Top 19 Running Documentaries For Inspiration And Motivation
Now is a great opportunity to escape to the TV and watch the most impressive running-themed docs created by renowned filmmakers. While we cannot go to road racing and the summer movie season has been interrupted, documentaries are a great way to get connected to running.
Are you trying to find the determination to initiate your exercise routine, companionship to help you manage the running machine, or a remarkable basis to rest on your couch? If so, this range of films spotlights significant occasions, moments and individuals from the speciality of running in addition to honouring the unyielding energy of the human soul.
Get your snack ready, sit down comfortably, and get ready to be motivated!
Documentary Films Every Runner Should See For Inspiration And Motivation
1. The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young
You can never really know what your capabilities are until you strive to do something of greater magnitude. Whether you regard Gary Cantrell, also known as Lazarus Lake, as a dreamer or a tyrant, there is no denying his ingenuity in developing obstacles to test the endurance of anyone who dares to take them on.
Laz’s spellbinding story is accompanied by footage of the astonishing 2012 edition of The Barkley Marathons, a Tennessee trail race which has had only 15 successful participants out of 34 years.
Witnessing the intense emotion of the Barkley occasion can be uncomfortable for observers, yet we are all welcome attendees to this extreme trial of endurance. Is not misery improved by companionship?
2. Boston: The Documentary
Boston is the same as running documentaries as the Boston Marathon is to running.
This movie, with a large budget and directed by a veteran of Spirit of the Marathon, Jon Dunham, and narrated by Matt Damon, focuses on the aftermath of the devastating 2013 Boston bombing and culminates in the resilient “Boston Strong” response in 2014.
Starting off modestly as the inaugural marathon in the U.S., the Boston Marathon has seen many memorable moments, such as the infamous Rosie Ruiz scandal in 1980 and the emotional win of Meb in 2014. Through old recordings and memories of people who have witnessed the race, one can uncover the stories of the athletes, the well-known names, and the epochal events that built the legacy of this renowned running race.
An inspiring story of victory over adversity which surpasses the boundaries of sports, Boston is the absolute best.
3. Breaking2
The movie Breaking2 follows the journey of three extraordinary athletes–Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya, Lelisa Desisa from Ethiopia, and Zersenay Tadese from Eritrea–as they strive to break the world record for running a marathon in two hours or less, with Nike’s support.
The movie investigates what humans are capable of doing while also providing an understanding of each of the sportsmen both on a personal and professional basis.
Kipchoge’s mantra of “No human is limited” may seem impossible to many of us, but the powerful and meaningful effect of this remarkable feat is palpable even when accounting for our knowledge of the final result.
4. Desert Runners
If you’re attempting to get your non-runner friends to put on shoes and accompany you, Desert Runners wouldn’t be a good beginning point. This movie follows an international group of weekend runners as they battle to complete four ultramarathons which are all 155 miles long, over six days, in some of the harshest environments known.
It is both captivating and annoying to see ordinary individuals attempt remarkable feats (and suffer awful blisters), especially in such intense circumstances where even clear judgment or carelessness can lead to life-or-death consequences.
As the ultrarunning mantra goes, miserable is memorable.
5. 15 Hours with Amelia Boone
Billy Yang, a filmmaker, has made two emotionally moving films that display the determination of the true champions.
Introducing Dave Mackey – a top-ranked ultrarunner – Leadman recounts Mackey’s difficult experience in 2015 when an injury caused the amputation of his lower left leg. Now in 2018, Mackey is making a remarkable return to running the Leadville Trail 100 Race.
Equally, while making scarcely any direct references to all her traumas, 15 Hours with Amelia Boone mounts the four-time obstacle racing champion’s own personal statement onto documentary footage from her successful arrival to ultrarunning in the 2018 Sean O’Brien 100K.
6. Runner
The path Guor Mading Maker took to become an Olympic marathoner is celebrated in the movie Runner, showing his journey from being a refugee from Sudan to a world-class runner.
Having lost 28 family members—including eight of his nine siblings—to the Sudanese Civil War, Mading Maker spent much of his youth running for his own life in war-torn Sudan before escaping to the United States, where he would become a world-class runner and outspoken opponent of Sudanese oppression.
Animation is used to display Mading Maker’s battle growing up as one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, and the most impactful part of the movie is the moment when he reunites with his parents for the first time after two decades.
7. Skid Row Marathon
Central to this tale of encouragement is the concept of rock bottom, running, and restoration surrounding the Midnight Mission Running Club, which is based in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles.
Judge Craig Mitchell established the organization in 2012 to give members of the Skid Row homeless population the encouragement and ability to break away from drug dependency and reach their own aspirations.
The movie triumphs by exhibiting the significance of giving someone a second opportunity and underscoring how much one individual can achieve when they have a person that has confidence in them, demonstrated through the actions and remarks of the miscellaneous club members and the “Judge” himself.
8. Spirit of the Marathon
Jon Dunham’s directorial feature from 2007 is a heartfelt tribute to the most celebrated racing distance.
This movie follows six runners–including renowned athlete Deena Kastor–during their preparation for, and participation in, the Chicago Marathon in 2005. Personal interviews with several renowned figures in the world of sports are also featured.
If the idea of running 26.2 miles had never previously interested you, this film might sway your opinion; Dunham artfully depicts the enchantment that motivates so many novice runners to continue.
Dan Solera, a lifetime resident of the Windy City and a four-time completed Chicago Marathon, admits to watching the movie Spirit of the Marathon on two occasions before his first run in the city.
9. Endurance
