Spirit of the Marathon – Encore Feb 21st
I saw the Spirit of the Marathon movie last night… a cool flick following 6 5 runners as they prepare for the 2005 Chicago Marathon. The movie covers elite runners (race favorites Daniel Njenga and Deena Kastor) as well as first-timers very well, but it comes up a bit short for the rest of us who have run a few marathons and qualified for Boston. They tried though with Ryan Bradley… and if the dude’s knee hadn’t given out on him 2 months before Chicago, he would’ve been the star of the film. Instead, 70 year old Jerry “I run it for the t-shirt” Meyers steals the show.
The last half-hour of the film is simply awesome; solid marathon footage with music pumping and lots of emotion. Really made me want to go for a run… and were it not for last week’s hip surgery, I would’ve been out running last night. The Hanson-Brooks Project runners get lots of airtime (how can you miss that running singlet?) and the elite finish is crazy-intense. (no spoiler here) If you missed it last night, mark your calendar for the encore on Feb. 21st. – one night only.