At the starting line of the 2016 Hyannis Marathon Weekend, I asked Bill Rodgers, how is it that with baseball or football fans can't get anywhere near the big names in the sport but here we are standing together. At the traditional pre-race pasta dinner for Hyannis, runners are able to receive expert advice and support from the best of the best. "Why is that?" I pondered with Bill who has been a great supporter of mine in my running career. "That's why we are the greatest sport," Bill replied.
I came to the sport of running late in my life. How did I ever live without running being a part of my life?
Before I wrote the poem, "Running the Race" after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would ever run or be an athlete of any kind. I was a stranger to athletics as a survivor of paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma. My mind, body and soul were shattered by disease and violence BUT certainly not beyond repair.
Running became my medicine, my therapy, and I became a part of a community that was a marked contrast to the life I knew as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma at the hands of family members. Rather than being taunted, teased and jeered, I was cheered on as I trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.
This weekend is a great weekend for racing. I have friends competing in 5K's, 10K's, marathons, triathlons and Ironman. The World Triathlon Series is happening in Bermuda and The Royal Gazette streamed the race live. What a thrill to watch the race going through neighborhoods familiar to me having run 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons and then to see hometown favorite and elite athlete Flora Duffy execute a flawless race. Three Norwegians who were not favored to win swept the medals in the Men's Elite competition.
My Bermudian friend, Jamie-Lee Wright who was my earth angel at mile 12 in 2017 and I chatted via Facebook and the excitement intensified as she told me she was a course marshall. She sent a photo of Flora going by her on the bike.
Tomorrow I will spectate Tom running the James Joyce Rambler.
Today, Tom and I went out for a 5K.
We had outstanding weather conditions. I was able to wear short sleeves and capris for the first time in a very long time. It was my best time in weeks with negative splits between miles 2 and 3. I felt well as my hip and groin continue to recover from having pushed myself to the edge running 3 Bermuda Half Marathons in as many years.
I don't know what I did before running was a part of my life. It's more than a sport and it is the greatest sport. It is community, it is health and wellness, it is competition, trials and triumphs, tribulations and comebacks and it is a way of life as Joan Benoit Samuelson eloquently stated:
Today was a day to celebrate my ten years of running and the gift of being part of the greatest sport.
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 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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