Movie Review: Spirit of the Marathon- 3/1/08

This was published in the March issue of the newsletter, just one month before my own marathon debut. I think I enjoyed the experience of watching the film with my teammates in a theater full of runners more than the movie itself. But I will always carry a torch for Chicago and it burns even brighter after witnessing the final scenes of this film.

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I’ve never run a marathon. I’ve trained for two—and hope to complete one at the end of this month—but, to me, “The Marathon” is still a daunting, awe-inspiring accomplishment. I’ve found that this feeling is shared with most of my co-workers and the general running population. However, within my peer group of Flyers and the audience at the 42nd St. AMC Theater last month, I felt to be very much in the minority. Perhaps it was this newbie excitement that made the film so enjoyable for me. Or was it just my naïveté?

The Spirit of the Marathon is a nonfiction documentary film chronicling six runners as they prepare for and compete in the 2005 Chicago Marathon. Two elites, two first-timers, and two repeat offenders, representing the gamut of finish times from just over two hours to nearly three times that. The movie took four years to make and played nationwide in theaters January on 24th, with an encore showing on February 21st.

Without disclosing any spoilers, there were two storylines that interested me the most. The first was watching US Women’s Marathon World Record holder and Olympian Deena Kastor train through a stressed cuboid with much more optimism and grace than most runners I know would have displayed, despite having a lot more at stake. I also appreciated the intimate journey to elite marathoner Daniel Njenga’s native town of Nyahururu, Kenya, and how this provided context for his decision to train in Japan—seeing what he gave up versus what he stood to gain from a possible world-class win.

Others in the theater could identify with the mortals in the film. The two first-time marathoners, Leah and Lori, balanced family and loved ones with 6am training montages; 70-year-old “sweeper” Jerry hugged and high-fived his way through the race with the other back-of-the-packers; Ryan, the Boston hopeful, demonstrated to the camera what a five-minute mile looks (and feels) like on a treadmill. He was dying. The crowd also reacted to running truisms sprinkled throughout the film such as ‘when runners hang out socially, all they talk about is running, and when they’re running, they talk about everything else.’ A now-dated quip about Chicago always having perfectly cool race weather drew a big (though unintentional) response. As did Ryan’s off-handed remark that it’s easier for women than men to qualify for Boston.

The Spirit of the Marathon is not a technical film. If you rent the DVD, don’t look to it for the secret to a sub-three. There is some history of the sport—with cameos by running legends Bill Rodgers, Kathrine Switzer, even Ryan Hall, among others—but it’s very much in the moment. And it’s not an everyman’s documentary, pulling at the heartstrings and widening mass appeal in ways that spelling bees and penguins have done recently. But it is a film directed by a runner, for runners, about running.

So while the film has received criticism for being too much of a movie “only a runner could love,” I dare anyone to sit stone-faced as the gun goes off at the beginning of the race, orchestra soaring, watching the camera pan up and over the beautiful city of Chicago, revealing 40,000 individuals with a shared purpose, weaving in and out of skyscrapers in their journey though 26.2.

Water or not, I’ve booked a hotel room for October. Just in case.