Celebrating Ten Years of Running: When My Mettle Was Tested

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.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Thirty Years Ago Today!

December 5, 1988 I began my almost twenty year tenure as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The chief, Jim Blair, said he wanted to bring me on board because of my credentials but also because I was a mother of twins. He had twins and wanted to compare notes as I went through the various milestones with my twins. We dropped off our 18 month old twins at the Government Center Child Care Center and I walked into the 6th floor office at Court Street of the Visual Impairment Services Team Coordinator (VIST). It was a dream job for me that would enable me to use my training as a clinical social worker and my background in public relations and marketing to rebuild the program that would serve legally blind and visually impaired veterans. After almost a year of pouring my heart and soul into the program, building the roster of legally blind vets from 42 to over 600 and receiving a Blinded Veterans Association Certificate of Appreciation Award, Jim came to my door to tell me that I would not get my promotion. The old boy network reared its ugly head. The person in charge of VIST in West Haven Connecticut needed to come back to Boston and "they" gave him my job! The reason he had to leave West Haven? He was involved in many sexual harassment complaints.

I began looking for another job outside of the VA. Jim was incredibly apologetic and asked me what position I would like to move into/create for myself. We decided I'd become a member of the Primary Care Team. I worked with primarily geriatric veterans and their families and was an integral part of the Ex-POW team.

I was juggling motherhood and my career and I did not know the importance of self care.

In 1996 I began to experience twinges of not feeling well. Fatigue, chronic pain, occasional limping which I attributed to the residuals of childhood paralytic polio began to surface.

By 2004 the symptoms worsened to include numbness and tingling down my jaw and right arm, chronic fatigue, weakness, pain everywhere in my body, depression, anxiety (well duh who wouldn't feel depressed and anxious with these symptoms) and I felt as though my life was spiraling out of control. Even though I was an award winning social worker at the VA having received Social Worker of the Year, Employee of the Month and Certificate of Appreciation awards, and had a beautiful home and family life in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, I knew there was something seriously wrong happening to my body.

My primary care physician at the time insisted that it was all in my head and referred me to see a psychiatrist while dispensing samples of Paxil which I flushed down the toilet.

By the summer of 2006 I knew I had to take action. I asked for Divine Guidance and "google Post Polio" was the reply.

I kept up my caseload and tried to hide what was happening to me as best I could. Leading a double life was something I learned growing up in a violent dysfunctional household. I became high school valedictorian while fighting for my life every night and on the weekends at the hands of a psychotic grandmother.

In October of 2006 I had my first appointment at the Spaulding Rehab's International Rehab Center for Polio and Post Polio. By December the diagnosis of exclusion of Post-Polio Syndrome was given to me. I was told to prepare to spend the result of my life in a wheelchair and that if there were any hope of stopping the symptoms where they were that I needed to quit my full time job!

But I was only 3 years shy of when I 'could' retire and I had it all figured out how I was going to spend my retirement. I was going to get a little job in retail somewhere - like Bloomingdale's and meet friends for lunch and enjoy whatever time I had left on planet earth.

The Universe obviously had different plans for me.

Life as I had known it, along with my retirement plans, came to a screeching halt.

I was diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disease and told that the "normal" aging process was going to accelerate because of my history of paralytic polio. I needed to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.

In February of 2007, I got very still and asked once again for Divine guidance.

The answer that came in the dark, cold night of winter and the dark night of my mind, body and soul was a poem:
Running the Race
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.
Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.
Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

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.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

On May 25, 2007 I took a leap of faith leaving behind my beloved career as a VA social worker that had begun 30 years ago today.

That poem foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run and many many adventures as a runner.

I celebrate the anniversary of when I began a career that proudly served those who served. While the work was grueling at times, the rewards were great. I cherish the people I worked with and the veterans and their families who let me into their lives and hearts.

I celebrate my twelve years of healing and ten years of running with a full and grateful heart for how everything worked out. Sometimes we must be willing to give up the life we had planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.

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. 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 that tested her mettle while fueling 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. 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. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Books on the T: Feel the Heal

It's World Polio Day. It's a day to be grateful for how far the world has come in eradicating polio, a paralyzing and potentially fatal disease and the work that needs to be done because polio still threatens children in some parts of the world. The poliovirus invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. Despite having 5 vaccines, I contracted polio at the age of 5. My best friend's mother was not vaccinated and we were playing together the day before I dropped to the ground in kindergarten class. Her mother was stricken with polio (only a much worse case than I had) on the same day. I was blessed with an earth angel of a physical therapist and physiatrist but all the work we did together could not counter the abuse I endured at the hands of family members from the age of 8 until I was 17. I survived and recovered going on to have an award winning career at the VA; and then at the age of 53 it came to me a second time with the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006.

In February of 2007, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. I was told I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, adapt our beautiful Cape house or move to a ranch and if there was any hope of stabilizing the symptoms where they were (and they were not a pretty sight to behold) I needed to quit my full time award winning career as a VA social worker just 3 years shy of when I was "eligible" for retirement.

As I sat at my dining room table surrounded by print outs from the "new age" teachers, a most remarkable thing happened. I felt the urge to create and I felt gratitude flow through me!

I sat in a leg brace using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility and what did I write about?

Running the Race
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.
Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.
Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

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.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

It foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run and many many miles filled with smiles, grit and determination.

A spigot opened in my soul. Tragedy turned into triumph through the power of my pen harnessing my imagination as I visualized myself feeling healthy, whole, happy and free. I danced in the rain without my leg brace. I ran unencumbered with beautiful metaphors igniting healing inside of me. My heart opened with gratitude flooding my body with feel good chemicals that stimulated healing. As Dr. Joe Dispenza (and many luminaries in the field of mind/body connection) said, "The subconscious mind does not know the difference between an actual experience that produces an emotion and an emotion that you fabricate by thought alone." Dr. David Hamilton's Tenth Anniversary Edition of "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body" talks extensively about how visualization can help your body to heal. My story is included in this powerful prescription for healing.

The Gift of Polio
Thank you God for the gift of polio that brought me so close to you
while paralyzed I saw your face no matter what I’d do
Many wonderful healers you sent them to me at age 5
perseverance and triumph life’s lessons learned
but my Spirit could not yet thrive.

At age 53 the gift was sent to me a second time
having time to sit and feel to heal I started to rhyme.
The second time felt worse than the first
yet your love and wisdom I found
out of pain and weakness and fatigue a remarkable spirit rebound.

Reliving all the trauma of special shoes and such
I discovered remarkable healers who brought a loving touch.
I had no clue I had such strength and the ability to grow
no matter what the outcome deep gratitude I show.

This gift so precious I live a new life gratitude flows from me
my heart and soul are filled with grace each day’s a gift from thee.

I was blessed to "drop" my book, "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life" as part of the Books on the T program here in Boston as part of World Polio Day.
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Here is the tweet from Books on the T:
Today is WorldPolioDay and we’re sharing FeeltheHeal, a book of poetry about surviving and recovering from this devastating childhood illness by Mary McManus. Find it on the T (you may even find it left by Mary!) booksonthet



Riders on the T are going to have the opportunity to feel the heal through the power of my words and be inspired by my 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.

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. 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 that tested her mettle while fueling 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. 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. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Taking a Pause

After ten years of running, challenging myself to the max and doing epic stuff, I've decided it's time to take a pause and celebrate all that I've accomplished. It's also time for me to share my adventures and my story in my next book. What's so awesome is that I am taking a break from racing by choice; not because I am injured. I am thoroughly enjoying running twice a week at the 5K distance playing with improving my time but as important enjoying being outdoors, unplugged, in nature and experiencing all the benefits that running brings. I'm still an integral part of the running community and cheer everyone on in cyberspace during Fall Marathon season. What a thrill to see my friends with their bling, PR's and BQ's. It's energizing and fuels me.

When this morning's alarm went off it was dark and 34 degrees. Well after all what do we expect for late October in New England? Even though there is no race on the horizon, why still get up in the dark and go for a run? Tom will be running the Jingle Bell 5K in December and the Bermuda 10K in January so I could easily let him go off at his own pace but there is something magical, mystical and sacred about our early morning runs regardless of what is on the race calendar.

It is an incredible gift to see the sun rise on a new day. Doing a quick core workout to music, sharing bananas and water and watching the night slowly drift away is a great way to begin a new day and a new week.

There was frost on the grass and as the sun rose higher in the sky, the frost glimmered like diamonds.

The Reservoir was so still that it looked like a painting. In the stillness and silence there is clarity.


We savored all the sensations of our first frosty breaths of the season and the colors that are still vibrant.



Our conversation focused on counting our blessings and gratitude.

We finished our run hungry, ready for breakfast and to experience the warmth of our home:


I'm enjoying this time of taking a pause from running and taking a look back celebrating ten years of running. It's an exciting time for me to share my journey.

Today I was blessed to be a guest on David Hamilton, Ph.D's radio show Hay House Radio.

On Wednesday I'll be dropping my book, "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life," as part of the Books on the T program.

While I may be taking a pause from the excitement of racing and going for PR's, I am experiencing excitement in sharing the power of my story to inspire others.

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. 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 that tested her mettle while fueling 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. 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. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: A Sneak Peak of "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953"

Next Wednesday is World Polio Day. So much has been done to eradicate polio in the world but there is still work to be done. No child should have to endure the pain and trauma of contracting polio. I know because I did in June 1959. But my greatest challenge became my greatest gift. Here is a sneak peak preview of my next book, "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953":

Introduction

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Once I received the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a disease deemed by Western Medicine Standards to be a progressive neuromuscular disease, I worked hard to live by Abraham Lincoln’s philosophy and the philosophy of many luminaries of the New Age. In December of 2006 life as I had come to know it came to a screeching halt. I was not going to take the diagnosis sitting down.

Sometimes it feels as though life is going to crush us but then we have the opportunity to turn around and crush goals in life! At first I was afraid - very afraid and then I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. The answers came through my pen, what I came to call my divining rod for healing in the form of inspirational poetry; powerful words that inspired mind, body and soul to heal. I was creating my future; a future very different than the one the doctors predicted for me harnessing the power of my imagination to heal. I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, and to anticipate an accelerated decline in functioning as I aged.

I traded in my wheelchair, leg brace and cane for a pair of running shoes. I went on to become an endurance runner. My adventures as runner girl 1953 (the year I was born) started when I was 54 years old!

After writing my second memoir, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance," my friends encouraged me to write another book about my healing odyssey from the effects of childhood paralytic polio and severe childhood trauma. The theme of this book came to me during a run in August 2017. I knew I needed to take a broad brush look at my healing journey across over a decade of healing and to highlight the transformational and redemptive power of the sport of running. Through my running and life adventures my mettle was tested and friendships were forged to last a lifetime. In "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953," I'll briefly take you back to when I contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 and to receiving the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome at age 53.

I’ll answer the question, “How did you go from being told to prepare to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon?”

You’ll be inspired by my response to a major setback of a serious knee injury in December of 2014 that “they” said would sideline me from running for the rest of my days.

It's the 10 year anniversary of when I bought my first pair of running shoes, a perfect time to take a look back and share with you the adventures of this runner girl. In my quest to heal my life, I was led to the sport of running and found the treasure of myself along the way. Come along with me as I share the adventures of a lifetime after life as I had known it came to a screeching halt with the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome.

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. 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 that tested her mettle while fueling 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. 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. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.