There have been a few — and only a few — good movies made about running. It’s admittedly quite difficult to capture the energy and drama of running on film. There have also been a few documentaries that have tried to distill the pain and drama of running long distances onto the silver screen, most of which have failed to really capture any of it.
January 24th 2008, a new documentary hit theaters that takes on the marathon in grand form. Spirit of the Marathon debuts in a special 500 theater screening across the country.
Filmed on four continents, the movie brings together a diverse cast of amateur athletes and marathon luminaries. The film includes interviews with running greats like Dick Beardsley, Paula Radcliffe, Bill Rodgers, Toshihiko Seko and Grete Waitz.
Told as six stories about runners preparing for the Chicago Marathon, the movie is billed as “an inspirational journey of perseverance and personal triumph; a spectacle that will be embraced by runners and non-runners alike.”
The six athletes in the film span a range of different levels from a first-time marathon runner to world-class athletes Deena Kastor and Daniel Njenga.
The film tackles the marathon on a scale that we haven’t seen before.
Sprit of the Marathon is played on January 24th in theaters across the United States for one night only. But the movie’s promoter has just announced that an encore screening will be held on February 21. This second screening will take place at 7:30 P.M. local time and will be available in approximately 250 theatres. Tickets will be available at www.fathomevents.com starting January 25.
There may be tickets available for the January 24th screening in your area. You can check by visting Fathom Events at this link.
The movie will be released on DVD later this year.
To find out more about the movie go the web-site by clicking here.
Hopefully the movie lives up to its tag-line: “when you cross the finish-line it will change your life forever.” We all know that to be true in real life, but will it translate to the screen?
If you’ve seen the film, please feel free to comment about it here.
Running Advice and News
www.running-advice.com
I trained and ran the Portland marathon this year (my first marathon) and so got really excited when I heard about this movie. I saw it, and I think it is a really good documentary about the ups and downs of training for a marathon, both from the perspective of first timers, repeaters and elite runners. The movie illustrates that no matter your competitive level, there are struggles and victories associated with the training. There were points at which I was glad it was dark in the theater, as a few tears ran down my cheek- it drummed up some of the same emotions one has when they cross the marathon finish line for the first time. Anyways, it was AWESOME. Check it out on Feb 21, if you missed the first screening.
By: Anne Powell on January 27, 2008
at 3:28 pm
[...] Spirit of the Marathon Debuts – finally a documenatary about marathon running that really hits the mark. Runners that saw the movie in its debut on January 24th are saying that the movie is simply excellent. The documentary will play again in an encore screening around the country on February 21st. It will then come out later this year on DVD. [...]
By: Marathon News: January 2008 in review « Running Advice and News on February 1, 2008
at 11:29 am
[...] You can find out more about the film, including links to locations of theaters in our original posting by clicking here. [...]
By: Movies: Spirit of the Marathon in theaters again Feb 21st 2008 « Running Advice and News on February 20, 2008
at 12:20 pm