One Moment in Time - Race Report Bill Rodgers 5K Run/Walk to Benefit Prostate Cancer

I was open to whatever it was my body was going to be able to do today. My mantra for today's race was light and joy. I wanted to feel light and joy in my body. I wanted to thoroughly enjoy the day. I was amazed that I slept well and did not have the usual pre race jitters. I had a good breakfast of a bagel, oatmeal, banana and orange juice. What a luxury to be able to get up at 6:45am on a race day and drive 10 minutes to the start of the race.

I had a sense of trust that this was going to be a good day.

I had no idea how good of a day I would have.

When we arrived race director Alain Ferry of RaceMenu greeted us. He had been following my blog posts about my intention to PR for the race. He gave me the warmest hug and asked me to remind him what my goal for today's race was. He joined me in my intention to see the clock at 47:00 or better.



I reconnected with Bill Rodgers who remembered me and my story from Hyannis as well as an email I had sent him after meeting him.



Pre race announcements talked about the importance of supporting research, early detection and treatment for Prostate Cancer. Alain asked for a show of hands of those running affected by cancer. There was an astounding number of hands in the crowd that were raised. Bill Rodgers shared how he is a prostate cancer survivor and it is the #2 leading cause of cancer deaths among American men. We need to pay as much attention to prostate cancer for men as we do for breast cancer for women. In his pre race remarks Bill Rodgers said that running and walking is a simple little sport but we as Americans can use it to change the world. He shared with me before the race as he introduced us to his girlfriend Karen that she is a breast cancer survivor. She won in her age group and after the race she told me that she started running in her 40's after being diagnosed with breast cancer. While waiting for the portapotty, I met a woman whose hair had just grown back after radiation and chemo. She wants to run Boston next year. I shared my story with her. Everyone has a story.

And then it was gun time and time for me to write another chapter in my story.

We started at the front of the pack with Bill Rodgers off to our left. I went out fast running through the Boston College campus where 30 years ago I received my Masters in Social Work. The field took off and I stayed to my race plan. We'd run the downhill and I'd run for as long as I could and then move into race walking. When we got to the rolling hills of Commonwealth Avenue, I race walked. The sun was bright and the day was heating up. Fortunately there was no humidity and we could go on the sidewalk for shade. We brought frozen water bottles with us that I used for hydration and to keep myself cool.

Mile 1 - 14:33 pace. I was blown away by my time but I knew that anything can happen over the next two point one miles.

Tom kept checking in with me. How was I feeling? Did anything hurt? I didn't talk much which is very unusual for me and I was breathing hard. I had a single minded goal but I was running from the inside out.

In my training runs I had been stopping to take a "water break". I slowed my pace at times but kept moving forward. We stopped for about 30 seconds at the water stop and then time to tackle the hill with a 221' elevation.

Mile 2 - time was almost 30 minutes.

Okay I think I can. I think I can. I've got this. I can do this.

Tom said to me "What do we do with hills?"

"We eat them for breakfast," I managed to get out.

To the top of Beacon Street and a right onto College Road.

A right onto Commonwealth Avenue heading toward the finish.

Alain comes out on his bike, "Oh there you are. "Come on you're almost there."

I was hot and the tank was getting empty.

As we headed toward the finish he told me I had less than a minute for my PR.

People gathered and were cheering me on.

Alain was just on the other side of the finish line.

I sprinted to the finish and the finish clock read 46:57 but chip time was 46:53!



I knew in my heart and soul that I crossed more than a finish line today. As I told Alain, I reclaimed my life today. The essence of who I am and what I am all about took center stage.

It's been one hell of a journey back since my nephew's suicide in March of 2011. Thanks to Alain and the #onerun on 5/25/13, I knew I had to come back to running. And then I realized it was more than coming back to running. It was setting a goal and challenging myself again. It was opening up to see what my body could do and leaving nothing on the roads. It was about testing my mettle and letting go of fear.

At the last race I ran before taking a 2 year running hiatus, my time was 46:57. The first race I ever ran, the Corrib Pub Run 5K in 2008 was 51:52. This year I ran a 48:03 at this year's Corrib Pub Run. In other races I was finishing between 48-49 minutes.

Last week, when Tom and I ran the course I ran it in 47:48. I figured why not go for 47:00 on race day? I set the intention in my heart, with my massage therapist, with my husband and then with Alain. I posted on facebook and received a message from Jess Lanzoni right before gun time, "goooooooo Mary go!! that PR is YOURS!". I blared One Moment in Time during breakfast this morning.

Someone posted this video from Billy Mills yesterday:



Alain shared with me that he didn't expect to find us as far up on Comm. Ave as close to the finish line as he did. He was concerned about the heat and he was coming to provide some support. But when he saw how close we were to the finish, he wanted that PR for me as much as I did. I felt as though I were being pulled into the vortex of the finish line by his loving energy and all those cheering me on.

"I saw you start to cry and then I could see a look come across your face and you dug deep during that sprint."

During that final sprint, Tom was letting me set the pace and could tell I was in the zone. Tom wept with me when we crossed the finish line. We both knew that I left a lot of pain, fear and doubt out on the course and in its wake there is a surge of confidence, strength, courage and healing.

Gratitude fills my heart for facebook friends who I met for the first time at today's race who cheered me on and took photos. And to Alain who was there to celebrate and tend to me post race. He ran and got me an ice water and made sure I got in the shade. To Tom who has been there for me on every step and every stride of this incredible journey. Today was one moment in time - many moments in time that will remain imprinted on my heart forever.

Tomorrow's blog will talk about my post race surprise!

"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.

Precious Moments: Advice to My Younger and Not So Younger Self

If there was one piece of advice I would give to my younger (and not so younger self) it would be to remember that moments are precious and wisely choose how you spend your time.



Trust your gut. Listen to your intuition and to your heart. They will not lead you astray. And then take a deep breath and exhale letting everything go.

As a survivor of paralytic polio, I was a fierce Type A personality who believed that I could push and force my way through anything. It served me well as I learned how to walk again and again - and again after many surgeries; and when channeled into my work at the VA as a champion for veterans, it helped to transform lives.

The down side of this belief is that I had trouble walking away from situations that did not serve me. During my meditation this morning I reflected on what does it mean "does not serve me"? It's a phrase we kick around a lot these days. I thought about the word serve. Are the choices I am making nourish me? Do they make me smile and bring joy into my life? Or conversely, are they choices that are an entanglement from days gone by.

The seeds of not valuing my worth were planted after I contracted paralytic polio and then grew into unwieldy weeds, if you will, with the fertilizer of 9 years of violence. Yes, I am smiling with that image. I weeded that plot of the garden of my life. In its place I put down my roots of self love, compassion, kindness and tenderness.

As I look back on choices I made since retirement, I can understand what drove me to hang in there until the often times bitter end of a situation.

But no more!

If something doesn't feel right and is not going to serve me, I, as gracefully as I can, exit stage left.

I take more time for stillness and meditation these days allowing my body to finally heal...and to listen to the promptings of my heart. The time in stillness gives rise to the flow of creativity. And I no longer worry about having something to do with my time. The Universe is always setting choices before me. I'm also learning how to enjoy Being in my life now without necessarily needing to do anything.

This summer I have been taking note of the warm sun. I make a special mental note of how wonderful it feels to go to Aquatics Therapy in shorts and a t shirt and not needing to dry my hair or the joy of running in one layer of running clothes.

I move my "office" around the yard to soak up the sun and the fresh air knowing that here in New England the Fall and Winter are right around the corner.

I'm taking the advice to my younger and not so younger self to work to stay present and enjoy these precious moments to serve myself well and then serve the world.




"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.

Spaulding Rehab Aquatics: A Magical Meeting and Using Your Noodle

Tom and I sat outside on the beautiful patio overlooking Boston Harbor before Spaulding Rehab Aquatics Therapy class. A woman wearing a Falmouth Road Race volunteer t shirt comes wheeling by us announcing, "This is the first day I've been able to do this by myself. God is so good." She opened her arms to the sunlit sky. She shared with us her story of two knee replacements that resulted in severe infections that led to an above the knee amputation. She has been in and out of the hospital and rehab for the past year. She told us she has her pity party time but that she knows how lucky she is. I gave her my business card and hope she gets in touch with me. She is a warrior in every sense of the word. What a magical moment to meet her after writing my blog yesterday about being thankful and taking nothing for granted. We exchanged hugs as she went on her way, the embodiment of faith, gratitude and spreading a message of healing, hope and possibility despite all appearances. She sees a world filled with possibility for competing in hand cycling events and adaptive sports through Spaulding. She is even considering running once she is able to wear a high tech prosthetic leg which is the goal for her. I told her how I lost use of my right arm for 6 months after a staph infection. I told her it's a lot of hard work as she knows but you can regain muscle strength. I told her about my 2009 Boston Marathon run.

What a blessing that Tom and I could share the class together. He was able to get in a good cross training workout in preparation for tomorrow's Marathon Sports 5 Miler. I continued to work to build strength and I dedicated my workout to the woman we met who was wheeling her way around the Spaulding campus celebrating her life and her freedom.

It was a small class. Our therapist led us through an intense cardio workoout. I could feel her energy and intention for each of us to find our strength. I challenged myself by going into the deeper water. Tom told me after class he was amazed at my focus and dedication to building strength.

It's not all work and no play though. Our therapist suggested that, after we balanced and walked on the noodle in the shallow end of the pool



that we attempt standing on the noodle and then, with legs together, pump the noodle up and down.

It was a delightful challenge that resulted in experiencing a sense of play as I'd lose my balance, have my noodle pop up to the surface and I'd go under water.

It's so wonderful to be able to challenge myself in a safe, aquatic environment and to unleash a sense of play and freedom. I was able to find my balance and do 5 leg push ups. Now that's what I call using your noodle! I wanted to keep trying it over and over again but it was time to cool down and stretch.

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, there are times that I have a pity party. Sometimes it is so difficult to live with the late effects of paralytic polio and yet it is my path and one I wouldn't (or couldn't) trade for the world. I wouldn't have the opportunity to meet the most amazing, magical, inspiring people that I get to meet on this journey.

Everyday I give thanks that Spaulding Rehab is a part of my journey that takes me to higher and higher ground in my healing.

To read more about my journey after being diagnosed with post polio syndrome in December of 2006 at Spaulding Rehab's International Rehab Center for Polio ----





"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.

Building Confidence - "The Secret Weapon" - Training for Tufts

I'm reading Kathrine Switzer's book, "Marathon Woman." She calls running her secret weapon and a part of her quest to bring equality to the sport of running was so that women could experience the secret weapon.

I was a late comer to the sport of running, taking my first steps as a runner at the age of 54. Something inside of me said that I needed to run; that I had to run and that I had to run the 2009 Boston Marathon.

Training for and running the 2009 Boston Marathon was a journey that helped me to move out of my perception of myself as disabled and unable to succeed in athletic endeavors. I honed my intellectual prowess in order to survive and to experience success in my life. It was a blessing and saved me but I paid a terrible price in not paying attention to my physical form.

It's been a journey full of highs and lows; triumphs and tribulations. Yes running is a wonderful metaphor for life and vice versa. In 2011, I stopped listening to that call and that need to run. But truth always prevails and last April I returned to the roads and to the open arms of the running community.

When I literally dropped to the ground after contracting paralytic polio at the age of 5, having confidence in my body was shaken to my core. Feeling my body's physical decline at the age of 53 was frightening. My ongoing challenge during this 7 and a half year healing odyssey has been to acknowledge and heal the feelings of helplessness and fear while building confidence in my strength and my a-bility in my body. There are times when I have to pause and allow my body to organize. When I am tired, it can be a challenge to go from sitting to standing. It takes time for my body to recover after a run and I have had to set limits on how/when/where I choose to expend my energy. I am truly blessed that my husband and daughter understand that in order for me to stem the tide of this neuromuscular condition that I need help with chores and can no longer do it all if I am going to be able to do the things that I enjoy doing.

When I first returned to the roads in April of 2013, I didn't feel the spark; that secret weapon; the feeling of empowerment and strength that comes when I'm out on the roads. Slowly the spark returned and yesterday while training on the Tufts 10K course, I was on fire.

I love the new course for the Tufts 10K:



We used to wind our way through the narrow streets of Beacon Hill and over the Longfellow Bridge. Since the bridge is under construction, we go out Beacon Street and over the Mass. Ave Bridge.

I thought that my Nike+ may have gone wonky since my time for the 6.11 miles was 7 minutes less than the week before with a time of 1:33:28; a pace of 15'18"/mile. My husband and daughter reassured me that the pace was accurate given how they felt keeping up with me. They are used to a much more relaxed pace when they support me during my training run. The weather conditions were perfect. The temperatures were cool and there was no humidity. We had a huge tailwind and the new course is relatively flat. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun sparkling off of the Charles River was magnificent. I continued to run from the inside out paying keen attention to stopping at our "water stops." I didn't know what my pace was at one point, but I knew I was really pushing myself. I could tell that I needed to stop and then walk in order to allow my body to regroup.

But I didn't care about the time.

I cared about the way that I felt being out on the course. I experienced a flashback to how I felt running Tufts in October of 2008. I felt the sense of reckless abandon in my body; freedom and joy riding the waves of moving, pushing the edge of my envelope and a connection to the essence of who I am.

From my memoir and an article I wrote for Cape Healing Arts Magazine:

Running with God

Two years ago, in October of 2006, when I felt I could no longer live with fatigue, weakness and pain, God suggested that I Google post polio syndrome. I called Spaulding Rehab’s International Rehab Center for Polio and an angel, Anna Rubin, answered the phone. After a series of appointments at Spaulding, an MRI, an appointment with my primary care provider and seven tubes of blood later (to rule out any other possible causes for my symptoms), I was diagnosed with post polio syndrome – a progressive neurological disease. Mind, body and spirit were burned out from the external demands of a full time job in social work and caring for my family, and mind, body and spirit were crying out for growth and transformation.

On a cold dark day in February 2007, wearing a leg brace, using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility, I contemplated my future. I felt the urge to create: I sat down at my laptop and wrote the poem, Running the Race.
Running the Race - Feb, 2007
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.

Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.

Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist, curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.

Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team and they were on my side.

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.

Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.

I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

Carl Jung says that our unconscious prepares the future. I had no idea that on October 13, 2008, I would, in fact, run a 10K race with my daughter Ruth Anne.

Through intensive rehab at Spaulding Rehab, major lifestyle changes (quitting my full time job to follow my bliss of being a poet), nutritional changes, reconnecting with God, working with an angel personal trainer, Janine Hightower of Boston Home Bodies and Janice Wesley, a gifted physical therapist and energy healer, my mind, body and spirit healed in profound ways.

In February of 2008, I traded in my polio shoes for running shoes. And, at the Tufts 10K, my daughter and I finished the race with a time of 13:53 minute/mile pace. The actual time of course is irrelevant – it was a miracle that I was able to even lace up a pair of running shoes and contemplate running 6.2 miles. My daughter and I had set our goal pace at a 15 minute mile hoping to finish in an hour and a half.

We spent a lot of time together in prayerful preparation for race day. We ran 4.5 miles on Saturday at a 15 minute pace. We rested and nourished ourselves on Sunday. I did the alignment exercises prescribed by Janice and did pilates to strengthen my core. We took our time getting ready on race day, fueling with a healthy breakfast and while I was chomping at the bit to get to the race, Ruth Anne helped steady my nerves by talking about the need to conserve energy.

We became quiet and I meditated on the train ride to the race inviting God to shower me with energy, strength and love. I could run the distance – we were up to running 10 miles for long distance runs, but could I run it at a fast pace? I reflected on one of my spiritual experiences on one of our long distance runs. I had an image of my polio self and who I am today side by side in a huge bubble. As I ran, the distance lengthened between my polio self and who I am today until the bubble finally burst and I was free.

I felt God’s presence as a long forgotten childhood memory surfaced. Cries from my childhood of ‘easy out’, ‘we don’t want her on our team,’ ‘what’s wrong with her anyway?’ melted away. I remembered the day in gym when we were playing kickball and the entire outfield moved in as they always did when I was up. All of a sudden, I connected with the ball and ended up kicking a home run because there was no one in the outfield! I decided that today was a day for another surprise. I told God I wanted my daughter to be proud of me.

We were in perfect physical and spiritual harmony. Our feet moved in perfect rhythm; we ran hills as we had during hill training sessions and coached each other during down hills. God’s presence was palpable and my Spirit transcended my physical body allowing me to sustain a pace I had never run before. I felt the energy and cheers from the crowd along with the prayers from friends I knew were praying for me that day.

As my daughter and I crossed the finish line, the clock read: 1:29 – but that was gun time…our actual time was 1:26 – four minutes under what we visualized as our goal for that day and a good one minute less per mile than we were hoping for! The magic and miracle of October 13, 2008 shall forever be an imprint on my Spirit! I am so grateful to my beautiful daughter, the organizers of the Tufts 10K, the staff at Spaulding Rehab’s International Rehab Center for Polio and Spaulding Rehab Downtown Boston, Janine Hightower, Janice Wesley, and of course, God – our Loving Creator who guides my footsteps every moment of every day. – cha
By Mary McManus, Winter 2008

I am keenly aware of the challenges I live with every day. I know that I need the Aquatics Therapy program at Spaulding Rehab twice/week although occasionally I will trade off a Wednesday afternoon class for a Wednesday run. I cannot strength train on land without injury but I can safely strength train in the water. I cannot run in the evening. I have to choose my races wisely.

After yesterday's training run I realized it's not about the time or the races or what I can or cannot do. It's that feeling I experience when I am out running. I feel confidence and strength no matter the distance or the pace. After paralytic polio followed by 9 years of unrelenting violence, I can experience peace with all that is knowing that I am stronger and greater than anything that happened to me and have the ability to manage whatever may come my way...and a big part of experiencing that peace is because running is my secret weapon.


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.

Running Free

I tend to have vivid dreams that I can recall in the morning. They are a very important part of my healing journey. Many of them have not been pleasant to say the least but I know that the trauma dreams, as I like to call them (as opposed to nightmares) have been an important tool as I heal the effects of trauma and paralytic polio. It's exciting to experience the progression of healing through my dreams and then to experience the transformation in my life.

Last year I had several powerful dreams with my grandmother. In one, I show her that I have the ability to create an out of body experience to avoid her terror and in another dream, I felt utterly wretched for daring to stand up to her.

This morning I had an early morning dream. My mother and grandmother were standing there just as they looked in life. No more fear. No more terror. No confrontations. No need to dissociate and withdraw. I ran by them feeling strong, empowered and free.

I had no expectations for today's run. Wednesdays are usually an Aquatics Therapy day for me but with the holiday week, class was cancelled. I could have gone to the Boston University pool but the weather was so gorgeous outside that I didn't want to be indoors. I was thinking of combining a walk with a swim at Houghton's Pond or going to our local outdoor pool for a swim.

I opted for a 3.1 miler; twice around the Route 9 Reservoir and then to Dean Road. There is a huge hill on the loop back.

I was initially going to walk at a leisurely, comfortable pace as I had when we did my first 6.1 miler on Heartbreak Hill. I pushed my pace on Saturday's training run for the Tufts 10K and took 4 minutes off of my time. On Monday, my daughter and I did speed work.

I got up early feeling refreshed after a solid 10 hours of sleep to have breakfast with Tom before he left for work. We really value and treasure our time together now that we are both in our 60's. I am so grateful that he is willing and able to continue to work full time to support us financially.

I decided it was a perfect opportunity to get out and do an early run to try to beat the heat and humidity.

I was out the door by 8 am.

There was a breeze and shade when I started out. I wanted to make it a leisurely pace but something inside of me wanted to do more and so after a little warm up, I picked up the pace.

I did not have any time goal in mind and as the sun got hotter and the day more humid, I knew that I had to be careful with how I was running.

I stopped for water and walked at times.

It was me, my iPod and Nike+ along with the geese, ducks, squirrels and rabbits.

And I noticed there was something very different about this run.

I tried to figure it out. What was I feeling?

I was smiling. I was happy. I was pouring sweat. I was working hard. I was deeply connected to myself, to the moment, to my mission.

I know I have absolutely nothing to prove but I felt a need to push my pace. What was my mission anyway?

Was I feeling angry? Was I outrunning my past? Was I proving that I could overcome post polio syndrome?
The answer came back no to every question I asked.

And then it hit me. For the first time I wasn't breaking away or running away or proving them wrong ...

for the first time, I was me - running free!



And if you are curious about my time, it's the first consistent sub 16 minute/mile pace on a training run with a negative split of 32 seconds from mile 1 to mile 2 and a 16 second split from mile 1 to mile 3. It's my best training run time since I returned to the roads a little over a year ago now after a two year running hiatus. And to be able to do it in the heat and humidity is quite an accomplishment. But more important than any time on the clock, is how I felt inside, deep in my soul to experience my own sense of greatness that I never gave up. Somewhere deep inside of me I believed a time would come when the shackles to the past would come off and I could be truly me as I wrote in my first poem, "Running the Race."

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


I sat at my dining room table on a freezing cold dark February evening. No one else was at home. I had printouts from ‘new age’ teachers spread out all over the table. Dr. Bernie Siegel, Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, teachers from “The Secret” which was very popular back in the day were beckoning me. The theme was gratitude and a call to create.

“I am so happy and grateful that I can create,” was an affirmation from a Lisa Nichols newsletter.

Create? Create? I asked myself over and over again. What am I going to create? I had twins and my childbearing years were over. My career was quickly coming to an end.

And then I felt a stirring in my second chakra (only then I didn’t know it was my second chakra – I thought it might have been something I ate). I went over to my laptop in the corner of the living room and I wrote this poem:

Running the Race

Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.
Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.
Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.




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.

#MondayMotivation

Seven years ago today, I sat in my sparsely decorated office at the VA Outpatient Clinic at 251 Causeway Street poised to leave behind my 25 year social work career having spent almost 20 of them with the VA serving those who served. I brought home my books, photos, inspirational sayings, my lamp, my awards and left the bare minimum I would need until I officially "cleared out" on Friday 5/25/07.

From my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" now available on Amazon --

This is the conversation Dr. Darren Rosenberg had with me during my initial assessment, October 2006, at Spaulding Rehab's International Rehab Center for Polio:

“I’m going to make a lot of suggestions for you. It’s up to you whether or not you follow my recommendations. I know this is a lot for you to digest but let’s begin. I am working on the assumption that we are dealing with post polio syndrome since the symptoms you are exhibiting are classic for post polio syndrome.”

“You need to quit your job. You’re eligible for social security disability. The stress of your work is exacerbating the symptoms. I am going to refer you to brace clinic, our speech and language therapist who will do a swallow assessment and based on her findings we’ll see if you require an endoscopy. I highly recommend a sleep study because it is very common for post polio patients to experience sleep apnea. The chronic fatigue can be a result of sleep apnea. You need to see our physical therapist who will not only get you started on some gentle exercises but talk with you about nutrition. Our occupational therapist is going to work with you on energy conservation and while you remain at work, what adaptive equipment you need to diminish the stress on your body. You’ve already had an EMG…..”


I began planning my exit strategy in February of 2007 after the diagnosis of post polio syndrome was made in December.

While I was beginning to feel a little better with outpatient rehab and writing poetry as my pen became my divining rod for healing, I faced a tremendous amount of uncertainty with my health and my finances.

As I sat in my office, was I frightened? I was terrified but I had to choose faith over fear.

It's been 7 years of ups and downs and everything in between.

I saw this on Facebook this morning:



I hit a lot of sour notes on this journey and I greet them all with loving kindness and compassion.

I have met many, many people on this journey many of whom would be my greatest teachers for the toughest lessons I needed to learn in order to heal. I found the strength to say goodbye to those I needed to say goodbye to.

I found the courage to be who I really am, as I am and embrace those who love and support me and challenge me to my best and highest self.

I sit here smiling. I feel better today at 60 years old than I have in my entire life!

I am a 2009 Boston Marathon finisher, the author of 5 books of inspirational poetry and my memoir. I am writing a 6th book of inspirational poetry, "Journey Well" which will bring together the best poems from my trilogy of poetry books and my recent poetic creations.

I am back on the roads once again seeing what this body can do training for the Tufts 10K in October.

Friday I am blessed that Marathon Sports Brookline is hosting my Book Release Party for my memoir. It's going to be More Than a Book Release Party ...



And all of this happened and is happening because I had the courage and faith to take that first step on 5/25/2007 ....

What first step are you going to take today to step confidently in the direction of your dreams?

"Nature Triumphs!"

As I was booking our hotel stay for when my husband runs the Cape Cod Marathon in October, one of the hotels had this quote posted on their website:

When the snowdrops push their green spears through the earth, I know that Spring has arrived, and each year I think what a miracle it is.
No matter how long the winter, how hard the frost or how deep the snow, Nature triumphs. Sheila Pickles

Life gets messy. Life can get ugly and can be cold and dark and at times, seems unforgiving.

But what a miracle when we are able to push on and push through and allow our true nature to burst forth and blossom regardless of the circumstances of the winter of our life.

In the darkest days of the winter of 2007, shortly after being diagnosed with post polio syndrome, I experienced difficulty with my voice and swallowing, fatigue, breathing and a whole host of symptoms that were a result of paralytic polio I contracted at age 5 and the severe trauma I experienced from the age of 8-17 when my father, after years of struggling with alcoholism and psychiatric illness, finally took his own life.

I occasionally wrote poetry to celebrate and commemorate special events, yet I never nurtured my creative side until my body basically shut down. It was the dark night of my soul. Yet just like the snowdrops that can blossom through the snow, poetry flowed out of me. I began to move out of the darkness of fear and feeling/living like a victim into the light of love, gratitude and believing in what was possible. I even visualized running although I was in a leg brace, using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility. From my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":

I sat at my dining room table on a freezing cold dark February evening. No one else was at home. I had printouts from ‘new age’ teachers spread out all over the table. Dr. Bernie Siegel, Wayne Dyer, Tony Robbins, teachers from “The Secret” which was very popular back in the day were beckoning me. The theme was gratitude and a call to create.

“I am so happy and grateful that I can create,” was an affirmation from a Lisa Nichols newsletter.

Create? Create? I asked myself over and over again. What am I going to create? I had twins and my childbearing years were over. My career was quickly coming to an end.

And then I felt a stirring in my second chakra (only then I didn’t know it was my second chakra – I thought it might have been something I ate). I went over to my laptop in the corner of the living room and I wrote this poem:

Running the Race

Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.
Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.
Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

I sobbed to write those words. I had never spoken about polio or the abuse I endured. I became curious. Why am I writing about winning a 10K race?

Energy flows where intention goes and I was blessed to experience a profound transformation in my physical form. So much so that I went on to run the 2009 Boston Marathon!

Three years ago after my nephew's suicide, I almost lost myself again. I stopped running and went on a long and winding road to find my way back home to myself.

I gardened for the first time in my life the other day as I wrote about in my blog "Dirt Therapy". How wonderful to weed and prune and have it all carted away in the lawn and leaf bags on trash day. I have been weeding and pruning in my life.

I go for biweekly massage sessions at Sollievo Massage and Bodywork which incorporates Zero Balancing. I have been shaking off the past literally and metaphorically as my body works to relax, settle and reorganize itself. We release my body's powerful natural ability to heal and find its way into a more balanced structure.

I'm feeling more and more like the person I was always meant to be. I'm back to running and the running community. In my mind's eye, I want to run another half marathon but first I have to run the Tufts 10K in October and see how that goes. I know I can't push myself too far or too fast. I am enjoying the journey of building distance and flirting with speed work.

But however the changes may or may not manifest in my physicality, my sense of well being, ability to weather whatever storms may come my way, contentment with my life and joy in living is here and now.

And that is how we are meant to be when nature triumphs!


When we stand in our truth, speak from our heart and live as our highest selves, everything flows and we can, just by our very presence, create powerful change in the world. ~Mary McManus

#tbt Run For Your Life

As I was cleaning out the dormer, I came across the article we framed from the May 8, 2008 Brookline Tab:



I had saved the article and comments in a word document.

Since she was a little girl, Mary McManus had rarely moved faster than a walk.
But last month, the former polio patient bought her first pair of running shoes. And now she’s training for a marathon.
Paralyzed by polio at the age of 5, the Brookline mother of two now spends every day fighting back against the crippling effects of the disease that still threatens to rob her of her strength and mobility 50 years later. She said she won’t stop until she runs her first marathon.
“I just know with every fiber in my body that we will,” she said. “It’s all happening.”

McManus faces an uphill battle. Though polio itself has been virtually eradicated from the developed world, McManus is one of more than 440,000 Americans who could see a resurgence of symptoms decades later, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Scientists believe this resurgence, called post-polio syndrome, is a result of natural aging and stress on the motor neurons that survive an initial polio attack.

Polio survivors learn to depend on these motor neurons as they recover, and can live relatively normal lives before they give out later in life, according to Mary Cole, a senior occupational therapist at the International Center for Polio in Framingham.
“There’s usually a long period of stability,” said Cole. “If not, there’s something else going on.”
Cole teaches post-polio patients how to save their energy, and recommends that many start using the braces and canes they once used as kids. It’s about improving quality of life, she said.

“A lot of people think exercise is what can get you through this, and that’s not the case,” Cole said. “Most of these patients have been overusing these muscles, and we need to find a balance.”

But McManus said she refuses to slow down. She wants to prove that other post-polio patients don’t have to, either.
“I’m here to let them know that that might be true for some people, it doesn’t have to that way,” she said.

I smile as I read this and realize that I was running for my life.

I had no idea what I was doing. Check out the attire I wore. It's like a throwback to Bill Rodgers running in a t shirt and garden gloves back in the 70's.

I relied on the guidance of my personal trainer. In October of 2008, I met Spaulding Rehab's Race for Rehab coach and trainer. Domenick D'Amico who promised to get us to the starting line healthy and to the finish line with a smile. From my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility:"

We walked into the conference room at the old Spaulding Rehab Hospital on Nashua Street in Boston for our pre race team meeting. I was overcome with emotion to realize that just two years earlier, I was being seen in the outpatient clinic facing a grim and uncertain future. Here I was walking over the thresh hold and through the doors of the conference room with my husband and daughter by my side to join the 2009 Spaulding Hospital Race for Rehab team.

We introduced ourselves and then were introduced to our beloved coach, Domenick D’Amico who told us his job was to get us to the starting line healthy and to the finish line with a smile. I was terrified, excited, determined and feeling fierce and feisty that I, Mary McManus, a polio survivor was going to run the 2009 Boston Marathon.

But I wasn't running to only reclaim my life; to move out of a mindset of disability and emotional and physical paralysis. I had a purpose that I felt and continue to feel deep in my soul. I was running to inspire others as reflected in the comments from the article:

DEAR MARY I'M SO PROUD OF YOU AND WISH YOU THE BEST OF THE BEST AT EVERY GOAL YOU ARE A GREAT WOMAN, I'M THINKING ABOUT MY LIFE IS A POST POLIO PERSON AND WISH I CAN DO THE SAME YOU DOING NOW
GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
RAUL CORNEJO

Hello Mary, i stumbled onto your story.
I had polio when i was 14 months old; 27 years after, i still struggle with the physical and 'mostly' the emotional trials that accompany polio.
I'm a doctor,so daily i encounter people with a variety of challenging conditions and i constantly draw strength from how different people embrance their unique situations.
I am particularly inspired by your unrelenting spirit, 50 years on!
I just got back from taking a long walk.
I was thinking about my life in general and saying to myself, are you just going to give in to polio without a fight?
I decided that i'll start running in the evenings to strengthen my calfs and increase my muscle bulk. During my walk, i also dealt with some emotional issues... but i digress.
I got home and got on the internet to see if there where any researched exercise routines benefical to polio survivors, i wanted to be sure running was safe.
I got a lot of info, the unianimous advice was, don't over exert yourself, complete with the medical explanations why overexertion could be harmful.
I know running may be a stretch for me, i don't know how beneficial it will be, but i know that miracles still do happen.
Polio will not hinder me anymore. I am definately gonna give it a shot.
I'll come back here to let you know my improvement.
I am very inspired by your determination and i thank you for sharing your story.
God bless you.

Hi Mary. I was listening to the radio the other night and I heard your interview. I don't know if you remember me but you took care of my husband George Murray while at the VA hospital as well as saving my life on a daily basis back then. You were truly my angel. I am so happy to have an opportunity to thank you for all you did for me back then and I have often wondered about how you were and then I heard you quite by accident as I still get up really early but the radio was on and I immediately recognized your voice. Do I think you will run this marathon, absolutely. You will do it. I am sorry you have gone through these health problems but you sound wonderful. I am going to get your book and I know I will love it. God bless you and I know he does.
Love

Maureen Murray

If you'd met Mary last year and then again today, you will be pleasantly surprised by the changes in her. She positively radiates with energy and good cheer. If exercise is how she's made the changes then I definitely want to start moving more too. It would be nice to have a follow-up after she has run her marathon.
Beth Blutt

I think it is awesome that she has been able to rebuild her strength a second time. I am encouraged now to continue exercising myself and continue to accomplish as much as I can in my golden years instead of settling for couch potato status.
Linda DuPre

I'm still running for my life today. I don't run as far or as fast as I did. I'm still running to inspire others. And I'm still running to spread a message of healing, hope and possibility.

Today he was the hammer...Today he finished the race!

He weighed 195 pounds at 4'4" tall, and was a self proclaimed video game addict suffering from severe sleep apnea when he decided to save his own life five years ago. He had been advised against running because of the risk of injury as a Little Person. But that didn't stop John Young from competing in Sprint Triathalons, Half Iron Man Distances and taking on the Boston Marathon.

Last year, he and Juli Windsor were stopped just shy of the Boston Marathon finish line. Their moving and riveting story is told in this article in Runner's World Big: The Story of Two Little People Running Boston.

John vowed to finish the race as he trained through the grueling 2013/2014 New England Winter.

John and I first met at the Team Hoyt 5K several years ago. When I stopped running, I lost contact with many of my inspirational running friends and my friends in the running community. April 15, 2013 changed all of that. I got back on the roads and reconnected with my friends in social media and in real life.

John and I discovered many parallels in our journeys as we reconnected through social media. He travels the equivalent of two marathons for each marathon distance because he has to take almost twice as many steps. I have to use a lot more energy to run because of my history of paralytic polio and living with post polio syndrome. We each came to the sport late in life knowing that we were at a crossroads needing to choose life or risking worsening health and disability. We each share a strong faith knowing that we draw our strength from God. Conventional medical wisdom told us that we were taking a risk by running especially taking on endurance running but something deep inside of us knew that we had to take that risk. We were both there on 4/15/13 and shared in the terror of the day. I was a spectator at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel. He was a runner and a husband and father whose family was in the VIP seats across from the first explosion.

It was exhilarating to follow John's training, tweets and facebook posts as Marathon Monday 2014 drew near.

We were surprised to have bumped into each other at the BAA 5K the Saturday of Marathon Weekend among thousands and thousands of runners and spectators. He was getting ready to head to the Expo and get his bib. Tom was getting ready to toe the starting line of the first leg of the BAA Distance Medley.



Marathon Monday arrived. I was tracking John. I got the text he hit the 10K mark and then nothing. I thought maybe there was a problem with the tracking system but I started getting texts for other runners I was tracking. As the day wore on I was getting worried. Maybe I missed him I thought but he knew where we were and I'm sure we would have seen him. We saw Juli run by and screamed to cheer her on to the finish.

When we got home, John posted that he had to withdraw from the race because a stomach virus gripped him at around mile 10 in Natick.

There was an outpouring of support for John. His 11 year old son Owen said, "Well dad. Some days you're the hammer and some days you are the nail. Today you were the nail." Yes 11 years old!

John posted on facebook that he would finish his race.

This morning at 6:30 am a dear friend of his drove him to Natick.



It was pouring rain but nothing was going to deter John today.

He posted pictures as he entered Wellesley and Newton and Facebook posts cheered him along the way.





After we saw he entered Newton, we prepared to meet John at the base of Heartbreak Hill at St. Ignatius. Another couple joined us as part of #supportcrew for John.



We chatted for a few minutes. John told us that whenever he feels leg pains, he gives a tug to Katie Lynch's sock and the teething ring and photo sent to him by a mom of a Little Person who was inspired by John's message of hope and possibility. He looked amazing, smiling through the rain and very pleased with his average pace of 13:30 minutes/mile. Before he risked cramping up, he went on his way to cross the finish line on Boylston Street.

Here's a John selfie with the Citgo Sign and Kenmore Square beckoning him to the finish



It doesn't matter that the 118th Boston Marathon ended 19 days ago. Today, John Young set out to finish what was abruptly interrupted on 4/15/13. Today John Young was the hammer. Today John Young finished the race.



Be sure to follow John's blog and his inspirational Tweets on Twitter.

It's More Than a Book Release Party

On 5/23 from 7:00-9:00pm, Marathon Sports Brookline store closes the door to its customers for the evening and welcomes me and my guests for the official release of "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility."



I feel so blessed and grateful that Ellen Gabriel, manager of the Brookline store offered to host the release party. She said it seemed only fitting since my road to the Boston Marathon began at Marathon Sports where I was fitted for my first pair of running shoes - ever! Ellen was an important part of our Saturday training runs as the manager of the Wellesley store. We stopped there for a pit stop and refueling. She welcomed us, checked in with us and asked if there was anything we needed to ensure the safety and success of our long runs. The kindness and generosity she showed us lives on in my heart.

Marathon Sports has been and continues to be an important part of my healing odyssey. They have offered support and advice as there have been shifts and changes in what I need for footwear. They have supported me when I needed to take time off from running and embraced and celebrated with me when I returned to the roads most recently last May after a two year running hiatus.

When I first showed up at Marathon Sports Brookline wearing sweat pants, a t shirt and my daughter's old running shoes, I cannot imagine what they thought but they saw beyond the person standing before them. They saw a runner who had made the commitment to run the 2009 Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab.

When I look at the RSVP's for the Book Release Party, I realize that the event is more than a book release party. There are people coming together from different chapters of my life; from when I worked at the VA to people I have met in the past year during my return to the roads. There are those with whom I've been friends since I ran the Boston Marathon.

Domenick D'Amico, my beloved coach and trainer who I met at Spaulding Rehab in October of 2008, just happened to be planning a trip to Boston in May. We were able to coordinate the Book Release Party with his trip to Boston.

From my memoir:

We walked into the conference room at the old Spaulding Rehab Hospital on Nashua Street in Boston for our pre race team meeting. I was overcome with emotion to realize that just two years earlier, I was being seen in the outpatient clinic facing a grim and uncertain future. Here I was walking over the thresh hold and through the doors of the conference room with my husband and daughter by my side to join the 2009 Spaulding Hospital Race for Rehab team.

We introduced ourselves and then were introduced to our beloved coach, Domenick D’Amico who told us his job was to get us to the starting line healthy and to the finish line with a smile. I was terrified, excited, determined and feeling fierce and feisty that I, Mary McManus, a polio survivor was going to run the 2009 Boston Marathon.

I can imagine and feel the energy in the room with the people who have already RSVP'ed for the event. While we are celebrating the release of my memoir, we are also celebrating the message of healing, hope and possibility. Each person who has RSVP'ed so far has their own story. I envision a mingling of stories, the work that people do and running stories - lots of running stories for sure! There are people who have messaged and emailed me letting me know they sadly are unable to attend but will be there in Spirit!

There will be wine and soda, crackers, cheese and fruit all supplied by Marathon Sports. I will be donating $5 of every book sold that night to the One Fund to continue to support the healing of those injured at the Boston Marathon last year.

Domenick will speak first. I will be reading a few excerpts from my memoir followed by signing copies of my memoir.

It's going to be an evening I will remember and cherish in my heart and I know that it's going to be a lot more than just a book release party.

Finding Strength

"We can either watch life from the sidelines, or actively participate. Either we let self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy prevent us from realizing our potential, or embrace the fact that when we turn our attention away from ourselves, our potential is limitless." - Christopher Reeve

The motto of Spaulding Rehab Hospital where I go for twice weekly Aquatics Therapy classes is Find Your Strength.



When I first walked through the doors of the Spaulding Rehab Framingham Outpatient Clinic, I was terrified, overwhelmed and had no idea what was wrong with me or how I was ever going to find my strength.

It's been over 7 years now since I was diagnosed with post polio syndrome. During these past 7 years I discovered that the years of dissociating from my body as a result of contracting paralytic polio at the age of 5 followed by 9 years of unrelenting trauma, took a toll on me mind, body and Spirit.

The first step I took in finding my strength was surrender. I had to surrender to my body as it was and then slowly work to find my strength. The first return of strength did not come with strength of body; it came through strength of Spirit as I started writing poetry. I felt a spark of life begin to flicker. I fanned its flames by having pen and paper with me at all times to allow Spirit to speak even though my body was weak and deconditioned from years of abuse and neglect.

Slowly, with the help of Allison Lamarre-Poole, a phenomenal physical therapist at Spaulding Outpatient Clinic in Downtown Boston, I began to build my physical strength.

I found the strength to walk away from my award winning VA social work career just three years shy of retirement age.

After being discharged from outpatient rehab, I hired a personal trainer. That's when building physical strength took on a whole new meaning for me. From my memoir, Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility:

"After our session, I felt muscles I had no idea existed in my body. I remember barely being able to get up after our plane landed. Despite the pain, I knew that I was on the right path. I decided that if I were going to hurt, I may as well hurt on the side of getting healthy. I couldn’t listen to the admonishment of if you use it you will lose it. I had to believe in my body’s capacity for healing. I had to have faith. As I went through the rigors of personal training, there were moments of incredible doubt. During those times, Janine held enough faith for the two of us."

While the initial spark to set foot on a healing path and find my strength had to come from within me, without the support of my family, my therapists, my trainer and then the running community, I would never have come off the sidelines to train for and cross the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon. My beloved coach and trainer Domenick D'Amico promised to get me to the starting line healthy and to the finish line with a smile. He told me he never doubted that I would be able to accomplish the goal I declared in February 2008 although I had never run a day in my life.

Every day, I find my strength mind, body and Spirit to live and thrive with the late effects of paralytic polio and a history of trauma. I challenge myself to dig deep and build strength in aquatics classes and in my runs. I experiment and I play around with finding my edge. The physical is the outward manifestation of the spiritual strength it takes for me to experience a sense of beauty and strength in spite of or maybe because of all that I have experienced.

My journey is not just about me though. I love supporting and being a cheerleader for others as they find their strength and dare to not allow anything that life has thrown their way to sideline them. Just as others held faith, support and encouragement for me when I wasn't sure what was possible, I now let others know my powerful message of healing, hope and possibility so they can find their strength.

A Sore Throat - A Full Heart - A City That IS Boston Stronger

The 2014 Boston Marathon is in the books. The one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon Bombings is behind us. Today orange Marathon jackets, smiles and medals abound along with that tell tale post marathon walk. The City is calm and there is a sense of exhaustion, relief, joy and a quiet celebration that we made it through and will continue to make it through moving through healing.

The 5 year anniversary of our 2009 Boston Marathon run was on Sunday and what a celebration we had taking the field at Fenway. We were part of a corps of 50 volunteers representing the 10,000 BAA volunteers who are the epitome of #supportcrew for the Boston Marathon. There was a pre game ceremony to honor the Boston Marathon. There was commemoration and celebration; a look back and a look ahead to the running of the 118th Boston Marathon; moving forward as a community bound together by love on 4/15/13.

The group of runners representing the 36,000 runners, sporting Boston Strong t shirts ran out onto the field ahead of our group of volunteers. The front of the pack of volunteers took off running onto the field. I sprinted in a way I never had before being carried by the energy of the crowd and those surrounding me. Every other survivor or survivor's family had been honored at Fenway Park during the past year except the family of Lingzi Lu, the BU grad student who was killed on 4/15/13 - until Sunday night when they gathered around the mic to say with grace and encouragement to move forward to play our national past time and run the race that belongs to Boston, "Play ball!". I still get goosebumps remembering that moment. Here is a link to the video on MLB.



As we watched the coverage of Marathon Monday on WBZ, as we had last year before heading into the Mandarin, I could feel the shift that began at Fenway Sunday night. Our City was ready to race again!

Team McManus (my husband, my daughter and myself) packed up the car with chairs and provisions for the day and headed to the spot we chose for this year's marathon at the corner of Beacon Street and Dean Road just shy of the 23 mile marker in Washington Square Brookline.

The energy in the crowd was unique to this year's marathon. There was a sense of community and excitement. We screamed when Ernst Van Dyk raced by us far ahead of the 2nd place wheelchair. We were all hoping that this would be the year he captured his ever elusive 10th Boston Marathon win. We watched the news stream on Tom's iPhone and screamed when we found out he won.

The crowd went wild as Grand Marshall Bill Rodgers came down Beacon Street.

And then the story of amazing Meb.....

We saw the entourage that precedes the men's leader and everyone was excited to see who it would be. We anticipated it would be a Kenyan or an Ethopian perhaps possibly Ryan Hall.... We hadn't heard anything in the media about Meb being a possible contender to be the next American to win Boston. As he ran by, Tom spotted the name on his bib and we all screamed!



We followed the race to the finish on Tom's iPhone and we all cried that he had won.

Tom was so moved by his victory that he wanted to share the joy with the runners coming down Beacon Street. He took one of our posters that said GO with a space to write a runner's name on it and wrote MEB WON!

Runners were incredulous asking, "Did he really?" and then fist pumped, smiled, screamed and got their second wind to go the final 3+ miles to the finish line. People around us were asking what Tom had written on the sign to get people all revved up like that and we told them. Several people came over and hugged Tom. When his arms tired, Ruth Anne held it up. She got hugs and fist pumps and smiles.

We were amazed at how many of our runner friends we were able to spot. We screamed at them to get their attention. If there was a runner struggling, we screamed to cheer them along. There was so much inspiration as mobility and visually impaired runners ran by; hand cyclists including Patrick Downes and Jessica Kensky who each lost a leg last year and then of course the crowd favorite Team Hoyt. Team Collier Strong, Team MIT Strong, Team MR8 Peace and running for Krystle, Lingzi, Martin, and Sean running shirts brought screams from us and the crowd.

We stayed until 5:00pm when we were fairly confident that everyone we had come to see would be making their way toward the finish line.

This morning, my alarm was set for 6:15am to head to Spaulding Rehab for Aquatics Therapy class. A new day begins. A new chapter begins and I move forward with a sore throat, a full heart in a city that IS Boston Stronger.

They say that the person who starts a marathon is not the same person who finishes a marathon. Here's a poem I wrote shortly after making the commitment to run the 2009 Boston Marathon in honor of National Poetry Month and all who were a part of yesterday's historical Boston Marathon:


Marathon Metamorphosis - May 7, 2008 from A Celebration of Life
Pounding pavement, feeling strength the journey now begun
training for the race of my life a 26.2 mile run.
Feeling God in every step in every beat of my heart
I undertake this challenge as a new chapter of my life I start.
I ran around in circles carrying baggage by the ton,
destination was survival hardened shell let in no one.
Fear and worry doubts prevailed, adrenaline in my veins
a headless horseman running wild no one to take the reins.
Stopping in my tracks I froze no longer could I move -
clawing, fighting had to cease there was nothing more to prove.
God's grace touched like a magic wand, a softness and a glow
emerging from a troubled past my blood began to flow.
Loving teachers lit the way their love a healing balm -
focusing on who I am now brings a sense of calm.
Stretching every muscle feeling God in every cell
wholeness now a blessing out of prison - no more hell.
The race is still a year away each day my dream I see
mind, body, spirit tuning turning toward the Voice of Thee.
Flexing what had once been stiff to brace against the pain
old habits die and I'm reborn to write a new refrain.
And when the starting gun goes off poised with strength grace
the thunder of the running feet will help me set my pace.
But the starting line's the finish my race already won
achieving the impossible preparing for this run.
The healing power of self love and faith to spark the flame
transformed me from a victim once filled with so much shame.
Unearth my buried treasures my inheritance I find
connected to my Loving God in my heart and mind.
And when I cross the finish line the greatest cheer of all
has been this magnificent journey of answering God's call.