Spirit of the Marathon (2007)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jon Dunham

Release Date:

24 January 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Plot:

The first ever feature-length film to capture the essence, drama and unique spectacle of the famed 26.2-mile race...

Plot Keywords:

Race | Marathon | Olympics | Triumph | Legend

Cast

Dick Beardsley	...	Dick Beardsley
Ryan Bradley	...	Ryan Bradley
Leah Caille	...	Leah Caille
Deena Kastor	...	Deena Kastor
Jerry Meyers	...	Jerry Meyers
Daniel Njenga	...	Daniel Njenga
Lori O'Connor	...	Lori O'Connor
Paula Radcliffe	...	Paula Radcliffe
Bill Rodgers	...	Himself
Frank Shorter	...	Frank Shorter

Also Known As:

Land of the Gods: The Legend of the Marathon (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some thematic elements and language, and brief incidental smoking.

Runtime:

USA:104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (35 mm version)

Certification:

USA:PG | New Zealand:G

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Calico 1880

A look at the 2005 Chicago Marathon

For some odd reason it was decided to show this movie throughout the country only once on January 24th at 7:30pm. Because of this every theater in Chicago was sold out of tickets weeks before the event. I wound up driving to the suburbs to see it. Fortunately for those that missed it they will have an encore presentation on February 21st.

If you are a runner or have set a goal to one day run a marathon you will love this movie without a doubt. If you also happen to live in Chicago you will love it even more. Oddly enough this movie is released in 2008 but follow people preparing for the 2005 marathon.

The strength of this film was that they not only followed the elite runners they followed people from all speeds. One of the people they followed was Deena Kastor, the current US women's record holder for the marathon (and I believe 5K, 8K, 15K, and the half last I heard), one of the best American hopefuls for the Olympics this year. They also followed runners that were attempting to qualify for Boston as well as a few first timers and over 5 hour runners. The only other documentary about marathons I've seen was the Nova version which followed all first timers so it was nice seeing a broader range of views and struggles.

I have only ran one marathon so far and after that I became more intent on improving my time than ever before with Chicago being my next one. With an attitude like that it was inevitable I was going to like this film but Jon Dunham did a fantastic job piecing together some very unique footage that helps you appreciate the scale of such an event even more.

It gets my heart pumping just thinking about the next marathon.