Get The Lead Out: Passion is pushing yourself when no one else is around-The transformational power of running

The forecast was for rain and possibly thunder showers. It was grey and very humid when I started my run. I had a good night's sleep and was ready for my run when suddenly, during my warm up, my legs felt like lead. "Okay," I thought to myself, "what's going on here?" I dove into the feelings and the sensations in my legs. I got angry...I mean really pissed off about what happened to me ... and then I told myself don't react.

The thought of get the lead out came to me.

I didn't and couldn't push myself at first.

Fortunately there were people running around the Reservoir which gave me incentive to do fartleks.

I felt a sense of triumph as I passed them and I noticed that a feeling of lightness came into my legs.

"I own this body," I thought and felt throughout every fiber of my Being.

I felt passion stir in my soul. I felt energy flowing.



During my last mile I ran. A full out run. On the pavement I left a trail of sadness, anger and heartache. I wasn't running away from the past or lashing out in anger. I was healing feeling my strength, my courage and my passion pushing myself to my limit.

I was hot and sweaty by run's end. The skies turned from dark grey to blue and the sun was shining. I experienced that delicious runner's high. There was no finish line to cross. There was no time to beat. It was me and the road and a wonderful time of transformation to bring the past into my consciousness. And then I got the lead out taking the lead in the marathon of my life.


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.