I'd Rather Be Last Than a Spectator!

 

After a setback in 2021/2022 in my health and wellness journey, I thought that my participation in events had come to an end. My daughter Ruth Anne reminded me that I had not come that far to only go that far. I trained for the Bermuda 10K and was not able to finish the race due to a number of circumstances, but I made the shift from being on the sidelines as a spectator to participating in the event. I did go out on May 4th and finished my unfinished business of the 10K distance after a hiatus from doing anything more than a 5K. Even though it was a virtual race, I competed against myself and won! 

On 6/28, there is a road race that my running club is a part of. It's a 5 mile run and a 2 mile walk. As I get ready to celebrate my half birthday on 6/25th, I consulted with the other two members of Team McManus and they are all in for doing the two mile walk together. Proceeds benefit a scholarship fund for a beloved member of the Hough's Neck community who died in a boating accident in 2001. On 7/28th, a dear friend of ours who we met through the On the Runs podcast, Maurice Lowman, also known as Marathon Panda is having an event at Marathon Sports in Providence.

 When I found the event on EventBrite it said that the 5K was an hour. I reached out to Marathon Sports and was delighted to find out it is, indeed for all abilities but they could only set the event in half hour intervals. I'd be welcome to do the run! Maurice's energy is infectious and he knows the power of community and supporting runners of all abilities.

 I experience great joy in being off of the sidelines. At almost 70 and a half years old, I am celebrating 17 years of healing and allowing my body to be and do the very best it can be! Because I contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 1/2 years old, I was a stranger to athletics. I was blessed with a wonderful physical  therapist and physiatrist who coaxed my withered muscles and nerves back to health to enable me to walk again. With the one two punch of polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members, I was the last pick in gym class and teased and taunted with "easy out Alper." But after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006, I set out on a quest to heal my life! The runner within me was born in my imagination!

In most races, I am one of the last or the last runner to finish. My first experience at being last, realizing that the running community cheers rather than jeers the last runner in a race was at the Marathon Sports 5 Miler in July of 2008. Sweat and tears poured as I wondered what was I doing training for the Boston Marathon but Tom refused to let me quit. You would have thought I broke the finisher's tape when I arrived on the field at the finish. The pizza was cold and the water was hot but the hugs were like nothing I'd ever experienced before in my life.

I'd always rather be the slowest runner in a race than a spectator for a lifetime!

In health and wellness,

Mary

Visit my website to be inspired by my journey. May it ignite a spark within you to go farther than you ever believed you could. Be sure to visit the News and Events Page with links to podcast interviews, speaking engagements and where you can find my incredibly inspirational story. My interview with the amazing On the Runs podcast team of Erika Hamel and Eric Knuuttunen is Episode 56. Be sure to subscribe and download on your favorite podcast platform and subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Proud to BU is a podcast highlighting the illustrious achievements of Boston University Alumni. Here is the link to my episode.

My books that pack powerful messages of healing, hope and possibilities are available on Amazon  My 7th book, "A Most Unlikely Runner:Inspiration From The Heart of a Warrior" is receiving rave reviews and is a selection of the WBZ News Radio Book Club.