This Week in Training: Taking Risks

 

At the beginning of this week's training on the Road to the Hyannis Marathon Weekend 10K, I reflected on the risks I have taken since December of 2006 when I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome and told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair expecting an accelerated decline in functioning as I aged. I was told that if I used it, I would lose it. Yes you read that right. The thinking was that because of the initial polio virus, there were fewer nerve to muscle connections and they would just continue to burn out at a faster rate as one aged. Neuroplasticity and the body's tremendous capacity to heal were not factored into the prognosis.

 

I took the risk of a leap of faith leaving behind an award-winning social work career to heal my life in May 2007 and I took the risk to start a greeting card business of original poetry for every occasion. It was an epic fail but sure brought a lot of joy to my customers. I still write original poetry for family and friends for special occasions. Perhaps the biggest risk I took was to train for and run the 2009 Boston Marathon defying Western Medicine's prognosis. I continuously reap the rewards of having taken the risk to become a most unlikely runner.

 

On Saturday, Tom and I made an 'audible' about where we were going to do our 5K. At the last minute, we decided to go to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir having no idea of the magic that was about to happen. As we headed to the Reservoir we heard, "Mary! Mary!" and saw a runner with his friend charging down the hill to meet Tom and me. It was our dear friend Dan, aka The Bearded Runner, aka Forrest Gump!

We exchanged warm hugs and I said, "Congratulations!" Tom asked for what. I rattled off, "The BAA Distance Medley, an ultramarathon and sobriety." "And don't forget a sub 1:30 half," Dan chimed in! We exchanged introductions with Adam who was running with Dan. Dan asked, "So you're taking a walk around the Reservoir?" "No Dan. This is my running." I went on to tell Dan and Adam what I was told by the medical community and added, "For someone who was supposed to be in a wheelchair I go pretty far and pretty fast." Dan totally got it. "If we listened to doctors, we'd all be popping pills and be bed ridden." Dan is going to run for his Fourth Star in London next year for a wonderful charity. Here is the link if you'd like to support him. We told him what we were training for. We took the obligatory selfie.

While running into a running friend is always magical, especially when they come charging down the hill to meet you, running into Dan who embraces the character of Forrest Gump when running, was especially magical for me.

 In February of 2007, I began writing poetry about running, imagining myself winning a 10K race, running free, coming out of my toe-up leg brace and I just knew that one day I was going to run. At the time I had no idea when, where, how or why. I fired up my mirror neuron system by watching Forrest Gump as he breaks out of his leg braces over and over again. It worked!

Tom and I were pumped after seeing Forrest and embraced the cold headwind with joy. I shared with Tom how, if I would have taken the diagnosis and prognosis sitting down, we would have never known all the love, joy and camaraderie that makes, what Bill Rodgers says, running, as the greatest sport. I would also not be able to experience the glorious sunshine and beauty of late Autumn in Boston.

 

 Monday's strength training session was inspired by this quote from Thoreau. While having gone through 10 years of not feeling well prior to the Post-Polio diagnosis finally being made and those early days, weeks and months of beginning to emerge from the dark night of my mind, body and soul were extremely challenging, I now get to experience a state better than what I was ever in before. I was a stranger to athletics, and a stranger to my body. It was how I survived the horrors of my youth. Now I get to enjoy every workout and run celebrating what's possible despite all appearances to the contrary.

Mother Nature shined the spotlight on the late Autumn splendor as we made our way around the Reservoir for our early morning Tuesday run. It's become our favorite place to run in the early morning. We know what a privilege and blessing it is to see the dawn of a new day especially when the Master Artist paints a mystical and magnificent scene as happened on Thursday morning.

 

While I was putting on my running shoes, I 'just happened' to look up and out our dining room window. I left the jacket, hat and gloves on the couch as I ran out to see if I could capture the magnificent colors before they would fade.

I did not see the sun with my naked eye. My breath caught when I saw the beams from the rising sun. After showing Tom the photo I said, "It's not too cold out there." "That's what we always say for the first few minutes until we're out there for awhile," he quipped. But we have great cold weather gear and were energized by the spectacular colors that lit up the morning sky. 

We let the serenity of the Reservoir settle into our souls as we wrapped up another week of training. What a spectacular finish to the week!

 

This photo was taken at the start of the 2016 Bermuda Half Marathon. In December of 2014, I had a very serious left knee injury. The MRI indicated that my gastroc muscle was atrophied from polio, the knee had degenerative changes, bone spurs, torn cartilage, and a fatty lipoma. It was beyond arthroscopic repair. I should stop running or cap my distance at a 5K and prepare for a total knee replacement in a few years. Fortunately, I was led to a wonderful chiropractor who also just happened to be a personal trainer! With chiropractic care, KT tape, and a revamped strength training session that I continue to build on today, we got me back on the roads. It was always on my bucket list to run in Bermuda. I went on to run 3 Bermuda Half Marathons in 2016, 2017 and 2018 with the Hyannis 10K in February of 2016 and many 5K's after that. Last year I went the 10K distance again after a set back in 2021/2022 and am so excited to return to Hyannis next March.

 

No matter how all those risks ended up, I am overjoyed and grateful that I took them. I am especially grateful to my husband Tom, who I call my hero for supporting me every mile of the way during these past 19 years. There were moments of financial stress and strain, and physical set backs but those pale in comparison to the fullness of life we are blessed to experience.

 

 In health and wellness - Mary

Visit my ***NEW*** 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.

My Trilogy of Transformation chronicles my journey from having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair with the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards to a woman transformed through the sport of running. Take a journey into a world of healing, hope and possibilities with my 7 books, available on Amazon. My 7th book, "A Most Unlikely Runner: Inspiration From The Heart of a Warrior" is a selection of the WBZ News Radio Book Club and Bill Rodgers Running Center Billy's Bookshelf: Recommended Reading for Every Runner. You will be inspired by my strength, courage, resilience, determination and overcoming the inevitable setbacks that come with a journey to health and wellness. 

I was recently the guest on The Optimism Institute Blue Sky Podcast. 
"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.

 

Reach out to me at maryamcmanus@gmail.com if you'd like me to speak to your organization or group to inspire them with what's possible despite all appearances to the contrary; how one finds strength, resilience and determination in the face of seemingly impossible odds.