What is Global Running Day?
Global Running Day is a worldwide celebration of running that encourages everyone to get moving. It doesn’t matter how fast you run or how far you go—what’s important is that you take part, and how you do it is up to you. Run a lap around your block, take your dog for a long walk, or call your friends for a pick-up game in the park. The important thing is that you have fun being active—and you inspire others to join you.
Wednesdays are usually a strength training day for Team McManus but since today is Global Running Day, I switched up our schedule to make sure we could get in a run today!
In addition to celebrating Global Running Day, I am celebrating 10 years of running.
I am in awe and deeply grateful for the miracle of healing in my life from the effects of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma. Eleven years ago I was told to be prepared to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I was blessed to discover the sport of running.
This morning Tom and I set the alarm, had our 20 minute meditation and after a banana and water headed out the front door to enjoy our 5K. Since it was Global Running Day, I decided to greet everyone with a "Good morning. Have a wonderful day." Moms and children were walking to the school on our street with that hump day heaviness especially given the unseasonably grey and cool weather for June. They smiled and their energy picked up after I greeted them.
There was a chill in the air but the fragrance of Spring with the dew on the trees and grass reminded me that summer is on its way.
It's quite remarkable to reflect on this healing journey from a leg brace and cane, and using a wheelchair at times for mobility (and having been told I would need to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair) to being able to go out my front door and go for a run. I've been blessed to meet so many incredible people along this journey and been blessed by people who have embraced my journey.
I have inspired others to get running and helped them to achieve goals they once thought impossible.
I overcame setbacks and injuries to be able to continue participating in the greatest sport. Running is a sport where every day runners can mingle and receive support from the running greats. It's a sport that includes every body regardless of age, pace, shape or size. It's a sport where strangers can instantly become friends. It's a sport where there can be fierce competition and fierce camaraderie. It's a sport where the runner's code of helping each other is more important than the time on the clock and a sport where no runner is left behind. It's a sport that celebrates triumphs and supports each other through tribulations on and off of the roads.
I've been a part of this sport for 10 years now. What a joy and delight to celebrate Global Running Day with a morning run with my bestie on and off the roads for over 40 years:
I hope all of you had as happy a Global Running Day as I did!
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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