As a survivor of paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma, I developed my intellectual prowess in order to survive the horrors of my childhood and adolescence. My body was something I lugged around with me. After the diagnosis of a progressive neuromuscular disease in the guise of Post-Polio Syndrome, I realized that I was at a crossroads in my life at the age of 53.
I did not have a conscious thought about becoming a runner. Once I got still and asked for Divine Guidance about what direction I was to take in my life, poetry and running collided through the power of my pen, what I came to call my Divining rod for healing. The first poem I wrote, "Running the Race" foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run.
Although my mettle was tested daily as I endured violence and the effects of paralytic polio, I suffered in silence battling through the days and nights as best I could.
In running, my mettle was tested and I was embraced by a community of love and support as they cheered rather than jeered my efforts on the roads and in my life.
Two mettle testing moments that are forever imprinted on my heart and soul happened at the Marathon Sports 5 Miler in July of 2008 and in January 2017 at the Bermuda Half Marathon.
The Marathon Sports 5 miler was my first 5 mile road race. It was hot and an evening race; not a good combination for someone in the early phases of recovery from Post-Polio Syndrome. We were dead last and had no idea where we were going as darkness fell on the back roads of Weston neighborhoods. It was a hilly course and I wanted to quit as sweat and tears mingled together. Tom would not let me quit and encouraged me every step of the way.
He knew ... and he was right that if I quit that race I would never be able to go the distance for the Boston Marathon.
When we came onto the field, the Marathon Sports staff who knew my story beeped the horn on the sweep truck and cheered me as though I was the one who broke the tape.
At mile 10 in the 2017 Bermuda Half Marathon, I experienced serious cramping in my back and side. As we stopped along the way to stretch every which way I could think of, a lovely woman stopped asking if I was okay at mile 12. "Do you need anything? Water? Fuel?" We said I was just cramped up and I would be okay thanking her for her kindness. By the time I made it to mile 12, I could barely stand. I dumped water on my head and willed myself to keep on to the finish line. Tom suggested I put my arm around him so he could brace my hip and take some of the stress off of my body.
From the soon to be released, "Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":
As we moved slowly toward the finish line, the angel from mile 12 appeared.
"Come on. Put your arm around me. I'm going to help you."
She could tell I was stunned. "They did it for me when I cramped up in Chicago and Philadelphia actually. It's okay. This is what we do for each other."
With Tom and the earth angel from mile 12 flanking me on either side, I powered up Bermudiana Road and then down the final hill toward the finish line!
I kept saying thank you amidst the conversation we had to keep me distracted from what was happening in my body. I cried and shared my story. She reassured me that I would finish this race. She acknowledged my strength and my courage. She told us a bit about herself and her running comeback after a slipped disc. Tom and our earth angel kept me focused on my single minded goal: to cross that finish line.
"I'm going to step aside right before the finisher's chute so I'm not in your finish photo," this angel said to me.
I was never so happy to see a finish line in my life! As we planned and visualized so many times, Tom and I had hands held high (even though I was leaning to my left) with huge smiles on our faces. We celebrated that I ran my second consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon. It wasn't pretty but I got it done.
I could have sat behind my desk and rode out my tenure at the VA as an award winning social worker for 3 years when I was "eligible for retirement." I would have remained in the comfort zone of what I had done for over 25 years harnessing my intellectual prowess and my compassion for those who survived trauma and care for the elderly and their caregivers. Chances are I would have rode out that tenure in a wheelchair as was the predictable course for someone who survived childhood paralytic polio.
And yet I couldn't do that; to my veterans and their families or to myself.
It's been quite the 12 year healing odyssey with many many more years to come. My mettle will continue to be tested as I get older and challenge myself on the roads and in my life. I was born to run and born to live a full vibrant life and that is exactly what I plan to do for however long I am blessed to be in my physical body.
From "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life" available on Amazon
"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." -Marcus Aurelius
Born to Run
Born free
born to run
run free
unencumbered untethered unshackled
pouring energy into my running form
liquid gold once fired in the crucible
now my treasure born of my Spirit molded with alchemy
refining
my precious treasure once buried
the map safely tucked away
X marks the spot
a new starting line.
Poised and ready
to go the distance
all out without hesitation
all is healed at last
my pace swift
Mercury and Hermes pace me on winged feet
I AM
born to run
running free
joyfully crossing the finish line with ease.
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary
My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.
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:
Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
“The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance tapping into the powerful connection she experienced to the Divine from an early age. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running. Her story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog, discovering the meaning of different ability and experiencing the stunning view from the back of the pack of a race. You will have the privilege of bearing witness to how Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her. The sport of running provides the backdrop for her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary that tested her mettle while forging friendships to last a lifetime. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life.
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