A Luncheon Leading the Way to a World Free of MS!
The 8th Annual Nashville WAMS
Thursday, February 18, 2010
11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Belle Meade Country Club
Honorary Chair: Andrea Lindsley
Guest Speaker: Maureen Manley http://www.maureenmanley.com/
It was supposed to be her year — 1991, the third consecutive year she raced with the U.S. team in world competition. The year before, she and other national team members graced the cover of the Multi Bran Chex cereal box. This year, at nationals, Manley believed she would win gold, silver and bronze medals in three separate events. "I was flying," she says. "I wanted to be the best in the world."
In practice, she felt weak and exhausted, but that happens. Racers blamed a slump, or maybe hitting a peak too soon. What she didn't know is that MS was assaulting her optic nerve every time her body heat rose. At the time trials in Stuttgart, the team finished fourth, and they all knew it was her performance that had brought them down. Then, in the road race, she could barely keep up with the pack.
That's when they told her it was time to go home. An MRI eventually dealt the diagnosis.
Gradually, her life fell apart. Her self-confidence eroded. Her former teammates were living the life she'd wanted to live. The sport she'd loved like no other, that had given her life meaning and purpose, was gone.
Bit by bit, after years of therapy and experimenting with new treatment options, she felt her body machinery coming alive again. Back on the bike, she began testing her body's limits, pushing it harder, raising its tolerance for stress until one day she noticed her vision wasn't blurring anymore. Her legs weren't what they used to be, but they were getting the job done. She knew she could be better. A few years ago, it occurred to her that she might be ready to compete again.
Her doctor gave the go-ahead. It had been a decade since she'd raced, and one thing quickly became clear: She was nowhere close to what she had been. But in that first race — the Mason Lake Road Race on the Olympic Peninsula — she placed 10th against the event's elite. In 2003, she raced seven times, including three centuries — 100-mile jaunts — and a triathlon.
Now working as a motivational speaker, she tells audiences that amid the wilderness of a life-altering situation, you have to learn new rules. Manley now sees cycling not as a means to personal triumph, but as a part of something greater. "I will do what I can to rid the planet of this disease [MS]," she says, but for now, that finish line is still a blip on the horizon.
Ticket Information:
Click here to purchase tickets for the 8th Annual Nashville WAMS
Tickets for the 8th Annual Nashville WAMS Luncheon are $65 per person or $520 per table.
Each table seats 8 guests.