Spirit Of The Marathon

I am Netflix’s dream customer. I pay my monthly fee and hold on to my movies for 3 months. $15 for two movies for 3 months?!? Since there is hardly anything on TV during the summer, I’m about to recoup my Netflix losses over the past few months and watch everything in sight.

I dusted off my red envelope to watch “Spirit Of The Marathon” on Saturday. This movie documents 6 runners as they prepare for the 1999 Chicago Marathon. There are two elite runners – one Kenyan and Deena Kastor who at the time had not won an marathon yet. Then there are the regular joes – a married couple of experienced marathoners, an older gentleman and his daughter, a first-timer running solo and another first-timer running with a group.

I love documentaries and this one did not disappoint. It featured interviews from a host of running luminaries and talked about the history of running and the marathon. I especially loved the tidbit about how women were banned from participating in track events over 800m at one point for fear that their uterus would fall out.  That reminds me of how my grandma thought my running would shake my babies brains out LOL.

The movie follows the runners through training to the actual marathon day to crossing the finish line. We get to know the featured runners and their struggles, their injuries and their fears. We find out what running this marathon means to them.  I may be hormonal but I totally cried as each person crossed the finish line. The movie took me back to my marathon and all the emotions that welled up for me that day.  It was funny that of the random people they showed at the finish line, 90% of the women racers were crying too.  It is such an emotional feat.

Someone in the film pointed out how running a marathon is one of the few things we can do in life that is a concrete example of overcoming some metaphorical obstacle.  You can’t just wake up on Friday and run a marathon on Saturday (unless you are an elite runner or crazy ultrarunner who regularly runs 150 miles a week anyway). You have to train and you have to prepare for a long time. The distance truly demands everything you can give and you are guaranteed to be pushed to your limits – physically and mentally.   I don’t think anyone has ever run a marathon and found it to be an easy endeavor.

Watching the movie made me really miss running…and start plotting on my triumphant return to form.  I’m thinking of doing the Thanksgiving Half Marathon as a walk/run event (maybe run 10K, walk the rest) and God help me the full ING Marathon in late March.  Talk about a way to get my butt back in shape post baby.  I won’t be looking to set any records with either race, but sometimes just finishing is everything.