Spirit of the Marathon

As a serious marathoner, I was seriously disappointed in this film. Its target audience is clearly those who have never run a marathon, or novice marathoners. Following the stories of 2 first-time marathoners, one senior, one injured runner, and two elites as they prepare for the Chicago marathon, the film dedicates the majority of its attention to one female beginner whose story is, for lack of a better word, boring. While I did enjoy the brief glimpses into the training sessions of Deena Kastor, the brief history of the Boston marathon and marathoning in general, let me emphasize: These were brief!! Watching some Joe Runners prepare for a Saturday run with their water bottles and talking about how they view the marathon is not inspiring, and the nonstop clichés about achievement and feel-good grinning runners will make you wish the film were about an hour shorter. If you are a first-time marathoner, this film may give you a feeling of "I can do it." For anyone else, run away.

As a filmmaker and marathon runner I could see it being difficult to achieve what the filmmakers have done with Spirit of the Marathon. To mix some marathon history into the the stories of several amateur and professional runners might be tough. But they did it wonderfully. I particularly liked what was said by Dick Beardsley and Frank Shorter, two famous runners w/some very inspiring words.

I think it was Shorter, who has a great line that kicks off the title sequence at the start of the documentary. Awesome! If you're looking for a "how do I train for a marathon" documentary this is not it! Do your own research, it's out there! Appreciate this film for what it is, a documentary about real people and some very interesting marathoning history.

I was so excited to see that there was a one time viewing of this awesome documentary. Even more excited to see how packed the theater was. I honestly thought I would be one of few to be sitting in the theater. It was great to run into fellow runners there, it seemed that almost everybody knew somebody else. Definitely the most friendliest movie theater experience I have ever had. Now, I have not run a marathon yet. And I have said that 2008 is my year, and I have not determined which one it will be. But watching this movie was great to see the excitement of the runners, and the small glimpse into their lives of training for such an event. I think it was great to incorporate all different levels, from elite runners like Deana and Daniel, to first time runners and even the "sweepers" as they called themselves. I recommend this to any runner, especially if you have run or plan on running a marathon. It was great that there was some humor and the whole theater laughed at points. So it wasn't your information only documentary. It was a huge inspiration for me, and if it wasn't 11:00pm when I got out of the theater, and only a chilly 17 degrees, I would have gone running myself. I look forward to this on DVD, and I hope it gets on DVD soon!

The movie focused on several people from all walks of life (professional, younger, older, etc.) who have decided to take on the challenge of the marathon. It presents all of their compelling stories and gives us insight into the training (both mental and physical) that goes into preparing for such an arduous run.

Additionally, the movie provides a good amount of detail about the history of the sport, with commentary from writers, historians, athletes, etc., who all think of this as the ultimate human competition.

The movie is well-written, well-scored, and has very, very genuine people who I could relate to. It does a great job in helping the audience live the marathon race through these characters, feeling elated at their successes, diminished when they fail, and anxious when they see the finish line in the distance.

Big thumbs up!

What an inspiring film. I just love it. The film was beautifully shot, the pace of the film moved quickly, and the cast was great!

The film follows a 70 year old runner, Jerry, who is hysterical. And what an intense finish for both Daniel and Deena, I don't think I breathed during the last mile of their race. I love that the film showed the wide spectrum of runners from the young to the old, the injured to the elites, it was a well balanced film.

The history on the sport was fascinating. I liked the section on the Boston Marathon and Katherine Switzers story is very inspiring for woman today.

This has been one of the better films I have seen this year!