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Lead Stories: Thursday, November 20, 2008

Movie Review: “Showdown”
Five Elite Distance Runners, One Dream

Posted August 22nd, 2007 at 2:35 PM by Lara Johnson

Section: Motivation, Movies, Special Features, TFS Reviews

I have long been intrigued and inspired by those runners who compose the elite category. What is it they possess? What is their training like? What is their motivation? And what happens when these top athletes compete in one grueling race?

In his new film, “Showdown: Five Elite Distance Runners, One Dream,” creator Peter Han uncovers some of these mysteries as he takes viewers on a journey from the living rooms and training runs of 5 elite distance runners to the finish line of the 2007 U.S. Cross Country Championships in Boulder, Colorado.

“Showdown” is a documentary-style film with cinematic appeal. Through personal interviews, race clips, photos, and commentaries, it narrates the preparations of 5 elite men of differing backgrounds: 2-time Olympian Abdi Abdirahman, 2-time Olympian Alan Culpepper, Olympic silver-medalist Meb Keflezighi, high school and university level champion Dathan Ritzenhein, and 10,000 meter champion Jorge Torres.
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Fire on the Track:
The Steve Prefontaine Story

Posted May 7th, 2007 at 2:50 PM by Sarah Mandell

Section: Motivation, Movies, Special Features, TFS Reviews

FireOnTrack_Amazon Fire on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story is a motivational documentary about the success of a young runner from Coos Bay, Oregon. Prefontaine’s story, told through live footage, photographs, and accounts from his competitors, friends, and family, greatly assisted in understanding the awe and inspiration that was Steve Prefontaine’s ; also known by his loyal fans as “Pre.”

At a young age Steve stuck out for his energy towards life. He appeared born to be an athlete, but in junior high he was told that he was too small for contact sports. So instead of heading down the wrong path, he found a sport that he could participate in, running. When Prefontaine began running his goals were mighty for a boy from Coos Bay, stating that one day he was going to go to the Olympics. His mother recalled missing many games due to her busy work schedule, until one day a woman approached her and said, “you really need to go to those meets, your son is Olympic stuff.”
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Running Brave: Classic running movie about Billy Mills & the heart of a warrior

Posted December 28th, 2006 at 11:27 AM by Kathryn Magro

Section: Motivation, Movies, Columns, SPOTLIGHT

This is part four of the 5-part series: “BILLY MILLS: Overlooked Hero of Running” (Links to the other installments in this series are located at the conclusion of this article).

Running serves a different purpose for everyone. For some, it is solely a method of exercise; others find it to be a means of escape. In Running Brave, a 1983 film showcasing the life and career of Billy Mills, we find that running can also be a way of life. it certainly is for Mills, who states: “Running has been my freedom; my happiness.”

The struggles that Mills (played by Robby Benson) endures throughout the film revolve around his life as an American Sioux-Indian and his use of running to both fit in and remain sane in a seemingly uncontrollable world.
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Watch Chariots of Fire & “Run with hope in your heart and wings on your heels!”

Posted December 24th, 2006 at 6:21 PM by Caitlin Hughes

Section: Motivation, Movies, Special Features, TFS Reviews

Chariots of Fire (1981) is a film based on the true story of two British track stars, Howard Abrahams and Eric Liddell, who ran in the 1924 Olympics. The British film picked up four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Score, and a Golden Globe for best Foreign Film. Directed by Hugh Hudson, Chariots of Fire is an inspirational flick for runners and athletes everywhere.

Howard Abrahams (Ben Cross) is a Jewish student and the star sprinter at Cambridge College. Eric Liddell (Ian Charleston) is a Christian missionary studying and living in Scotland with his sister, an extremely pious Christian. On the surface, these two seem to have little in common besides running, but as the film unfolds we learn that they share a quality that carries them both to the 1924 Paris Olympics … DRIVE.
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Four Minutes - ESPN’s movie about Sir Roger Bannister & his will to succeed

Posted November 30th, 2006 at 7:00 AM by Danielle Correa

Section: Motivation, Movies, Special Features, TFS Reviews

four minute cover.jpg Four Minutes, an ESPN movie, is based on the true story of Roger Bannister and his quest to run a four minute mile. It is the perfect motivational film to watch the night before a big race. With an outstanding cast and a driven plot, Four Minutes is a very emotional and touching running flick.

At the opening of the movie, we are introduced to Bannister, played by Jamie Maclachlan, a British medical student who has a deep love for running. Bannister is running alongside a beach at a young age. Within minutes, he evolves into the 18-year old man that we begin to know and love. In a conversation with his father, Bannister discusses how great it would be to achieve the challenge of the four-minute mile, the most famous barrier in sports history. However, his father tells him, “Neither the heart nor the lungs could take it.” Read the rest of this entry »

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“Saint Ralph” - An inspirational movie about running and the power of one

Posted November 7th, 2006 at 10:00 AM by Afton Cohen

Section: Motivation, Movies, TFS Reviews

Saint Ralph.jpg Saint Ralph is a tale of a young boy’s dream to bring his mother out of a coma by winning the Boston Marathon. it is a movie that will appeal to runners, families and anyone who can appreciate a solid motivational flick. A Canadian comedy/drama, Saint Ralph is unfortunately often overlooked and somewhat unknown to the masses. It’s a real shame that so many people are missing out because Saint Ralph is truly an inspiring, heartfelt and exciting story.

The film opens as we are introduced to Ralph Walker, the film’s main character, who is played by newcomer Adam Butcher. Butcher plays the misguided 14-year-old boy whose father has died at war and whose mother soon falls into a coma. Ralph is comical, pubescent, and undeniably charming. He comes to us as independent and quite beyond his years, but at the same time, quite immature and boyish. He resides alone in his parents’ house (A fact that remains unknown to his teachers and classmates for a majority of the film) and defiantly smokes cigarettes at school. As a disciplinary measure, Ralph is forced to join the cross country team in order to keep him out of trouble. Read the rest of this entry »

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“Without Limits” - Your Choice & Ours For the Best Running Movie

Posted July 4th, 2006 at 8:08 AM by Steven Schiff

Section: Motivation, Movies, Special Features, TFS Reviews

You guys selected “Without Limits” as your favorite running movie by a large margin in our recent poll. In addition to being a great movie in general, it is also a perfect pump-up film to watch the night before a race. For all of you who haven’t seen it, here is a review of this unbelievable movie by Steven Schiff, one of our newest and most talented writers:

It has been quite some time since I finished my last meaningful competitive lap on a track, and longer still since the last time I watched Without Limits, the 1998 Warner Brothers feature which documents the life and times of America’s greatest distance runner, Steve Prefontaine.

As a high school cross country and track athlete, I was fascinated by Pre. My friends on other teams would ask me constantly why I chose to participate in a sport whose sole occupation of running laps was every other sport’s punishment. I offered Pre as the answer. Here was a guy who not only seemed to possess an indomitable will and superhuman strength, but also was able to elevate himself to rock star status. His cult following would pack Oregon’s Hayward Field and chant his name as he won race after race and smashed record after record. I remember watching this movie for the first time as a high school sophomore or junior and thinking that in the distance runner’s lonely universe, no achievement could be more glorious than Pre’s.

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