We arrived at Hampton Inn Amesbury at noon on Saturday. Our room was ready. It was a wonderful start to what would be a magical weekend beyond our wildest imaginings.
I planned our itinerary after studying the race website. After bib pick up we went to The Flatbread Company in Amesbury. A 70 degree sunny day in late October is a gift for those of us living in New England. We took photos of each other and our amazing meal of farm to table salad with a flatbread pizza:
We drove to see where the starting line was. The race website suggested people arrive at least 1 1/2 hours before gun time to avoid sitting in traffic. Gun time was at 9:15. Ruth Anne did a little shake out walk per her training plan but wanted to spend as much time resting as possible for her big day. Here she is in her race swag:
We returned to the hotel to unpack, meditate and post "Flat Ruth Anne" on social media.
We had a delicious dinner at Starboard Galley. I must admit, I was a bit nervous with what Ruth Anne chose as her pre-race fueling dinner but knew she was listening to her body giving it what it needed. Before Providence, she had a salad with grilled chicken. She also ordered French Onion Soup gratinee and sampled what Tom and I ordered; lobster salad and baked and breaded char.
We were treated to a beautiful sunset by the water before heading back to our hotel. As I meditated before sleep, I imagined someone running with Ruth Anne. I reminded her when we talked about her running solo that she would never be alone; that angels would be with her and she was going to rock this race for Victory Programs.
RACE DAY:
We had our breakfast in the room (I wish I would have taken a photo so you could see what bring your own breakfast complete with coffee pot and a Bodum looks like in a hotel room) and headed to the starting line. We had all imagined getting a parking spot inside Cashman Park. We did not know we would get a parking spot in front of the bathrooms. There was a gentleman who told us that the bathrooms are usually closed after Columbus Day but for 'some reason', this year, they kept them open.
Ruth Anne was psyched and ready to run:
As we headed toward the start, we saw members of our running family Tom Licciardello and Al Pappalardo and his wife Cathy. We hadn't seen Tom since packet stuffing for the October 2021 Boston Marathon and hadn't seen Al and Cathy in years although we kept in touch on social media. Ruth Anne was feeling chilled; the temperature was 45 degrees and it was cloudy. Fortunately we brought a pair of gloves that had been warmed underneath the heater in the car. It was just what she needed to take the chill off.
Ruth Anne felt a bit anxious as she saw the last pace marker was 11:00-12:00 minute mile. She lined up at the back of the pack and I reminded her what her Coach told her; start at 14:10 and as you get warmed up, you can pick up the pace.
She saw pacers for the race. One woman had a 2:45 pace sign. "Oh that's too fast for me," Ruth Anne said out loud to her.
"Well start with the sweep group and then move up to our group. You'll probably pass me at the finish!"
Ruth Anne spotted the 3:00 pacer. "What pace is that" she asked.
"13:45"
"That's my pace," Ruth Anne said with great excitement.
"You stick with her," Tom said. "She's going to be your new BFF."
Little did we know how prophetic those words would be.
Tom was hoping to take a video at the start but had it on photo by mistake. I wish he would have captured Michael Bernier and his incredibly inspirational pre-race speech. He told the runners with great enthusiasm to kick your worries to the curb and reminded them that they will be able to achieve what their mind tells them. "So what are you gonna tell yourself?" he asked the runners. "You're going to go out there and have the best race of your life to-day!"
And then he gave the "runners take your mark, get set and go" command:
Despite hearing Spirit speak through Michael advising me to kick my worries to the curb, I was so anxious about Ruth Anne running with a pacer that she had never done before. She was going to start out at a 14:10 pace and here she was starting out at 13:45. I knew I had to let go and trust. I realized I was having a flashback to all those times when Ruth Anne was critically ill and no one could figure out what was going on. I went to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and told myself to pull it together. She was going to have a great day and be just fine! Instead of focusing on what could go wrong, I focused on how wonderful it was that Ruth Anne had someone to pace her so she wouldn't get anxious about her time. She wanted to run a PR and was hoping for a sub-3:00 half but her main goals were to have fun and raise a lot of money and awareness for Victory Programs.
There was no way to track the runners.
We walked to the finish line. We had to turn around and come back because there was no access to the finish line with the way we were walking. I stopped in my tracks as I saw a dime on the sidewalk. I said a prayer of thanksgiving for the sign.
"Wait Tom - there's a penny."
"Awesome - 11 cents!" I thought to myself. Now that's really a sign knowing that 11 is a spiritual number.
We took a few more steps - "Oh my God - there's another penny!"
"Well you better find one more," Tom said.
"Yup, here it is!" I proudly proclaimed as another penny seemed to appear out of thin air.
"Okay," I told myself. "It's time for you to relax and enjoy this day!"
Al and Cathy were at the finish line. Talking with them helped to ease my momma jitters.
Tom and I settled into our beach chairs and I got a text from Ruth Anne:
5.34
Shortly after another text - 5.86 - almost half way.
"Are you with pacer? You've got this."
"Yep. She's incredible."
"Yay. Go finish strong."
Another text: 8.17
Ruth Anne's dear friend Jenn DeSimone from L Street Running Club arrived. I texted Ruth Anne "Jenn just arrived." She texted Jenn that she was at 8.21.
A runner with L Street gear on was wearing his finisher's medal. We introduced ourselves and I gave him Ruth Anne's fundraising business card. He said he would go right home and donate (which he did!)
Our dear friend Marcie DiLorenzo crossed the finish line. We had been planning to get together but then you know, the pandemic. It was such a blessed reunion. We introduced Marcie and Jenn and took a photo with the sign Jenn made for Ruth Anne:
We received a text at 11:43 and then:
I was moved to go up to the race announcers, Danny and Solice, and share Ruth Anne's story with them giving them her fundraising business card. Little did I know what they were about to do. Solice's words came straight from his heart. "Beautiful thing done by a beautiful human."
Ruth Anne finished in 3 hours exactly scoring a 20 minute PR for her half but more than that, experienced the total grace with Pacer Angel Kristen Gohr.
I was sobbing as I shared a snippet of Ruth Anne's journey. She said that she knew there was a story there but didn't ask. She said she is a healer and a teacher. Is she ever! I told her how worried I was at first about Ruth Anne running with a pacer because we didn't know if she'd be able to stop for fueling and hydration or if she needed a bathroom stop. "Oh I made sure she was fine out there." Ruth Anne shared with me how she'd watch the pace and basically ran at Ruth Anne's pace figuring out what they needed to do to come in at 3:00 hours. It was truly a magical and miraculous experience for Ruth Anne and Kristen.
There were hugs and photos as Ruth Anne's Pacer Angel and I exchanged information. Jenn presented Ruth Anne with a trophy that she said was symbolic of the champion that she is:
Kristen said that Ruth Anne is her new BFF for life! She wants to pace Ruth Anne for the Bay State Marathon next year!
We said our goodbyes with more hugs and tears. Ruth Anne took a shower at the hotel and we had a celebratory lunch at Loretta's back in Newburyport. There was a live jazz band. The song they played as we sat down at our table was "When You Wish Upon a Star".
When we arrived home, I received a text from Kristen:
My heart is full of joy today for Ruth Anne!! My heart is also full because I had the amazing opportunity to be with her on her run! I am truly inspired by her commitment, positivity, determination and wonderful spirit!
I would love to keep in touch! Please pass along my contact info if ok with you! I truly hope I have the opportunity to run with Ruth Anne again someday!! 🙏💕
She sent along these two photos:
We are still smiling and feeling the joy and love of the epic adventure of the Newburyport Half Marathon, Half Marathon #1 for Ruth Anne's Trilogy of Half Marathons. We have expanded our village to include people who exude love, joy, compassion, care and kindness; people who know the true meaning of service and what life is truly all about. There was an outpouring of love and donations from our Facebook village. Ruth Anne shared how Kristen was with her every step of the way helping her through a tough hill with coaching her on her breathing. She shared how much fun she made the race. She encouraged her to run ahead as they were coming near the end of the run suggesting she looked like she could have run faster. Ruth Anne let her know that she was not going to break the finisher's tape and it was runner's code that they stay together. She knew there was a finish line moment that she wanted to savor and relish with her Pacer Angel.
We went to sleep with hearts overflowing with gratitude for the blessings in our lives.
To donate to Ruth Anne's fundraiser, please follow this link.
From my heart to yours,
In health and wellness,
Mary
Be sure to visit my website at https://marymcmanus.com to learn about my journey to health and wellness in the wake of paralytic polio and trauma
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