It's amazing who you meet when you say yes....

Our run club guru, Spencer Aston, sent out an email saying that The Heartbreak Hill Half Marathon was in need of volunteers and Marathon Sports Run Club Brookline was going to volunteer at the water stops.

I knew that on the day of the half marathon I was running the Father Bullock Charity Road Race so decided to sign up to do Bib Pick Up at the Expo.

As a sidebar, it's a thrill to see what goes on behind the scenes to put together a race. I've done packet stuffing for the Boston Marathon, a water stop for the Run to Remember and at the BAA 10K will be helping with wave starts and distributing finisher medals. I'll be doing t shirt and number pick up for L Street's Jim Kane Sugar Bowl run.

I arrived early to the Conte Forum and while walking around just happened to see my good friend Elizabeth Coumeau who is now the digital editor for Runner's World. When I signed up to volunteer, I had no idea that Runner's World was the organizer of the weekend's festivities nor did I know about the scope of the weekend's activities until I started receiving emails as a volunteer. I was saying yes to represent Run Club in what I believed to be a small race that was in need of volunteers.

Elizabeth took this selfie of our reunion:



We caught up for a few minutes and then in Elizabeth style she took off to work. I found the staff person coordinating volunteers for Bib pick up. There was bib pick up for the 5K, the 10K, the Five and Dime (those running both the 5 and 10K), the half and the Hat Trick (people running the 5, 10 and half marathon).

I chose to do Bib pick up for the Half Marathon.

The first person I met at our table was Alain. We asked each other how we came to volunteer for the event. We chit chatted and two more volunteers joined us. Maggie, the wife of Chris Kraft who is an editor for Runner's World and Suzanne Perreault, managing editor of Runner's World.



At a little after 3 pm on Friday afternoon, the Conte Forum was swelling with runners. We commented to each other how it felt as though it were a holiday in Boston. The energy was electric.

We were busy handing out bibs checking names if the bib had a name on it and double checking runners' numbers.

One runner in particular gave me his number. "Amby?" I said reading the name on his bib. And then I gasped. "As in Amby Burfoot?" I said with school girl giddiness. He smiled ever so warmly and said, "Well yes, I guess that would be me."

I told him how much I enjoyed reading the stories about how he helped to encourage Bill Rodgers natural running ability in Marathon Man and the articles he wrote post 4/15/13 and as we anticipated the running of this year's marathon. He smiled and I said, "Could I get your autograph or could I get a photo? Oh my husband is going to be so jealous because he really wanted to meet you."

His wife graciously took the photo (using Bill Rodgers signature thumbs up)



I told him that now we would have to come to his book signing at the Expo on Saturday afternoon.

As the shift wore on, Alain told me the back story for RaceMenu and RACE, Run Against Cancer Events. His voice was so familiar to me and I couldn't figure out why until he told me that he was the race director for the #onerun. I said, "Oh you're J Alain Ferry right?"

We talked about the #onerun and how important an event it was in our healing after 4/15/13.

From my memoir, "Coming Home:A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":

“Oh look they are doing a #onerun tomorrow,” Tom said.

“I am terrified to be a part of that,” I answered.

“Then we have to register,” Tom said.

Tonight I realize there is another layer to all of this healing: the Boston Marathon bombings. It still causes the hair on the back of my neck to write those words. Tomorrow morning, Tom and I are going to walk the last mile of the Boston Marathon and to walk the part of Boylston Street that I’ve been afraid to return to....

5/25/13

The moving pre-race ceremony began including 30 seconds of silence for those who lost their lives in the bombings. There was music and inspirational speeches and not a dry eye in the crowd as the church choir from where 8-year-old Martin Richard who was killed in the blast, made his first communion, sang the National Anthem. Tom and I had our arms around each other. Everyone was in a spiritual embrace.

And then we were off crossing the one mile to go marker in Kenmore Square where four years ago, Tom, our daughter
Ruth Anne and I ran toward the finish line. I ran the 2009 Boston Marathon for those who couldn't and for those who were told they shouldn't run or would never be able to run again. Back then I was delivering a message of healing, hope and possibility. Today I was one with the survivors knowing they have a long road ahead for them but knowing that they, like me, would be able to go the distance.

We got to Hereford Street and I took a deep breath, as I knew we were going back to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and passing The Forum where the second bomb exploded. As we passed in front of the Mandarin, we stopped for a brief moment to give our thanks to the staff who ensured our safety. The two doormen who had been there on Marathon Monday while we watched the race before going upstairs to join the Spaulding Rehab party were there. How healing and wonderful to see them, express our gratitude and be back on a part of Boylston Street I was afraid to visit.

I told Tom I was ready to sprint to the finish line. I said a prayer as we ran by The Forum. I sobbed as the crowds were cheering and we were surrounded by runners with their bib numbers from Marathon Monday and thousands of people who had been touched by the tragic events of April 15. At the finish line we shared stories with one another. We hugged. We cried. We healed...

Despite the cold and the rain, the love and energy of the community kept us warm. The event organizers did an amazing job at honoring the victims of the bombing and the survivors – “You are out there to run for those who can’t.”

That’s why I ran the marathon in ’09 – and here I was running the last mile with a deep connection to the survivors of the bombing knowing in every fiber of my being what it’s like to work to regain mobility and to recover from trauma where you face death. There were so many emotions as we listened to the pre-race ceremony speakers and then as we reclaimed Boylston Street as our own.


It was because of the #onerun that I realized I needed to get back to running and the running community and here I was standing shoulder to shoulder with the race director who organized the event that got me back on my path.

I hadn't planned on running any races between the Father Bullock Charity Race and the Tufts 10K but how can I resist the Bill Rodgers Inaugural 5K at my alma mater Boston College to benefit prostate cancer which Alain is organizing.

When Elizabeth worked at the Boston Globe, she was tweeting about the Boston.com Spectacle Island Run. I wasn't going to run it after she left the Globe but she is planning to come up for the race and well truth be told, Alain is awesome at pitching races. I've added that to my race calendar as Elizabeth had told me that it was a race for all ages and all abilities.

Tom came to join me at the Expo. He could feel how infectious the energy was for the weekend. He signed up for the Five and Dime to get in his long run for the weekend. He took first in his age group for the Five and Dime and placed 3rd in his age group in the 5K.



and on his way home from the race, Tom bumped into our dear friend David Brown who was heading over to pick up his bib:



On Saturday afternoon Team McManus returned to the Conte Forum for the book signing. Amby warmly embraced us and signed, "The Runner's World Big Book of Marathon and Half Marathon Training" which I will be pouring over as I plan for a half in 2015:
To Team McManus: Congratualtions on all your running together Amby Burfoot

and Jen Van Allen who was a co author of the book signed:
Running makes every day better. Enjoy the journey!

It sure does! We are enjoying the journey ... and it's amazing who you meet and what happens when you say yes.




My memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" is now available on Amazon.

"Wait, I have one more goal," Mary McManus told her personal trainer in February of 2008 shortly after coming out of her toe up leg brace. "I want to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital." Mary traded in her polio shoes for running shoes and embarked on the journey of a lifetime. Mary McManus was at the height of her career as a VA social worker when she was told by her team at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital’s International Rehab Center for Polio in December of 2006 that she needed to quit her job if she had any hope of preventing the progression of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. In “Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility” Mary takes you on her seven year healing odyssey as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma from her diagnosis, to taking a leap of faith to leave her award winning career at the VA to heal her life and follow her passion as a poet and writer. You’ll experience her trials, tribulations and triumphs as she trains for and crosses the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and discovers the opportunity for healing in the wake of new trauma: the suicide of her nephew in 2011, and the aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. This is Mary's journey of coming home to her human form free from the influences of the ghastly ghostly invaders who had invaded her sacred earthly home. Her memoir includes journals and blog posts from her seven year healing odyssey. This is her journey of transformation and her message of healing, hope and possibility.

I donate 50% of royalty payments through on line sales to The One Fund to help Boston Marathon survivors and their families. Copies are also available at Brookline Marathon Sports. $5 of each book sold at Marathon Sports is donated to The One Fund.

Do It Now! Thoughts From The Comeback Kid

Yesterday on Facebook, Marathon Sports posted:



What are your fitness goals? Whether it's attempting your first run or training to BQ, there's no time like the present! #LETSDOTHIS #GOALBIG #INSPIRE

I commented:
NOW! Don't wait. #noexcuses And Marathon Sports will help you find everything you need to reach your goals. I went from polio shoes and a leg brace and using a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon with their help. Marathon Sports Brookline fitted me for my first pair of runner shoes -ever- in my life - at age 53. And they have been there with me through all of my ups and downs of living with a neuromuscular condition. Spring is a wonderful time for new beginnings, setting new goals and moving confidently in the direction of your dreams.

From my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility:"

“Wait. I have one more goal.”

Janine stopped and turned around.

“I want to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital. I know they have a Race for Rehab team and I want to do it next year.”

Janine was non-plussed. I don’t know what kept her from turning tail and getting as far away from me as she could. She came back into my house and put down her things. She said that the first thing I would need is a pair of running shoes. She told me that Marathon Sports on Beacon Street would be able to help me. She laid out a cursory training plan and said that we would begin indoors to build up my cardio endurance. As soon as the weather got a little warmer, we’d go outdoors and I would learn how to run. ....


“What are you in now?” Spencer Aston asked me when I walked into Marathon Sports in February of 2008.

“Well, truth be told, I’m in ‘polio shoes.’ I borrowed these running shoes from my daughter. Let me give you the twitter version of my story.”

I told Spencer about my history of paralytic polio, my ‘remarkable recovery’ as was Spaulding’s tag line when I was a patient and how I was planning to run the Boston Marathon. He took so much time and care doing a gait assessment and working with me to find the perfect running shoes. We figured out that I needed an insert at my heel to ensure comfort. ...

I felt butterflies in my stomach as I waited for Janine having put on my cardiac monitor sporting a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt. I laugh now to think about how ill equipped I was in so many ways to begin marathon training. And not just any marathon – THE Boston Marathon.

When Janine showed up, we went outside on Eliot Street. She said that we were going to start out running for 30 seconds and walking for 2 minutes. Janine was so loving, gentle, patient and kind as she encouraged me to just let my body move in a gentle jog. We looked at my heart rate. It went up over 170! She told me that was okay. The high heart rate was a result of my deconditioning. But she was confident that I could do this!

What an amazing journey to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon.

In October of 2009, I was cooked. I returned to outpatient physical therapy at Newton Wellesley Hospital Spine Center requiring a series of cervical spine injections and intensive outpatient therapy to build especially upper body and core strength. My therapist told me no running at least until the Spring of 2010.

I busted out when she cleared me for running and went on a running spree of trash talking and PR's.

In March of 2011, my nephew suicided and I experienced a relapse of symptoms. By the end of September of 2011, I hung up my running shoes for what I thought was for good. I didn't feel as though I had it in me to come back again.

But then 4/15/2013 happened....

I had to walk at a race walk pace to escape down Huntington Avenue to our car to what we hoped would be safety. (It was.)

We did the #onerun organized to help runners and the City heal after 4/15/13. I realized that I needed to get back into running. I had lost contact with a lot of my running friends but thanks to Facebook and email was able to reconnect with them. We rejoined L Street Running Club. It was as though I never left. I'd been "an honorary" member of the Merrimack Valley Striders Club and they welcomed me with open arms.

It didn't matter that my pace was slower and my distance was shorter. The motto of L Street is "No pace too slow. No distance too short." And they mean it!

I ran the Brookline Symphony Orchestra 5K and then the Feaster Five hosted by the Merrimack Valley Striders. I took a break from road races during the winter but I continued to train outdoors whenever possible.

My first road race was the Cambridge 5 Mile Run/3 Mile City Walk. I'm now registered for the Corrib Pub 5K which was the first race I ever ran back in June of 2008. The last time I ran it was on 6/5/2011. We are planning out our summer/fall road races.

I am training for the Tufts 10K which I last ran in 2010.

Twice a week Aquatics Therapy Classes at Spaulding Rehab help me to build my strength. I am wearing 3 pound ankle weights and can increase challenging myself by the depth of water I choose to work in. I will be excited when I strap on those 5 pound weights but know that I have to wait until the 3 pound weights are no longer a challenge for me.

I make sure I take my rest days and go for regular massage sessions at Sollievo Bodywork and Massage which incorporates the mind/body therapy of Zero Balancing into the session.

I am extremely mindful of working up to my edge but backing down when my body tells me to.

Today's message of healing, hope and possibility? Do It Now. #noexcuses And if you fall short of your goals, don't ever stop. And if you have to take a break from running, stay connected to the running community. And if you need healing, keep searching until you find a winning combination of what works best for you. And if you can no longer "run", walk and be a part of races where they welcome all ages and all abilities. Do It Now! and don't stop.

Moving Into Marathon Weekend and a Recap of L Street Pre Marathon Meeting

Last night's pre marathon meeting with the L Street Running Club was like no other pre marathon meeting I've ever been to. It gave me pause to realize that this marathon weekend and Monday's race is an unprecedented historical event.

Lisa Hughes of WBZ moderated the meeting which began with Mike Wankum from WCVB giving the weather, Boston Marathon Race Director Dave McGillivray, Geoff Smith BM winner in '84 & '85, Greg Meyer last American winner to win BM in '83, Journalist & Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe, author Paul Clerici and Jake Kennedy from Kennedy Bros. PT. The night was topped off with a visit by the Red Sox World Series Trophy.

Here are some photos that capture the spirit of L Street and the spirit of Boston Strong:



There were moments of commemoration, anticipation, inspiration, humor and getting everyone pumped who is running Boston on Monday.

Here is a photo of Dave McGillivray saying, "This is our race."



There was anger, tears and relief that together we endured this last year of tragedy, grief, healing, training through a brutal winter for those who trained for Boston and working support crew in frigid temperatures. There was a sense of community and love infused with a single purpose.

There was great advice from Dave McGillivray: Don't listen to those guys (referring to Greg Meyer and Geoff Smith) - listen to me - I always finish last. Listen to your body - don't look at your watch. The theme of advice from everyone was have fun. Enjoy every moment. Greg Myer suggested we not use the last American to win Boston when referencing his win back in 1983 but the most recent American to win Boston. Lisa Hughes announced that she would be interviewing the President today. He requested the interview because the last time he visited Boston we were a City reeling from an unthinkable tragedy.

It's one year ago today that we were in lockdown in the greater Boston area. Every last nerve was frayed in our community. Today, I find myself riding the waves of emotions. People are sharing their photos from the Expo picking up their bibs. There was a moment of silence and a memorial service for Office Collier who was shot and killed one year ago today. There is an odd mix of remembrance and moving forward.

We are all a part of a historical weekend and event on Monday. Let's allow ourselves to be present in each moment and to ride the waves of emotions that ebb and flow. It's an incredible ride and we are so blessed to be Boston Strong!

Countdown to Boston-Moving On

It's not easy to move one.

I had to learn how to move on after contracting paralytic polio at the age of 5.

After 9 years of unrelenting childhood trauma, I had to find a way to move on with my life. One month after my father committed suicide, I arrived as a freshman at Boston University in 1971.

After being diagnosed with post polio syndrome in December of 2006, I wasn't sure how I would ever be able to move on with my life but I ended up running the 2009 Boston Marathon as a mobility impaired runner.



Three years ago, after my nephew's suicide in March, I wasn't sure how I would be able to move on. I thought I would never return to running and thought for sure that at that time, all that I had endured would finally win. But my Spirit wouldn't let that happen and I was able to move on.

And most recently there was 4/15/13....

One more long run and then taper time for those training for Boston 2014. For me, I have one more support crew for Spaulding Rehab's last long run next Saturday, one more fundraiser, Greg Gordon's Boston Marathon Fundraiser, "Singing Boston Strong: An Evening of A Cappella to Benefit Spaulding Rehab", BAA Packet Stuffing and our L Street Pre Marathon Meeting.

On the 11 month anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombings, I could feel emotions begin to thaw and flow just like the lakes, ponds, and reservoirs are doing here in New England. The time of busy-ness is winding down for me. It's time to allow healing to happen and move on.


As we countdown to Boston, I realized that I needed a new bodywork practitioner who could bring me to a place of deeper relaxation and healing through massage and bodywork. My previous practitioner and I were out of sync. I realized that the dynamics in our relationship were not healthy. I knew this time of healing was too important in my life to settle for anything less than what I needed to continue to heal especially as we approach the anniversary of 4/15/13.

I was so blessed to find my way to Sollievo Massage and Bodywork in Cambridge. My new therapist, Joseph Brescia, LMT is a trained mental health practitioner and has over 20 years of experience as a massage therapist. He incorporates several modalities into the 90 minute session and I feel a renewed sense of healing, hope and possibility as I take my healing journey to the next level.

I notice that traumatic memories from my past that still need healing are surfacing in my body in the wake of 4/15/13 but they are also being released to create space and freedom for me to fully live. I notice the physical sensations from that day coming to the surface. They seem to have a mind of their own but in truth it is the energy from experiencing the bombings, then needing to evacuate and all that was experienced absorbed in my body that is working its way through me. I continue to experience a deep sense of gratitude for how blessed we were to be spared so much that day.

And my heart is open and filled with gratitude for the blessings and the healing that have come out of the tragic events of last year's Boston Marathon. I had gone into the day with high hopes that perhaps this was the year Ernst van Dyk would win his 10th Boston. I had wonderful expectations for celebrating my 2009 Boston Marathon run with several of my Race for Rehab teammates regaling them as they entered the ballroom as I was once regaled. While none of that would happen and instead we were faced with a day filled with tragedy, I have been blessed to rekindle connections with people I had lost touch with since 2009, deepen friendships with people in my life, move on from relationships that were rife with struggle and old patterns, and connect with new friends through a common bond of love and healing. There is unconditional love and acceptance and listening with compassion.

On Friday evening, Team McManus, made a decision that we are not going to return to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel this year to be with Spaulding Rehab and the Race for Rehab Team. We knew that given the size of the team and the emotional frenzy that is sure to accompany this year's marathon, that being there would not give us an opportunity to heal and move on. I could feel my nervous system ignite when I thought about being back in the Suite at the Mandarin. I realized that I needed to make peace with what was and to allow all of the emotions to wash through me.

We will be outside in Brookline on Marathon Monday not far from where we live beaming love and smiles for all of our friends who will lace up their shoes and are running Boston 2014 as they move on from 4/15/13.

Saturday evening, I attended a fund raiser for Katie Eastman of Team Miles4Smiles. It was as much a group therapy session as it was a fund raiser. One of the beautiful people I met as a result of 4/15/13 is Elizabeth Comeau. Today she writes about moving on in her blog Day 28: The Spot.

Yesterday, my friend Tina Perry Karas' was interviewed on WBZ. Tina is one of the friend's I reconnected with by renewing my membership with L Street after the bombings realizing how important it is to stay connected with those who matter most to us. We have known each other since 2010 when I was a speaker at the L Street Pre Marathon Meeting to inspire the runners. In 2011, she was kind enough to videotape my impromptu speech at the behest of Club President "Mac" to fill in while Greg Meyer made his way to the Club.

WGBH news posted this article this morning with the theme One Year Later: At Site of Marathon Bombing, Gearing up for Another One. It features, Jon Masters a new friend I met through Elizabeth and my beloved Marathon Sports family.

And here's how two Boston Marathon bombing survivors are moving on after their lives were forever changed almost one year ago:

Adrianne Haslet-Davis dances again on the stage at TED.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2587434/Boston-bombing-survivor-Jeff-Bauman-announces-engagement-long-term-girlfriend-happy-couple-expecting-child-July.html

As we count down to Boston, each one in their own unique way is finding ways to heal and move on. But none of us is moving on alone. We are moving forward as a community whose fabric has been made stronger by the very events that tested its strength. We run together. We heal together. We move on together.