In October's Runner's World, there is an article that describes three upcoming running movies. Two of them look really super awesome. One is called The Spirit of the Marathon, and is a documentary that follows four amateurs and two elites as they prepare to run the 2005 Chicago Marathon.
Go to marathonmovie.com and check out the really cool trailer. Seriously, this movie looks great. I like that they're profiling runners from all walks of life, including the elites. A lot of times when you see the professionals on TV, they're like robots because they're running a freakin' marathon for a gold medal or a big cash prize. This movie looks like it'll really humanize these athletes. And then seeing the amateurs prepare and slowly come to the realization that they're going to have to run 26.2 miles will be great inspiration for me as I slowly step up my mileage over the coming months. The four amateurs are a variety too: a 70 year old guy who#s run 4 marathons before, but not any recently and will run the race with his daughter; a recently-divorced woman who is trying to regain control of her life and fitness; a PhD student in psychology who's a first time marathoner (she looks so freaked out in the trailer! That'll definitely be me someday...freaked out at the starting line!); and a guy who's run a few marathons and is training for a PR.
It looks awesome and is premiering at the Chicago Film Festival on October 5th. I'm not sure when it'll be out for the rest of us to see. I hope before the end of the year! If anyone out there knows for sure, drop me an e-mail and fill me in, please!
The second is an episode of NOVA on PBS (hey, PBS isn't just for snobs and your grandparents) that's specifically about 13 non-runners who are training for Boston. I guess they got special dispensation for them to run Boston despite not qualifying? Don't know how that works. Anyway, they train over a period of nine months to get ready for Boston 2007. According to the article, the group includes a divorced father of five, a 200 pound former NFL player, and 35 year old woman with diabetes. It's slated for October 30 at 8PM EST but PBS has been known to change programming around so check your local listings as the date gets closer. You can also buy a copy of the documentary, but why would you do that until you've seen it first?
The third movie is about 5 runners training for the US Cross Country Championships. It looks awesome too, but won't be out in theatres or on TV. You've got to buy this one straight out. If I can find it on Netflix I might see it.
So, yeah, these movies/documentaries looks to be really interesting explorations of regular people and elite runners as they train for marathons. As a beginning runner, I'm excited to see how other people do it and to see how they overcome their obstacles. I'll of course review these when I manage to see them.
Also, on a non-running note, I am a serious Western fan and am REALLY excited about 3:10 to Yuma, with Christian Bale and Russell Crowe. Unfortunately, Annie refuses to see it with me, so I will be seeing it by myself. Sad.
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