I was offered a unique opportunity to see Spirit of the Marathon II on June 12, 2013, but was unable to make it due to a prior commitment.  I was bummed because I really enjoyed the first Spirit of the Marathon movie.  I asked a fellow MIT coach (Chris Kelley) if he would be interested in attending in my place. 

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Chris was kind enough to do a recap of the movie for us below.

Why do we run marathons?

There are 632 sanctioned marathons planned in the United States in the year 2013. The average runner will log 880 miles in preparation for their marathon. The youngest marathon runner recorded was a three year old and the oldest is 100.

June 12, 2013 the theater was filled with runners from all corners of Columbus. The runners where recognized by their tech race shirts, clear eyes and obvious enthusiasm for a movie about running. We all met to watch the Spirit of the Marathon II.

The Spirit of the Marathon strives to answer this question of “Why are you running a marathon?” The movie follows the training of 7 runners as they train for the 2013 Rome marathon. The runners followed were from around the world from Italy, Europe, Africa, and the United States.

As a marathoner, I have been asked this question from many of the non-running friends of mine. I remember when I announced that “I am going to run a marathon” to a friend of mine, Geoff, who had been a runner before cancer took that option away from him. Geoff replied to me that “Running a marathon will change your life.” Geoff was correct. That was back in 2010 and I have run 5 marathons since.

Every runner that offered their story in the Spirit of the Marathon II changed their life through the marathon. From the elite runners to the first time marathoner from New Jersey, these live where changed.

I expected the change, having recognized it in my own life. The one part about the movie that stuck me was the catalyst for the runners. Spirit of the marathon also expressed the reason that each runner considered running a marathon? What in their lives challenged them to even think about running 26.2 miles? I mean, some people do not even drive that far in a weekend. I know I have heard that after every marathon. From the stress in a marriage to the loss of a son, each runner has a reason to take up the challenge of the marathon. This made me think about what was my initiative?

My daughter asked me about what I thought made a movie good if not great. I told her that it was character development. I like to see the characters grow as a part of the challenge that they have been through. The characters in the Spirit of the Marathon II have grown as they faced their challenges and grew as a result of their own marathon experience.

The movie will show this to runners and non-runners alike. And, and a marathon will test the mental toughness and develop the character of anyone who chooses to run one.

Thanks, Chris for a great write up!  I hope that I am able to watch this movie at some point. 

*The tickets to see Spirit of the Marathon II were provided free of charge for review purposes.  The thoughts and opinions shared on this blog are unique and were not influenced by anyone or anything.