Wait! What?? "Easy out Alper," the last pick in gym class, the one who was bullied, taunted and teased after contracting paralytic polio in 1959 found herself at the starting line of her first 5K race on June 1, 2008? 
You better believe it. Or maybe it's kind of hard to believe. In December of 2006, I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome. I'd been told to expect an accelerated decline in functioning as I aged and to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair! In February of 2007, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. I knew I was at a crossroads in my life. I'd been told that, in order to try to stabilize the symptoms where they were, I needed to quit my award-winning career as a VA social worker. I was in a toe-up leg brace using a cane and at times, a wheelchair for mobility. The prognosis was dire. It was the dark night of mind, body and soul BUT as I sat at my dining room table looking over the papers of "new age" teachers who in truth were touting ancient wisdom, I felt this urge to create overtake me. But create what? My career was coming to an end and my twins were grown. The poem, "Running the Race" flowed out of me.
I was curious. Why was I imagining myself winning a 10K race given the diagnosis and prognosis I received a few short months before writing that poem. Poetry flowed out of me as though a spigot was turned on in my soul. I was blessed to have a physical therapist and then a personal trainer who believed in the body's tremendous capacity to heal. My personal trainer, Janine believed in what Henry Ford said, "Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right!" At first, Janine held the belief for both of us that I could get stronger, but as we worked together, with writing poetry and working as hard as I did after contracting paralytic polio to regain functioning, I experienced a connection to my body I'd not known before in my life.
In February of 2008, Janine asked me for my next goals. Without any thought, after listing the desire to feel free in my body, take a dance class, come out of my leg brace, diversify my workouts, I said, "Wait! I have one more goal!" With her hand on the door knob and her bag of equipment packed, she asked, "What's that?" "I want to run the Boston Marathon next year for Spaulding Rehab. I hear they have a Race for Rehab Team." She was totally non-plussed. She put down her things and out of all the things she could have said, she said, "Well. You are going to need a pair of running shoes!"
She recommended that we put races on our training schedule. The first race was the Corrib Pub 5K. You can see from the look on my face in the above photo that I was wondering what am I doing here and feeling a combination of nerves and excitement. I loved how I felt in my body when I ran. Janine took me from a walk/run teaching me that running is just like walking only faster. The first time I ran, my heart rate went up over 160! Janine helped me to train mind and body.
I had no idea of what to expect at the Corrib Pub 5K. It was my first exposure to what the running community is all about. Runners were incredibly friendly and talkative. I was shocked by their reaction to my story having only known jeers and taunts when it came to any athletic endeavors. Tom shared my story as we ran through the streets of West Roxbury. Spectators lined the course with hoses to cool down the runners. I was running through sprinklers! I experienced a sense of joy, exhilaration and freedom that, up until those moments, existed only in my imagination when I wrote poetry. I may not have had the right gear or "looked like a runner" but the running community embraced me as one of their own!
The runners who we spoke with at the start of the race were at the finish line to cheer me on. It didn't matter that I ran slowly and had to walk part of the race, especially the hills. What mattered was that I had the courage to ditch a diagnosis and take on a monumental challenge despite never having run a day in my life. What a great first race experience and an introduction to a community that has become like family to me during these 17 years.
This is what I looked like after doing something I'd never done before in my life; something I never dreamed I could or would do except in my imagination:
In health and wellness - Mary
Visit my website to learn how poetry, optimism, gratitude and the mind/body connection helped me to transform my life. After having been told in December 2006 that I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, I went on to cross the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and have many adventures as runnergirl 1953. Be sure to visit the recently updated News and Events Page for links to podcast interviews, speaking engagements and where you can find my incredibly inspirational story.
"Mary McManus has never had it easy. As a kindergartner, she was a victim of polio just a short time before the vaccine was introduced. She also faced trauma in her home life but somehow managed to persevere and overcome these and still more obstacles throughout her life. Today, Mary is an inspiring author, poet, motivational speaker, and finisher of the Boston Marathon." Here is the link to the Episode Website. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube.
My
books share a powerful message of healing, hope and possibilities;
what's possible despite all appearances to the contrary and are
available on Bookshop
My 6th book, "Into the Light:Emerging From the 2020 Pandemic" and my
7th book, "A Most Unlikely Runner:Inspiration From The Heart of a
Warrior" are selections of the WBZ News Radio Book Club. "Inspiration
From The Heart of a Warrior" is also a selection Bill Rodgers Running
Center Billy's Bookshelf: Recommended Reads for Every Runner. Visit my Author Page on Amazon for rave reviews.
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