The View From the Stadium - Spectating the 39th Annual Marathon Sports 5 Miler

The forecast was for rain. It's either been extremely hot and humid or downpours for the annual Marathon Sports 5 Miler. Instead, it was a picture perfect 75 degrees with little humidity.

One of the many reasons we love this race is because:

100% of the profits this year and in years past go to our friends over at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, in their noble quest to fight blood cancers.

It was my first 5 mile race ever with memories that I will always cherish. You can read about it in #tbt Marathon Sports 5 Miler - Keep Moving Forward.

It's a fast field so I now opt to have Tom run this race solo while I experience the thrill of being a spectator.

The pre race energy is electric as over 850 runners gathered for the event.

There were vendors:




I had this photo op with my Marathon Sports Family, Ellen Gabriel who hosted my Book Release Party at the Brookline Store and Alison Eno-Ballbach who was our mother hen during our 2009 Boston Marathon Training:



Tom took his place at the start and I went to the Stadium. I took this shadow selfie on the way:



You can see what a gorgeous evening it was:



And then they were off to the strains of Chariots of Fire:


The winner of the men's race came in at a sub 5:00 minute/mile pace:



And the first female came in under a 6 minute/mile pace:



Tom said he'd be doing about a 10 minute/mile pace so I settled down on the bleachers. I looked across the stadium at about 40 minutes or so and I see him in his BAA 10K shirt, sunglasses and white hat. I was stunned and wondered if maybe it wasn't him. But after being together for 37 years and spectating many, many races during these past several years, I knew there was no mistake. He was flying and crossed the finish line with a PR 8:29 minute/mile pace. As he crossed the finish line I said, "What the f*** did you do out there?" I could see he had left nothing on the roads and was about to leave nothing in his stomach. He found a bucket of ice, took a handful of it and poured it over his head. He rehydrated. Here he is crossing the finish line and channeling his inner Rocky -- not bad for 62 years old huh?



We walked around to give Tom a chance to cool down and recover. TriJake Fitness was offering photos. Tom insisted that I get in the photo since I am part of support crew:



We were surprised to find Amanda Ravens who ran for Spaulding's Race for Rehab Team this year. Tom and Amanda bonded during the Hyannis Half Marathon. Here is their post race pic:



Colin Peddie, owner of Marathon Sports gave me a huge hug and thanked us for coming out. He said he wanted to thank each and every person for coming out. He opened his arms to the sky saying how blessed we were with the weather tonight and the entire evening. So much healing has happened since 4/15/13 when his store and the city of Boston were shaken to the core.

As I was talking with Holly Kosel of TriJake, this person comes running up to Tom and says, "You were right man. You were so right about running!" I finished my conversation with Holly and we exchanged business cards. Everyone has a story!

Tom told me that the person who hugged him was an auditor when he worked at Dossia. He told this person that he needed to get out there and run and the Marathon Sports 5 Miler was one of his first races.

As the sun set over Weston and we said goodbye to friends - old and new - I felt deeply blessed and grateful to be a part of the Marathon Sports Family for these past 6 years. What a joy to watch Tom crush the race and celebrate with him. It's a beautiful view from the Stadium and what a joy to spectate the 39th annual Marathon Sports 5 Miler.

Here's to all who ran and finished - especially 83 year old Phyllis Mays who finished last with a 17:43 minute/mile pace.





"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.

#tbt Marathon Sports 5 Miler 2008 - Keep Moving Forward

My first blog title for today was Don't Quit. I prefer to use language that is positive and decided to use the theme moving forward. I saw this in my Facebook feed this morning:



In June of 2008, I ran the Corrib Pub Run, my first 5K road race ever. It was an amazing experience and I knew that I was on my journey on the road to the 2009 Boston Marathon. In July, we ran the Marathon Sports 5 Miler. It was an evening race. It was hot and humid and it was a fast field. We got lost on our way to the race which did not bode well for setting a positive vibe for the run. I was nervous to say the least on all fronts. I knew we were going to finish last but what was more of a challenge was the journey to get to the finish line. Thoughts of being left while others ran away from me when I was in a leg brace after contracting paralytic polio flooded me along with every imaginable negative thought I could conjure up about myself and my having the notion that I would ever run the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Tom suggested that I look at the beautiful trees, the houses, enjoy the quiet of the back streets in Weston. He would have me run from one landmark to the next and then we'd take a walking break. He helped me to breathe. As I write this, I realize that he was my labor coach during that run as I was struggling to give birth to me as a runner transforming out of a sedentary lifestyle that resulted in chronic disease.



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

Our first 5 mile race was the Marathon Sports 5 miler. It was a hot, steamy evening in July. We got lost on the way to the race. Tempers were running as hot as the thermometer because I was so anxious about running my first five mile race. My energy tended to wane by the evening as I was continuing to deal with the late effects of paralytic polio. We finally arrived and walked around trying to enjoy the pre race festivities. As everyone took their place at the start, I could see that this was a serious, competitive running crowd; quite a contrast to my first race ever, the Corrib Pub Run 5K in June.

Runners went out fast and Tom, Ruth Anne and I were in the back of the pack with a few other people. Even they took off and I told Ruth Anne to go out ahead of us. I experienced my first (of many) marathon training meltdowns. I cried as I
shared with Tom all the memories of having kids take off and leave me behind that were bubbling to the surface. I was sweating and tired and hot. I couldn’t tell where my tears ended and sweat began. I told Tom I had no business training for the Boston Marathon. Tom was wonderful and he told me that I couldn’t quit. We would make it through this race and we would make it through every training run. He believed in me when I did not believe in myself. I did know, however, that if I didn’t finish that race, I would never make it to the starting line of the Boston Marathon. Alison gave me water and a high five out on the course. She was worried about me in the heat and wanted to make sure I was okay.

Despite finishing dead last, members of the Marathon Sports family who knew the story of Team McManus, had air horns and a truck on the field honking and blowing and cheering us on to the finish. Ruth Anne circled back around to bring us into the finish line. She was there at the finish line to give me a hug and celebrate my first 5 mile road race ever. I knew training for Boston was not going to be easy, but I knew I had what it was going to take to make it happen.

I carry this memory with me as I continue to build strength and return to the roads after a a two year running hiatus. Sometimes, I feel the marathoner within me rear up. I want to sign up for endurance races and I want to train for another marathon. But I know that is just not the right goal for me.

I move forward. My three+ mile runs are designed to include hills to build strength and endurance. I felt wonderful in my body during last week's 5 mile run around Jamaica Pond after hill training.

I work hard in Aquatics Therapy at Spaulding Rehab. Our therapist had me use two dumb bells to plank rather than a noodle. I've started doing aqua jogging laps with the dumb bells. I have a wider range of motion and can work much harder than when I started the program in September.

Every finish line is a starting line. When I crossed the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon, I crossed another starting line in my healing odyssey. I carry the lessons and blessings I learned along the way in my heart. I am blessed by the friends that I have made and continue to make in this marathon of life. One of the amazing lessons among so many lessons and blessings I learned along the way is to keep moving forward and believe that one way or another, we will find the strength needed to sustain us no matter what the outcome might be. As Kara Goucher so eloquently reminds us, "You can't rush progress..." but you can keep moving forward.