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Sorry, this movie sucks

A Disappointing Continuation

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

As a filmmaker and marathon runner I could see it being difficult to achieve what the filmmakers have done with Spirit of the Marathon. To mix some marathon history into the the stories of several amateur and professional runners might be tough. But they did it wonderfully. I particularly liked what was said by Dick Beardsley and Frank Shorter, two famous runners w/some very inspiring words.I think it was Shorter, who has a great line that kicks off the title sequence at the start of the documentary. Awesome! If you're looking for a "how do I train for a marathon" documentary this is not it! Do your own research, it's out there! Appreciate this film for what it is, a documentary about real people and some very interesting marathoning history.

What an inspiring film. I just love it. The film was beautifully shot, the pace of the film moved quickly, and the cast was great! The film follows a 70 year old runner, Jerry, who is hysterical. And what an intense finish for both Daniel and Deena, I don't think I breathed during the last mile of their race. I love that the film showed the wide spectrum of runners from the young to the old, the injured to the elites, it was a well balanced film.The history on the sport was fascinating. I liked the section on the Boston Marathon and Katherine Switzers story is very inspiring for woman today. This has been one of the better films I have seen this year!

I was so excited to see that there was a one time viewing of this awesome documentary. Even more excited to see how packed the theater was. I honestly thought I would be one of few to be sitting in the theater. It was great to run into fellow runners there, it seemed that almost everybody knew somebody else. Definitely the most friendliest movie theater experience I have ever had. Now, I have not run a marathon yet. And I have said that 2008 is my year, and I have not determined which one it will be. But watching this movie was great to see the excitement of the runners, and the small glimpse into their lives of training for such an event. I think it was great to incorporate all different levels, from elite runners like Deana and Daniel, to first time runners and even the "sweepers" as they called themselves. I recommend this to any runner, especially if you have run or plan on running a marathon. It was great that there was some humor and the whole theater laughed at points. So it wasn't your information only documentary. It was a huge inspiration for me, and if it wasn't 11:00pm when I got out of the theater, and only a chilly 17 degrees, I would have gone running myself. I look forward to this on DVD, and I hope it gets on DVD soon!

This is a beautifully filmed, heartfelt look at the sport of running 26.2 miles. We follow six runners who cover the whole range, from beginners to world-class, through training and the race itself, the Chicago Marathon. Vintage film and comments by the experts - historians, champion runners - fill out the perspective.I myself have done 22 marathons, but not Chicago. That said, I believe the film succeeded in putting the viewer IN the race, with some sense of pounding away mile after mile, in a beautiful urban setting. The audience I was with tonight (Regal Cinemas, Abingdon, MD)included many veteran runners, who often shared a laugh with different people in the film. I thought it a measure of the film's success that this veteran crowd cheered as one of the runners (you'll know who)crossed the finish line when he/she did.A caveat about waiting for this to come to DVD: the aerial camera-work on the race itself is stunning! It will loose power on the small screen. Consider an overhead shot that starts as the first runners cross the start line, then slowly pans over all the starters-in-waiting, a veritable 'ocean of humanity', a shot that continued far longer than I expected. Then there are the high overhead shots during the race, showing the gorgeous but far-flung urban landscape, with tiny dots - each a runner - moving along the streets below. Such shots capture the scale of the event, the vast distance the runners are up against. I suspect that at home, one will need the zoom option on the DVD player to see the runners.Beyond this, I hope someday there will be a documentary from primarily within the race (personal cams - shades of CLOVERFIELD or BLAIR WITCH PROJECT!), to give the non-runner the closest feel that cinema allows for moving step by step 26 miles 385 yds. Until then, SPIRIT OF THE MARATHON will do wonderfully.