Set in 1999, post-APartheid South African, this film begins with an elderly white brickworks manager who has a strong interest in long-distance running.
He has been training some of his employees for a ultra-long-distance race, the Comrades Marathon. Deprived of this, he finds himself at a loose end.
He then notices Christine, a young Blakc African woman who regularly runs long distances and has never had any training. She is an illegal immigrant, who faced hostility from some of the local Black Africans. When she is arrested, he gets her released and invites her to live with him. He has no sexual interest in her - she later describes it as being viewed like a racehorse.
Christing several times asserts herself. The film culminates in her taking part in the actual race.
I found that there was rather too much about the dull relationship between coach and runner. A better film would have shown flashbacks to the past of the race, not always open to blacks or women, and to the coach's own past as a runner. Still, it gave an authentic-seeming view of South Africa and the running culture.
