2007 Holiday Gifts For Your Favorite Runner: DVDs
Posted December 15th, 2007 at 3:30 PM by Jimmie R. Markham
Section: Motivation, Movies, Books
Chariots of Fire (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Tagline: This is the story of two men who run…not to run…but to prove something to the world. They will sacrifice anything to achieve their goals…Except their honor.
Plot Outline: The story of two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian who compete in the 1924 Olympics.
Plot Synopsis: The true story of two British track athletes competing in the 1924 Summer Olympics. One is a devout Scottish missionary who runs for God, the other is a Jewish student at Cambridge who runs for fame and to escape prejudice.
Fire On The Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story
“Pre” embodied the spirit of athletic excellence. He had a belief in self and sport that transcended all but the outer reaches of human speed and endurance. As a freshman, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which hailed him as “America’s Distance Prodigy”. By the time he died in a tragic auto accident at the age of 24, Pre held all 7 American records between 2,000 and 10,000 meters. Off the track, he fought relentlessly for the rights of amateur athletes to prosper for their sacrifices. Narrated by Ken Kesey, Fire On the Track is the story of this young lion’s life, as told through rare footage and the memories of those who knew him best - his teammates, coaches, family and friends. Interviews include David Bedford, Frank Shorter, Ian Stewart, Bill Bowerman, Jeff Galloway, Dick Buerkle, Lasse Viren, Dana Carvey, Mac Wilkins, Kenny Moore, Dave Wottle, Alberto Salazar, and many more.
Four Minutes
Sir Roger Bannister’s historic running of the sub-four-minute mile is celebrated in Four Minutes, an inspiring and respectably authentic TV movie about breaking the most famous barrier in the history of sports. Although it was primarily filmed on locations near Toronto, Canada, this classy ESPN production effectively captures the melancholy mood of post-World War II England, which desperately needed a hero to lift the country out of its post-war depression. Stubbornly resistant to training, Bannister was a devoted Oxford medical student with only passing interest in athletics, but his surprising speed set the stage for his record-setting one-mile run (officially recorded as 3:59.4) at Oxford’s modest Iffley Road track on the rainy and windy afternoon of May 6, 1954. As written by renowned sportswriter Frank Deford (based on his article “Hillary and Bannister”) and directed by British TV veteran Charles Beeson, this handsome-looking film makes the most of its limited budget, and newcomer Jamie Maclachlan (a dead ringer for the real Bannister circa 1954) is perfectly cast, physically convincing as a world-class runner while effortlessly conveying Bannister’s intelligent, congenial charm. Deford’s teleplay is dryly conventional, with perfunctory parallels to Sir Edmund Hillary’s 1953 conquest of Mount Everest (another inspirational British milestone), a fictional composite role for Christopher Plummer (doing fine work as Bannister’s disabled coach) and a standard love interest (nicely played by Amy Rutherford, as the future Mrs. Bannister) for a touch of trackside romance. Comparisons to Chariots of Fire are unavoidable, but Four Minutes can stand on its own, ensuring that Bannister’s remarkable achievement will never be forgotten.
Training for Track and Field: Distance Running
University of Alabama assistant mens track and field coach Joe Walker has brought the Tide distance program to national prominence. He has coached three SEC Male Athletes of the Year, 10 SEC Champions, three NCAA Cross Country Regional Champions, three National Champions and nine All-Americans.
Coach Joe Walker presents a comprehensive distance running and cross country training program applicable to runners at any level! The program provides specific routines for developing the complete distance runner without over training. Among the topics covered are: warm up routines, the diagonal run, hill training, interval training, circuit training and the principles of distance training. This DVD is a valuable resource for coaches and athletes looking to gain the edge over the competition.
Running Brave
The inspiring story of Billy Mills the Native American who overcame adversity to go on to win the 10,000 meter long distance race in the Tokyo Olympics.
Tags: chariots of fire, DVD, four minutes, gifts for runners, holiday gifts, running brave, training for track and field distance running
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The Final Sprint
[…] Jimmie R. Markham put an intriguing blog post on 2007 Holiday Gifts For Your Favorite Runner: DVDsHere’s a quick excerptSir Roger Bannister’s historic running of the sub-four-minute mile is celebrated in Four Minutes, an inspiring and respectably authentic TV movie about breaking the most famous barrier in the history of sports. Although it was primarily … […]
December 15th, 2007 at 9:17 am[…] Christmas Gifts for your Favourite Runner December 15, 2007 8:47 pm Ed Uncategorized This is a great post on a site called The Final Sprint, with some great gift ideas if you have keen runner in your family. These DVDs are available here, although no one site seems to have all of them, but between Play and HMV, both of which are still delivering for Christmas, have them. […]
December 15th, 2007 at 2:47 pmGreat post with some great ideas. Delighted for my readers sake to find most of these are available in the UK! Happy Holidays!
December 15th, 2007 at 2:49 pm[…] Training manuals, biographies, nutrition guides… here and here and dvds there and there […]
December 18th, 2007 at 12:21 am