Bermuda Half Marathon in January.



Our dear friend David Brown was part of the Celebrity Mile along with friends we've met along the many miles on the road of life -- Amby Burfoot, Steve Cooper, Becca Pizzi and John Young just to name a few. Here are the celebrities gathered before the mile run:


After we saw the celebrities run the first loop, we headed toward the finish line and cheered on the celebrities. The crowd went wild as Jeff Bauman with Carlos in a wheelchair recovering from foot surgery and Melida came toward the finish line. Dave McGillvray had us clear a path saying, "He has one more lap to go," and Jeff echoed, "I have one more lap to go."

Dave encouraged the celebrities and volunteers to walk the 2nd lap with Jeff. Talk about magic!

As we neared the finish line, Tom captured this video of Jeff completing his first mile walk:



Three years ago Carlos pushed Jeff in a wheelchair and saved his life. Today Jeff pushed Carlos and as Dave McGillvray said, "It could not have been scripted better."

The whole day could not have been scripted better as we walked as a Boston Strong community celebrating healing, resilience, strength; as a community that gives back through running and weaves a tapestry of love that only gets stronger with greater resolve in the face of terrorist actions. As the brilliant July sun shined brightly, we as a community shined our light:



It was a day of love, of joy, of magic and one truly orchestrated by the Divine.

To your health and wellness,
Mary

Thankful Thursday: A Tale of My Healer

As I'm writing my next book, "Going the Distance: Healing Trauma through the Power of Positive Touch (And Running) I have this wonderful opportunity to reflect on my healing journey these past almost 10 years. What was the difference? What was the game changer for me once I met Dr. Ryan Means?

One of the most striking things about Dr. Ryan is his passion for movement and his dedication to helping people experience comfort, ease and joy in their bodies. Ryan was teaching Boot Camp in addition to his having his private chiropractic practice and was working one on one doing personal training. I loved the stories he shared with me about his clients achieving improved functioning and saw the twinkle in his brilliant blue eyes as he shared his excitement about the outcomes of his work both as a trainer and a chiropractic physician.

He transferred to me a sense of confidence, strength and joy in my body and Being and gave me exercises that would help me to heal the effects of paralytic polio and violence. He let me know in no uncertain terms that I deserved to heal, that I can and would heal and that I should set goals not limits.

Dr. Ryan is the first healer I encountered in the past 10 years who truly loved being in his body and embodied and embraced what it means to experience health, wholeness and wellness, and to help people attain the quality of life they want and deserve.

He introduced me to the movie "What the bleep do we know..." and the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza!

Dr. Ryan treats the body boldly, with confidence, and incredible skill, yet as a humble servant of the Divine allowing and facilitating the body to return to its natural state of well being.

My healing and transformation continue and I am unleashing my body's natural capacity to heal from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma with deepest gratitude to Dr. Ryan and all he has taught me!

To your health and wellness!
Mary

Going the Distance: #tbt #thankfulthursday Do I belong here? Yes I do because "It's a Fantastic Sport!"

My friend Kevin Yetman posted his race report for Loon Mountain on Facebook this morning and he posed the question, "Do I belong running this race?' He also answers the question in his race report acknowledging how amazing it is to be part of a sport where whatever your pace may be, champions regale our participation in the sport.

My first 5 mile road race was the Marathon Sports 5 Miler. It was sheer will and determination and Tom not letting me quit that got me through that hot evening race where I couldn't tell where tears ended and sweat began. I remember asking and telling myself that I didn't belong there and what was I thinking when I said that I was going to run the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Once I let go of all the memories of "Easy Out Alper" and the taunting and teasing I experienced in gym class being a survivor of paralytic polio, I found myself embraced with open arms by the running community.

In February of 2014, at the Hyannis Race Weekend pasta dinner, I was blessed to chat with Bill Rodgers and have him sign my copy of his book, "Marathon Man." He signed my book with, "We are lifetime runners. Let's run forever!" Bill Rodgers

As Tom took our photo, he gently placed his hand on my back and said to me, "Wow. Boston. You've got that mental toughness you know. You are one strong woman..."



Dick Beardsley was the guest speaker along with Boston Billy that year.



Dick talked briefly about the day he had his duel in the sun with Alberto Salazar and his relationship with Bill Rodgers. He focused on the outpouring of emotional and financial support he received after a near fatal farm accident followed by his battle with addiction to prescription pain killers. Dick has a beautiful, raw heart and yes, real runners and men do cry! And laugh, and regale stories of races of days gone by.

Dick said that running is a fantastic sport and that many of the stories we runners tell have nothing to do with our races on the road but of the bonds that we as a running community share.

I've been blessed to meet and be embraced by some of the greats in the running community, Frank Shorter, Geoffrey Smith, Jacqueline Hansen, Greg Meyer, Jack Fultz, Dave McGillvray along with Boston Billy and Dick Beardsley. My friends Reno and Susan Stirrat are Masters Champion and cheer me on at my pace and the distances I choose celebrating the miracle of me being able to run.

In December of 2014, when an MRI showed a really messed up left knee and I was told by the physiatrist, PT's and a previous massage therapist that I should not, could not and would not run again and if I did it would be for only a 5K or maybe a 5 miler at most, I was, at first devastated. And then I got pissed and I asked the Universe for help. I had not come that far on my healing journey to only go that far. Dr. Ryan J. Means, a healer chiropractor came into my life and helped me to set goals not limits and go the distance once again on the roads and in my life.

On this throwback Thursday and thankful Thursday I can unequivocally answer the question in the affirmative of whether or not I belong in I the running community. It is after all a most fantastic sport!

To your health and wellness!
Mary

Going the Distance: Be a Hill Seeker!

Next Sunday Tom and I return to Gillette Stadium to race the Finish at the 50 5K.

What a difference a year makes!

Last year I was sending emails to Race Director Dave McGillvray scared that I would be left in the dust to get lost in Gillette Stadium.

Today Tom and I went out for our last strong run before the race. I'll strength train tomorrow, cross train in the pool at Wave Health on Monday, do cross training on the Arc Trainer and Bike on Tuesday rest on Wednesday and Thursday and go for a shake out run on Friday. Saturday is a rest day and Sunday we take once again to the ramps at Gillette Stadium to be a hill seeker.

Today's run was hot and hilly as we ran up what we affectionately call "Billy's Hill" by Boston College referring to Bill Rodgers. That hill was part of the Bill Rodgers 5K Run/Walk for Prostate Cancer when I nailed a PR:


I pushed hard knowing that I was training my legs for those pesky ramps at Gillette. It's an incredible feeling to experience the sensation of strength surging through my legs and also feeling the fatigue at the end of a hard run.



The momentum I continue to experience in my running and in my life is a blessing and a gift.

One week from tomorrow we will be a hill seeker because well quite frankly life happens on the hills.

To your health and wellness!
Mary

Going the Distance:! On Intention, Affirmations and Outcomes

It all began with Dr. Ryan J. Means, a doctor of chiropractic medicine as we stood face to face in January of 2015. One would think it was a random meeting until he reached out to me with a Facebook message asking if we could meet for coffee so he could learn more about my healing journey. Meeting Ryan changed my life forever setting me on a course of health and wellness and quantum healing! We poured over Dr. Joe Dispenza's "You Are the Placebo" book together. I read Candace Pert's book, "Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d" at Ryan's suggestion and watched, "What the bleep do we know." As we sat having lunch the other day while he was on vacation from his practice in China, we reminisced about the work we had done together. He opened up my body with adjustments, intention and affirmations for healing and reminded me that I AM worthy of healing even though my childhood training led me to believe otherwise.

As I trained for the Bermuda Half Marathon last year, training in a way I never had before and running more miles than I had since I trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon, I set my intention to go the distance. I wrote these affirmations.

August 21, 2015
I run unencumbered swift with ease and free.
I allow healing of everything that went before and to stimulate my body's natural capacity to heal
I live in a new mind body living only in the present moment.
My body is healthy, whole, and strong, and I am stronger in the places where they tried to break me.
I allow my beautiful pure chi to flow freely and easily.
I may remember things from the past to integrate them into my consciousness; I only believe truth, love, light, and that I am a whole healthy vibrant woman and runner.
I am grateful for this opportunity to run long and run strong again.
I trust in my body's ability to meet the challenge of every experience that I present to it.
I run with courage, strength, fierceness, and determination.
There is going to be soreness and new sensations as I train in a way I've never trained before. I trust in my body's ability to recover from long runs, speed work, hills, and strength training workouts with ease.
I am so happy and grateful that Tom and Dr. Ryan are my partners on and off the roads.
I am so happy and grateful for the abundance of health and healing that is now mine to claim.
I love myself and consider only those thoughts that are going to propel me toward the finish line.
I am strong and I am determined and I am healthy and I am protected by divine love and angels and I am so grateful for their presence in my life.
I allow thoughts and fears to come and go and I greet them with kindness and compassion.
I am so happy and grateful for the amazing support of my running community and my village. And I know with their love, with their cheers, and with their support, Team McManus is going the distance.
I fall in love with the process and the results will come--a quote from Dr. Joe Dispenza

The universe has orchestrated everything that I need to be who I am truly meant to be which is a long distance runner.
Everything is healed. Everything is rewired.
I see myself through the eyes of the person I've become. A quote from What the bleep do we know!
I am filled with life and vibrancy and joy and gratitude and happiness so much happiness to be living this beautiful life that I live.
I grieve the past and I feel the sadness for what happened to me and then I feel a wellspring of joy bubbling up from deep within me knowing that spirit, Light, and love always win.

I started following Geoffrey Smith, two time Boston Marathon Champion and Race Director extraordinaire. He holds the record for the Bermuda Marathon Weekend 10K and he would #runhappy - the hashtag for the Bermuda Marathon Weekend. I added this to my list of affirmations:

Running successfully is all about adopting  a clear plan that includes easy, hard, and rest days. They are all important. Listen to your body. #RunHappy Geoff Smith

And so it came to pass that I successfully ran the Bermuda Half Marathon in January of this year. I went on to run the Hyannis 10K in February and then took a racing hiatus while I trained through my off season. A huge shout out of gratitude to Jack Fultz, Boston Marathon Champion who suggested I cross train on the Arc Trainer which, as good fortune would have it, is available at Wave Health and Fitness.

And as I affirmed almost a year ago - the Universe has orchestrated everything I need as go the distance and reclaim life enjoying training, momentum, races, a sense of health and wellness healing the effects of paralytic polio and trauma. Next up the Finish at the 50 Race and then I begin training for the Bermuda Half Marathon all over again! Life.is.good.

To your health and wellness!
Mary

A Reunion with Dr. Ryan - Simply the Best

We were at the book release party for "Journey Well." Most people had left to watch the Patriots in the playoffs. I found myself looking deep into the blue eyes of Ryan J Means, DC.



He had been practicing at Sollievo Massage and Bodywork but was a very well kept secret there despite my sharing with the massage therapist I was working with at the time about left knee pain. When our hearts are open and intention for healing is clear (and boy did it take me awhile to believe that I was worthy of healing) the Universe sets before us all that we need.

And so I was enthralled listening to Dr. Ryan's passion about what chiropractic medicine can do beyond just cracking the spine. He reached out to me on Facebook and asked if we could have coffee. He was intrigued by my healing journey.

When we met for coffee I felt this wonderful and magical connection with him. I interviewed him for a feature on my blog to let others know that chiropractic care is not just for the spine. Little did I know that meeting Ryan for coffee would change my life forever!

After that meeting I decided that I wanted to experience chiropractic care. Things were not going so well with my massage therapist. I had fired my physical therapist and ditched the physiatrist who had taken excellent care of me when I was first diagnosed with post polio syndrome but no longer served me.

His philosophy of healing:
Don't let pain or fear of pain slow you down ~Dr. Ryan

The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease. " ~ Thomas A. Edison

Dr. Ryan Means transforms human potential into power and performance to maximize health.

He met Dr. Candace Pert while he was in training for chiropractic medicine. She was one of the teachers in What the bleep do we know and wrote the book, "Everything you need to know to feel Go(o)d." And turned me onto the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza.

He cared for me in a way I'd never been cared for by any other physician, therapist or body worker. His kindness, compassion, warmth, caring, deep intention to help me heal and get back to running reminded me mind, body and soul about the intention I set to heal my life shortly after I was diagnosed with post polio syndrome and that I would not stop until I reclaimed my life.

I remember one session when he said to me, "I have no one scheduled after you and you are going to get the royal treatment today." He did adjustments, worked on my feet, taped my leg and went over exercises that were going to help me get stronger and healthier reclaiming my wellness.



We decided that even though the MRI showed my left gastroc muscle had atrophied due to polio, we could grow a new one and so he used KT tape to help me stimulate the growth for a new gastroc muscle:


We've had so many Facebook chats throughout these past 10 months and he has been with me every step of the way as he was able to witness the blossoming of the seeds he planted as I trained for the Bermuda Half Marathon. He cheered me on every step of the way and we experienced cosmic moments together as though no distance separated us.

And now, I am 5 sleeps away from reuniting with Ryan. We will meet at the Seaport Hotel where I first learned he was leaving for China.

Dr. Ryan J. Means - a man who blesses every life he touches. A man whose birthday is one week from today and boy talk about an angel falling to Earth to bring love, light, healing and joy wherever he goes.

I am so excited for my reunion with Dr. Ryan on Monday...He got me back on my healing path and co created a miracle of healing in my life reminding me of my power to heal. He is and will always be simply the best.

To your health and wellness!
Mary

Blogger Spotlight: Michelle Kennis and her NYC Marathon Run for Tuesday's Children

On November 6, 2016, Michelle Kennis


will be toeing the line of the New York City Marathon. She has a dream of running the 6 World Major Marathons. She has run Boston and Chicago and tried to enter New York City through the lottery system. Rather than wait to get in via the lottery, Michelle applied to 3 charities, all of whom said yes. In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks and Sandy Hook as well as her own traumatic experience in Boston on 4/15/13, Michelle chose Tuesday's Children, a non profit established after 9/11 to care for communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss. From their website, "In partnership with experts from around the world and in collaboration with renowned facilitators and mental health professionals, Tuesday’s Children serves communities altered by an act of violence." They are an organization with an almost 15 year track record of helping communities and individuals heal in the wake of violence and are passionate and dedicated to addressing the needs for long term healing using ongoing program development and research to meet the long term community and individual needs of those affected by traumatic events.

From Michelle's fund raising page:

I am very excited to announce that I will be running the 2016 TCS NYC Marathon on November 6th! I have made the choice to raise funds for a charity whose mission is near and dear to my heart. I am running for Tuesday's Children which was formed in the aftermath of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Tuesday's Children is a response and recovery organization that supports youth, families, and communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss.

After running my first marathon in Boston 2013 and not being able to finish due to acts of terror, it is my mission to help those who are impacted with traumatic events. I saw first hand how this event impacted so many lives including those who saw the raw scenes, those who were running, those who were watching, those tracking a runner and everyone worldwide. My family needed resources after what they went through while waiting for me at the finish line and Tuesday's Children is an organization that offers such vital services.

Please consider helping me on my mission of raising funds and awareness of this organization that has helped those cope with the unimaginable and unified those from all walks of life to help support one another. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Spread the love, peace and support.

As Michelle explained to me when we met to talk about her passion to fund raise for Tuesday's Children, in addition to providing services to those impacted by traumatic events including emergency responders, they work to diminish violence and hate through prevention programs that build bridges of understanding and promote healing rather than feelings of estrangement and anger which can so often happen in the wake of a terrorist act.

Michelle has run several marathons and she will go the 26.2 distance through the 5 New York City boroughs on November 6th. The weather won't matter to her as she proved when she ran the 2015 Boston Marathon through cold rain and wind:



And she will go the distance to raise money for Tuesday's Children but she can't go it alone. She needs your help!

Please donate whatever you can to support Michelle's New York City Marathon run on 11/6 by following this link to her donation page.

To your health and wellness,
Mary