“Spirit of the Marathon” Movie Review

**EVEN THOUGH THIS FILM IS NOT A MURDER MYSTERY WITH EYE-POPPING TWISTS AND TURNS, MY REVIEW DOES GIVE AWAY SOME NUAUNCES. IF YOU WANT TO SEE THE FILM WITH NO KNOWLEDGE OF IT, THEN STOP HERE**

“Spirit of the Marathon” Movie Review

By Tim Long

From filmmaker Mark Jonathan Harris comes a documentary style, non-fiction film that bottles the drama and allure of the iconic marathon running event.

Six characters ranging from world class 2:06:16 marathoner Daniel Njenga, to 70 year old, 6 hour marathoner Jerry Meyers are followed through the months of training leading up to the 2005 Chicago Marathon. Commentary from legends like, Dick Beardsley, Alberto Salazar, Bill Rogers, Amby Burfoot, Joan Benoit-Samuelson, and Paula Radcliffe along with people woven into running history like Tom Derderian, Kathrine Switzer, Hal Higdon, and Joe Henderson balance the script with knowledge and running wisdom.

Familial rivalries, nerves, shifts in attitudes and self esteem, fragile balance between solid training and injury derailment, shear physical requirements of completing the distance; it’s all there in this 1 hour 40 minute long packet of cheers, disappointment, determination, and accomplishment.

Vintage footage, mostly early in the film, is my favorite part. The description of Boston Marathon’s qualifying evolution, the participation explosion, and the attempt to keep women out of the event ushers the mystery and allure of Boston to the front of the imagination.

The footage undermines the film by missing seemingly obvious opportunities for breathtaking views of Chicago, London, and especially Africa, notably Kenya. The overhead footage of the start of the 2005 Chicago Marathon is the exception. Knowing there are 40,000 people there ready to embark on this epic event is one thing, but seeing the colorful multitude of endless waves going from still to bouncing first steps sparks the imagination. Another note on the filming is it seemed the camera was always zoomed in too much on the characters. It felt like the lens was often 2” away from the person’s nose. This was the same with the footage of the marathon; aside from the expansive view of the start, the frame was almost always taken up completely with the characters. Occasionally, it would have been nice to see the context of their situation with the crowd of runners around them in the picture as well.

The development of the characters was effective. I was touched by Daniel Njenga’s balanced life. When you think of elite professionals you often think their lives are consumed by the sport. Not so it seems in this case. Daniel is a loving husband, outgoing community oriented citizen, and loving family member. In one scene he builds a new home for his brother in Kenya, who suffered the loss of his wife and child and burning of his house in a robbery-a robbery in which the thieves got nothing because Daniel's brother had nothing. Also, Ryan Bradley, one-half of the husband and wife team training for Chicago, who could have turned into a very unlikable person when his training is stopped dead in its tracks from injury, becomes the supportive husband/cheerleader for his wife as her training and eventual running of Chicago continues without him.

It’s difficult to experience deep feelings for any of the other characters, with the exception of Deena Kastor, because running and training for the marathon are small parts of the normal folks' busy lives. You see the love Kastor has for running in itself. The others view running as “scheduled training”, a necessity to reach a goal that is extrinsic to their lives.

All that being said, I wholeheartedly recommend the movie, especially to anyone who runs. It may even motivate a few non runners to pick up a pair of running shoes and see what it’s all about.

Even though they billed it as "One Night Only!" there will be an encore presentation on Feb. 21, 2008. Oh, and they DOUBLED the price, $20 per ticket plus $2 processing fee.