Spirit of the Marathon
Encyclopedia
Spirit of the Marathon is a 2007
documentary film directed by Jon Dunham. The film chronicles the journey six marathon
runners experience while training and competing in the 2005 Chicago Marathon
. It was screened at the Chicago International Film Festival
on October 5, 2007 and received a limited release in the United States on January 24, 2008.
, Abebe Bikila
and Rod Dixon
. Notable marathoners such as Frank Shorter
, Dick Beardsley
, Alberto Salazar
, Grete Waitz
, Paula Radcliffe
, and Joan Benoit-Samuelson
provide commentary about the sport.
The focus is then on the six featured runners and their training for the 2005 Chicago Marathon. American Deena Kastor
and Kenyan Daniel Njenga
are both elite runners, and are determined to win the race. Kastor was the bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympic Marathon, but has yet to win a marathon. Njenga had finished second multiple times in previous Chicago Marathons. Kastor is shown training and recovering from an injury in Mammoth Lakes, California
, while Njenga's life as a sponsored runner in Tokyo
is profiled.
The rest of the runners featured live in Chicago. Ryan Bradley and Lori O'Connor are both married young professionals; Bradley is a veteran marathoner who hopes to earn a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon
, and O'Connor is running her first marathon. She finds it humorous when colleagues ask if she expects to win. Jerry Meyers is a jovial 70-year-old who claims to run marathons for the t-shirt. Leah Caille is a new runner that took up the sport to help recover from an emotional divorce.
While preparing for the race, Bradley suffers a knee injury and is unable to compete. He is clearly upset by this, and takes out his frustration by going for a long bike ride. O'Connor and Caille go through the new experience of the long training sessions necessary for a marathoner. Meyers lends his veteran knowledge while leading slower training runs with his daughter, who is running her first marathon.
All of the long and dedicated training culminates on the day of the marathon. There are panoramic shots of the city that display the mass numbers of race participants and spectators. Njenga runs with the lead pack, but once again falls short in third place. Kastor has a lead for most of the race, but is challenged by Romania
n Constantina Diţă-Tomescu at the very end of the race. In a dramatic finish, Kastor is able to fend off Diţă-Tomescu for the victory.
Bradley cheers his wife, Colleen, as she races to a 3:51:54 finish, while O'Connor seems to have a smooth race, and enjoys seeing friends in the crowd. Caille struggles with IT Band Syndrome
, but eventually has a successful finish, crossing the line in 5:01:15. Meyers wears his favorite "Kansas" shirt and enjoys his race, finishing in 5:59:39.
Initially, Dunham filmed Kastor while financing the production himself. Eventually, the Chicago Marathon provided Dunham some financial resources to help him film the event. In post-production, Dunham and co-producer Gwendolen Twist raised money from investors to fund the completion of the film.
To film the subjects running the marathon, the camera crews rode in pedicabs. They directed the amateur runners to go on a side of the road at specific areas in the course to help with filming. In addition, the amateur runners had other runners alongside them holding up signs to help the crew identify them in the crowd.
Dunham originally thought that the film should focus on the amateurs more than Kastor, but said he found her enthusiasm, talent, and determination "irresistible". In an explanation to why Dunham choose to follow the six runners he selected, he says he finds the marathon to be an "incredible mixing of elite runners with the amateur runners from all across the globe and all ranges of human experience". He said that he wants the film "to offer inspiration for anyone who sets out to achieve a goal that takes the determination, effort and attitude of running a marathon".
On being filmed, Kastor said that she "went about her normal routine and training", and commented it that was not distracting, but "motivating". Kastor also revealed that the six runners did not meet until a brunch
after the marathon, and felt an "immediate bond of friendship".
, an Emmy award-winner film composer, wrote the score for the film. The music was performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Active.com's review compliments the score, noting that it "beautifully blends the emotion, strain and exhilaration of the marathon".
, right before the running of the 2007 Chicago Marathon. Daniel Njenga, one of the subjects of the film, was in attendance. National CineMedia
distributed the film by satellite to over 500 theatres as a special one-night only viewing, with an encore a month later. The release grossed over $1 million for the film.
gave a favorable review of the film, calling it an "efficient yet comprehensive study". The footage of Chicago is praised, as is the capture of the "inspiring journey of physical endurance and personal achievement". The New York Times
compliments the film's enthusiasm toward the marathon, and the commentary provided by former marathoners. Australia's The Age
offers a mixed review, writing that "In its more tranquil stretches, Spirit of the Marathon might be mistaken for a feature-length sneaker advertisement, but if you're looking for inspiration, you could do worse."
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
documentary film directed by Jon Dunham. The film chronicles the journey six marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
runners experience while training and competing in the 2005 Chicago Marathon
Chicago Marathon
The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is a major marathon held yearly in Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Alongside the Boston, New York, London and Berlin Marathons, it is one of the five World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also an IAAF Gold Label race...
. It was screened at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
on October 5, 2007 and received a limited release in the United States on January 24, 2008.
Synopsis
In the beginning of the film, a brief overview of the history of the marathon is shown, with footage of dramatic races involving Dorando PietriDorando Pietri
Dorando Pietri, often wrongly spelt Petri was an Italian athlete famous for his dramatic finish and eventual disqualification in the marathon at the 1908 Summer Olympics held in London.-Early years:Pietri was born in Mandrio, a frazione of Correggio, but spent his youth in Carpi...
, Abebe Bikila
Abebe Bikila
Abebe Bikila was a two-time Olympic marathon champion from Ethiopia. A stadium in Addis Ababa is named in his honor.-1932–1959:...
and Rod Dixon
Rod Dixon
Rodney Phillip "Rod" Dixon is a former New Zealand middle distance runner. He won the bronze medal over 1500 metres at the 1972 Olympics in Munich, and in 1983 won the prestigious New York City Marathon.-Biography:...
. Notable marathoners such as Frank Shorter
Frank Shorter
Frank Charles Shorter is a former American long-distance runner who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1972 Summer Olympics. His victory is credited with igniting the running boom in the United States of the 1970s....
, Dick Beardsley
Dick Beardsley
Dick Beardsley is an American long-distance runner best known for his close finish with Alberto Salazar in the 1982 Boston Marathon.-Running career:...
, Alberto Salazar
Alberto Salazar
Alberto Salazar is an American marathon runner of the 1980s. Born in Cuba, Salazar emigrated to the United States with his family. They ultimately moved to Wayland, Massachusetts, where Salazar competed in track and field in high school...
, Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. Waitz won nine New York City Marathons between 1978 and 1988, more than any other runner in history...
, Paula Radcliffe
Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE is an English long-distance runner. She is the current women's world record holder in the marathon with her time of 2:15:25 hours...
, and Joan Benoit-Samuelson
Joan Benoit
Joan Benoit Samuelson is an American marathon runner, who won gold at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, the year that the women's marathon was introduced. As a result she was the first ever women's Olympic marathon champion. Benoit Samuelson still holds the fastest times for an American...
provide commentary about the sport.
The focus is then on the six featured runners and their training for the 2005 Chicago Marathon. American Deena Kastor
Deena Kastor
Deena Michelle Kastor is an American long-distance runner. She holds American records in the marathon, half-marathon, and numerous road distances. She won the bronze medal in the women's marathon at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece...
and Kenyan Daniel Njenga
Daniel Njenga
Daniel Njenga is a Kenyan long-distance runner, who specializes in the marathon.He had his first successes in 1995 as he won the steeplechase gold medal at the 1995 Summer Universiade and also the Chiba International Cross Country meeting...
are both elite runners, and are determined to win the race. Kastor was the bronze medalist at the 2004 Olympic Marathon, but has yet to win a marathon. Njenga had finished second multiple times in previous Chicago Marathons. Kastor is shown training and recovering from an injury in Mammoth Lakes, California
Mammoth Lakes, California
-History:The European history of Mammoth Lakes started in 1877, when four prospectors staked a claim on Mineral Hill, south of the current town, along Old Mammoth Road. In 1878, the Mammoth Mining Company was organized to mine Mineral Hill, which caused a gold rush. By the end of 1878, 1500 people...
, while Njenga's life as a sponsored runner in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
is profiled.
The rest of the runners featured live in Chicago. Ryan Bradley and Lori O'Connor are both married young professionals; Bradley is a veteran marathoner who hopes to earn a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest...
, and O'Connor is running her first marathon. She finds it humorous when colleagues ask if she expects to win. Jerry Meyers is a jovial 70-year-old who claims to run marathons for the t-shirt. Leah Caille is a new runner that took up the sport to help recover from an emotional divorce.
While preparing for the race, Bradley suffers a knee injury and is unable to compete. He is clearly upset by this, and takes out his frustration by going for a long bike ride. O'Connor and Caille go through the new experience of the long training sessions necessary for a marathoner. Meyers lends his veteran knowledge while leading slower training runs with his daughter, who is running her first marathon.
All of the long and dedicated training culminates on the day of the marathon. There are panoramic shots of the city that display the mass numbers of race participants and spectators. Njenga runs with the lead pack, but once again falls short in third place. Kastor has a lead for most of the race, but is challenged by Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n Constantina Diţă-Tomescu at the very end of the race. In a dramatic finish, Kastor is able to fend off Diţă-Tomescu for the victory.
Bradley cheers his wife, Colleen, as she races to a 3:51:54 finish, while O'Connor seems to have a smooth race, and enjoys seeing friends in the crowd. Caille struggles with IT Band Syndrome
Iliotibial band syndrome
Iliotibial band syndrome is a common injury to the thigh, generally associated with running, cycling, hiking or weight-lifting .- Definition :...
, but eventually has a successful finish, crossing the line in 5:01:15. Meyers wears his favorite "Kansas" shirt and enjoys his race, finishing in 5:59:39.
Production
Jon Dunham, the director of the film, was inspired to make a documentary about the marathon because of the impact running marathons had on his life. He said that running a marathon was the most difficult thing he had done in his life, until he started to make a documentary about it. Following storylines of runners training all over the world, and filming the subjects in the crowded Chicago Marathon are some of the challenges Dunham encountered when making the film.Initially, Dunham filmed Kastor while financing the production himself. Eventually, the Chicago Marathon provided Dunham some financial resources to help him film the event. In post-production, Dunham and co-producer Gwendolen Twist raised money from investors to fund the completion of the film.
To film the subjects running the marathon, the camera crews rode in pedicabs. They directed the amateur runners to go on a side of the road at specific areas in the course to help with filming. In addition, the amateur runners had other runners alongside them holding up signs to help the crew identify them in the crowd.
Dunham originally thought that the film should focus on the amateurs more than Kastor, but said he found her enthusiasm, talent, and determination "irresistible". In an explanation to why Dunham choose to follow the six runners he selected, he says he finds the marathon to be an "incredible mixing of elite runners with the amateur runners from all across the globe and all ranges of human experience". He said that he wants the film "to offer inspiration for anyone who sets out to achieve a goal that takes the determination, effort and attitude of running a marathon".
On being filmed, Kastor said that she "went about her normal routine and training", and commented it that was not distracting, but "motivating". Kastor also revealed that the six runners did not meet until a brunch
Brunch
Brunch is a meal eaten between breakfast and lunch. The word is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch.-Origin of the word:The 1896 supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary cites Punch magazine which wrote that the term was coined in Britain in 1895 to describe a Sunday meal for "Saturday-night...
after the marathon, and felt an "immediate bond of friendship".
Film score
Jeff BealJeff Beal
Jeff Beal is an American composer of music for film, television, recordings, and the concert hall. Highly regarded as a jazz instrumentalist and versatile composer, Beal's music often incorporates a synthesis of improvisatory and composed elements.- Early life :Beal began trumpet studies in the...
, an Emmy award-winner film composer, wrote the score for the film. The music was performed by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. Active.com's review compliments the score, noting that it "beautifully blends the emotion, strain and exhilaration of the marathon".
Release
The film premiered to sellout crowds at the 2007 Chicago International Film FestivalChicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
, right before the running of the 2007 Chicago Marathon. Daniel Njenga, one of the subjects of the film, was in attendance. National CineMedia
National CineMedia
National CineMedia operates NCM Media Networks, an integrated media company reaching U.S. consumers in movie theaters, online and through mobile technology...
distributed the film by satellite to over 500 theatres as a special one-night only viewing, with an encore a month later. The release grossed over $1 million for the film.
Critical reception
The Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
gave a favorable review of the film, calling it an "efficient yet comprehensive study". The footage of Chicago is praised, as is the capture of the "inspiring journey of physical endurance and personal achievement". The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
compliments the film's enthusiasm toward the marathon, and the commentary provided by former marathoners. Australia's The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
offers a mixed review, writing that "In its more tranquil stretches, Spirit of the Marathon might be mistaken for a feature-length sneaker advertisement, but if you're looking for inspiration, you could do worse."
Awards and nominations
| Awards | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Award | Category | Results | |
| Chicago Independent Film Festival | Audience Choice | Won | |
| Mammoth Film Festival Mammoth Film Festival The Mammoth Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place annually in Mammoth Lakes, California. The main event at the Mammoth Film Festival, the Feature Film Competition, is a unique elimination-style tournament... |
Best Picture | Won | |