I had the opportunity last Wednesday to see Spirit of the Marathon II, in theaters for one night only. First, let me say that the movie was great. It was really entertaining and made me want to run a marathon–which is definitely on the list of things I want to do in the near future. Little Rock Marathon 2014, anyone? Maybe? Anyway, the Engineer and I definitely were happy to have a date night, even if it was on a Wednesday. Made the rest of the week seem never-ending, but whatever. I digress.
When we walked into the movie auditorium, there were about 10 or so other lucky people. I knew right away that I was in good company because whispers of that morning’s run drifted through the theater: “Are you going to run tonight?” “Nah, I ran this morning.” I was beyond excited to be watching a movie with “my people.”
The movie chronicles two elites, two Americans, and three Italians running the Rome Marathon. I really loved listening to each runners’ story and couldn’t help but relate to them. Running truly is universal. My favorite runner in the movie was Domenico Anzini, a 73-year-old Italian who has run every Rome Marathon to date. He gave me hope that at any age, we can enjoy running and being fit. I want to be 70 and still running, tri-ing, yoga-ing, and so on. Heck , I want to be doing it at 80 and beyond. In his words, “Run, run.”
It was fun to see the elites’ stories and how much they are similar to you and me–not that I do two-a-day run workouts, am rail thin, or have a sponsorship. But they do run because they love it and feel that they’re making a difference.
All in all, I liked it better than the first movie because it interspersed the runners’ stories in with the Rome Marathon and the history of the marathon. I totally recommend it to any runner out there seeking to learn more about the way running can change lives and to gain motivation. Now I’m going to run a marathon . . . for real. Anyone want to join me?
Check out the trailer below.
