While writing "The Adventures of Runnergirl1953", I realized that it's my 10th anniversary of running; a wonderful time to pause (especially since I am recovering from my 3rd consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon) and reflect on all that the sport of running has brought into my life.
I was a stranger to athletics. I contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 followed by enduring years of violence at the hands of family members. In order to survive the trauma, I had to dissociate from my body. While I needed to sacrifice my mind/body connection in order to survive, I paid a steep price and was diagnosed 11 years ago with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. Hearing that I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair was a wake up call to make serious changes in my life.
I had never run a day in my life nor did I ever think that I would become a runner until, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance in February of 2006. The poem, "Running the Race," flowed out of me.
I was confused at first about why I was writing a poem about Running the Race especially this stanza:
Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.
Poetry flowed out of me at warped speed and I imagined myself feeling whole, healed, free, dancing in the rain and running unencumbered.
Yet I still sat in a leg brace, using a cane, and at times, a wheelchair for mobility.
After being discharged from Spaulding Rehab's Outpatient care and hiring a personal trainer, I set the goal to run the 2009 Boston Marathon. Crazy huh?
I started with absolutely no running base and nothing to draw from in my muscle memory so I watched Forrest Gump:
Such powerful imagery for me to see the leg braces breaking away. I had been in a full metal leg brace on my left leg for 3 years after contracting polio.
When I told my trainer that I had one more goal at my 6 month fitness evaluation, having improved in every area of the assessment - a miracle in and of itself - she could have told me I was crazy to have such a lofty dream.
Instead she sent me to Marathon Sports Brookline to trade in my polio shoes with a toe up leg brace for my first ever pair off running shoes.
I went from 30 seconds of running in March of 2008 to being able to cross the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon!
Along the way we've met running greats:
and run Bermuda - 3 times
We've collected a lot of bling:
and made incredible friendships through the years...
One of our treasured friendships is with Ken and Nell Posmer, the creators of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.
We will be helping them out at this year's Boston Marathon Expo - Booth 758!
I've collected cherished memories, and developed treasured friendships, pushed myself harder and overcome many obstacles and injuries going the distance in ways I never imagined I could as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma.
It's been a glorious ten years of blood, sweat and tears
joyous triumphs of starting lines and finish lines.
I am so blessed and grateful for what the sport of running has given to me and what I have given to the sport of running.
I can't wait to see what the next 10 years will bring!
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours,
Mary
Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc. Be sure to visit us at Booth 758 during Boston Marathon Weekend.
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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