Running Family-We Run Together

We were standing in the ballroom at the Resort and Conference Center in Hyannis on the eve of the 2009 Hyannis Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K. I had butterflies as I anticipated running my first half marathon in a race. I'd gone the distance in terms of putting in the miles but had not run a half marathon in a race. I stood beside Olympic Gold Medalist Frank Shorter and four time Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers waiting to get their autographs. But I would also meet someone who would bring me into the fold of the running family that meant far more than the autographs I was about to receive.



Frank Shorter talked about doping in sports during the pre race pasta dinner festivities. Ric Beaudoin, a runner who had his own story of transformation through running, and member of both the L Street Running Club and Merrimack Valley Striders was waiting to ask Frank a question. Ric being Ric and me being me - both outgoing and talkative people, struck up a conversation.

After he heard what I was about to do, he introduced me to members of the Striders who he was with and told me he would have to get me to speak at his Club. He was moved and inspired by my story.

There was a reporter from the Cape Cod Times in the ballroom after the race. I boldly went up to him and shared my story despite feeling slightly hypothermic and nauseous from ignoring my pacing and fueling plan during the last 3 miles of the race when it began to sleet and snow.

Mary McManus, 55, of Brookline completed her first half-marathon after making a remarkable recovery from a life-long battle against post-polio syndrome.

She spent time at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and began running just last February. She competed in her first race in June 2008, finishing a 5K.

"It's like having a new lease on life," said McManus, who ran yesterday's half-marathon with husband Tom. "I was limping my way through life, but then decided to do something about it."

I spoke at the Striders meeting later that year and in 2010 when I was a guest speaker along with Steve Cooper of Boston's Channel 7 news.



After 4/15/13, the bonds in our running family grew closer than ever. We all realized how precious and fragile life is. What matters most are our relationships; the loving bonds that weave together to create the very fabric of life.

After this year's Boston Marathon, I kept saying to my Strider friends that I needed to get back for a meeting. Tom Licciardello told me that we are welcome any time. They meet in Lawrence which is a good 45 minute drive from Brookline. When I got the Facebook invitation about the meeting with the theme meeting old and new friends, I knew I needed to go.

Hugs, laughter and joy reverberated throughout the room. There was time for socializing and time for club business. The vice president, Al Stgermain welcomed new members, celebrated recent accomplishments of club members, and acknowledged and honored those who were injured and healing providing words of support and encouragement.

I was blessed to spend time with Marcie and Paul DiLorenzo. They have had a fantastic journey on and off of the roads. They were married at the Falmouth Road Race four months after 4/15/13 when we all needed something to celebrate. They are the proud parents of 3 boys. Everyone wanted a chance to see their latest edition, Radley aka Rad. Marcie posts the "daily smoosh" photos on facebook that always bring a sense of joy and clever comments.

Marcie and Paul wanted to get a picture of me holding Rad:



I took these photos of Tom holding the "smoosh" along with other photos that capture the feeling of a running family gathering together:



And here's a photo Paul took of "the smoosh with members of our running family"



We talked about mountains climbed and miles conquered. We talked about life's challenges that continue to be placed in front of us and offered hugs, love, support and words of encouragement.

We were all genuinely happy to see one another and be together planning what races would bring us back together again.

No matter what happens on the roads or in our lives, we know that we have a beautiful, strong, loving running family that is there to share life and running's joys, triumphs and tribulations. We do run together!




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.

BAA Volunteering for Packet Stuffing Day

I had heard about packet stuffing day from my friends who were members of L Street and Merrimack Valley Striders Clubs. They talked about how much fun it was and of course at the end of your shift you get to receive the coveted volunteer jacket and Marathon pin. I never imagined that I would be a part of this amazing event but then again there are a lot of things I "never imagined" doing (like running the 2009 Boston Marathon) but were clearly a part of imagining events I would like to be a part of.

I feel so blessed to have been a part of this morning's packet stuffing day and want to give a huge thanks and shout out to Tom Licciardello, who by the way wrote this amazing article about this year's marathon: Boston Marathon Buildup Intensifies as Race Draws Near.

It is so exciting to be a part of support crew and see what goes on behind the scenes to put together the runners' packets. I remember that feeling of exhilaration when we picked up our number and our bag on 4/18/2009. Who knew that there were over 50 people/shift working side by side to make sure we had our programs and all the information we needed about race day. Here are the photos from our shift including a photo with my Tom holding a book that Tom's wife, Lyn put together to commemorate the 2013 Boston Marathon. Enjoy!



And for all of my runner friends near and far, here is my poem Ode to Marathon Training from A Celebration of Life to inspire you:

Ode to Marathon Training - March 22, 2009
Blisters, black toes, aches and pains, a change in my routine
Long training runs, the hills, the sprints running clothes fresh and clean.
Carbo load and plan each meal power gels and gatorade
no matter what the weather no time to be afraid.
Humid - hot or freezing cold snow against the face
wind or sun or raining those running shoes I must lace.
What mile is this how long we been out check heart rate drink H20
meltdowns joys and triumphs only a few more weeks to go.
Heartbreak Hill won't break my heart this year has been the best
found myself and made new friends I feel incredibly blessed.

My memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" which chronicles my 7 year healing odyssey including my 2009 Boston Marathon run and healing in the wake of the Boston Marathon 4/15/13 is also available through Amazon.

The Magic of Heartbreak Hill

When we were training for the 2009 Boston Marathon, we wanted to get a break from the brutal New England winter. We spent 5 days in Puerto Rico. On the plane ride home, we did not have seats together. Ruth Anne sat in front of me and struck up a conversation with the two people who flanked her on either side. "Oh man," she said. "I have to get up early to go on an 18 mile training run." Little did she know that she was telling this to Johnny Kelley (the elder's) nephew. Tom Kelley and his wife Dot were enthralled with the story of Team McManus. They sent us an autographed photo of Johnny Kelley and told us that he would be watching over us on Marathon Monday.



They told us stories about Johnny and shared with us that his theme song was, "Young at Heart." It was played at the unveiling of his statue on Heartbreak Hill:




From the first time I ran on Heartbreak Hill on January 24, 2009, I felt its magic.

Yesterday, Tom and I did a five mile run from Newton Wellesley Hospital to Lowell Ave. and back. We hadn't done that part of the course together since we ran it in 2009.

The energy was electric. Runners were going up and down Heartbreak Hill. Everyone said good morning and the feeling of #weruntogether was never more palpable in the City.

Two young girls ran up to us and said, "Excuse me, can you tell us where Heartbreak Hill is?" We said, "This is it. It began at the corner of Comm. Ave. and Washington St." They giggled with delight that they were on Heartbreak Hill obviously training for their first Boston. "We don't have too far to go do we?" "Where you going?" we asked. They said BC. Our advise was to take it one mile at a time.

We then passed these huge trucks and my husband asked what was going on. We were told that NBC is shooting the first pilot in Boston in 20 years for a show called Odyssey about international espionage.

We continued on our run and turned around after reaching Lowell Ave.

As some runners were trudging up Heartbreak Hill we would give thumbs up, say you're looking good and I began saying (much to my husband's chagrin) We Run Together!



Frowns and struggles turned to smiles.

I know that I am not running Boston this year but I can certainly lend my energy, my smile and my support to all those training for Boston. And I can share with others the magic of Heartbreak Hill.

Do you have a favorite Heartbreak Hill moment? Do you remember the first time you ran Heartbreak Hill? If so, please leave a comment.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: 2009 Marathon Training Moments

With 50 days to go until Boston,



I thought I would share with you a blog post that will be included in my soon to be released memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":





3/29/09 Blog post:
Boston Marathon Training Moments - The Best Of ....

Yesterday was our last long run before running the Boston Marathon on 4/20/2009. Twenty one miles - we ditched iPods in preparation for the big day. What were we going to talk about? My daughter who always bring light and laughter to life suggested we take a look back - that was the year that was - and talk about our Boston Marathon Training Moments - the good, the bad, and the ugly. I just want to comment on yesterday's training run before we take a look back. The day started out as cloudy and cool. Since it is the end of March, we decided to layer with a short sleeve shirt, a long sleeve shirt and a jacket. I also brought hat and gloves to ensure my comfort. We arrived at Marathon Sports to join our team trainer, Domenick D'Amico and the running club. He told us that 21 miles would take us to the gates at Wellesley College and then we turn around and run the same route we had been running for the past several weeks.

In the spirit of trying to get everything organized the night before, I made my husband's coffee in the coffee maker. Big mistake! He couldn't drink the coffee - yes it was that bad - and by the time we got to Waban, he was power walking. Highly unusual so I got concerned. He said that he was feeling sluggish and that his body was telling him to take it easy. I suggested that perhaps it was because he did not have his morning coffee. So in he went to Starbucks and after drinking a large cup of coffee, he was back to his old self. Ahhh the things you learn on a training run.

The sun broke out and by the time we got to Wellesley it became quite warm so we were stripping off layers of clothing. There were runners coming in from Hopkinton to Boston College who knew me by name. I recognized a few of the runners, but there was a mystery runner who I can't place who was cheering me on, and knew me by name. I wondered if perhaps he was an angel. Because of all of the charity runners, there was water and gatorade available on the course. I used more gel than I had on previous runs which cut down my need for clementines and pretzels (although I plan to bring 2-3 clementines and a bag of pretzels on Marathon Monday) and Tom and Ruth Anne were able to use gu and gatorade so they'll just need to bring a bag of pretzels each - eliminating the need for a backpack on Marathon Monday .When we arrived at the Reservoir at Cleveland Circle, a stiff wind kicked up and we had to don the layers we had shed - a good lesson for Marathon Monday - do not throw our clothing into the street - we may need it for later in the day. We practiced our pacing for fueling and by the time we arrived back at Marathon Sports we knew with complete certainty that Team McManus is ready for Marathon Monday. Today we drove out to Hopkinton and back tracing the Marathon route. We had run from Natick to the finish line and needed to get a visual of the route from Hopkinton to Natick as we mentally prepare for the Marathon.

And so - here is a look back at Team McManus' Boston Marathon Training Moments - the good the bad and the ugly


On calculating distance for training runs:
When we first set out on this journey, we had no idea how far or how long it would take us to run from point A to point B. This resulted in fertile ground for conflict --
Like when we were running a new route by the river on the same day as the Boston Heart Walk - I screamed to my husband who had plotted the route and began to cry 'Where is the f**ing bridge?'He told me that from here on out, it was my job to plot the training runs - ugh - but we all got back on track and plotted out our runs together
Quotable quotes: "We've only been out here for ten minutes?" - Ruth Anne "I don't think we can make it up that hill before we're supposed to stop" - Mary And I was the most obsessive compulsive person you would ever to not want to meet when it came to time and distance.
I would make us track the miles using our trip odometer in the car over and over again - hey what did I know? I had never run or trained for a marathon before.

On meltdowns:

When we first started running more than an hour, somebody would have a meltdown at 1:10 - you could set your watch to it. We would start swearing at each other - my personal favorite? We were going around the Chestnut Hill reservoir and Ruth Anne's iPod had run out of batteries. She was NOT a happy camper and I stood at the top of the hill screaming "F** this - I quit. I cannot take your attitude for another minute." The cars started honking at us and people stopped at the bottom of the hill and looked up and stared at us.

On bodily functions:

Being a first time marathoner at the ages of 55 & 57 (my husband is the elder statesman) makes for some very interesting challenges. Without going into too much graphic detail, I did, on several occasions, feel the need for Depends. When my daughter fell into a snowbank I laughed so hard that I peed myself. She was not hurt and it was one of those falls where her arms and legs were flailing because she could not get up. On our way to our favorite rest stop - Peet's Coffee in Newton Center, I announced out loud that I thought I was going to need Depends on Marathon Monday.

And then there was the time when the velcro on my bra strap just gave way - coincidentally, this was during the training run by the river. As we were about to go into our umpteenth meltdown for the day, I could feel the velcro on my running bra just let go. My daughter who was running behind me started howling to see this white thing come out of my running shirt. And then I laughed so hard, I peed myself. There is my husband down the road a little way yelling at us to quit fooling around and finish our training run....ahhh sweet memories!

And who could EVER forget us losing each other around - emphasize the word a-round Jamaica Pond. Tom had stopped at the car to fill up the water bottles and get some snacks. He had his iPod on really loudly. I was in the zone and ran by him. I saw him looking for me in the opposite direction and yelled to him that I was over here - I felt so great and the weather was wonderful that I did not want to interrupt my rhythm. Finally, my daughter who had been going at her own pace came running up to me - where were you she asked? (well duh, we're going around in a circle) Dad is worried sick about you. He thought that since you had to go to the bathroom (and the bathrooms were not open yet) that you went off the trail and went to pee in the woods). We finally all caught up with one another and laughed so hard.

Those are some of the highlights of 2008-2009 in the life of Team McManus - of course there is the Tufts 10K, the Tough Ten Mile Turkey Trot, The Hyannis Half - and so many wonderful, cherished memories for us. Through it all, we kept our sense of humor; worked it out (as Randy would say on American Idol - dawg - you worked it out) and now we are poised and ready to board the bus for the ride to Hopkinton, MA and to have the time of our lives on April 20, 2009.