5 Motivating Running Movies

Perhaps it's raining and you really don't feel like running, eventhough you should. Sit back and enjoy these five great movies and give yourself a mental treat for your next running activities.

1. Spirit of the Marathon
A non-fiction feature movie directed by marathon runner Jon Dunham. This film captures the essence and drama of the 26.2-mile marathon-running event. Six separate stories are intertwined seamlessly, with each runner preparing for the Chicago Marathon challenge. This movie is not just a sports movie but also a journey of perseverance, inspiration, and personal triumph. ‘Spirit of the Marathon’ had influenced and motivated numerous runners and non-runners.

2. Prefontaine 
A 1997 movie that documents the life and struggle of Steve Prefontaine, the long distance runner from the United States. The movie was directed by Steve James, with Jared Leto doing the role of Prefontaine. This movie views the life of Prefontaine through the eyes of his assistant coach, Bill Dellinger and Nancy Alleman, the girlfriend of Prefontaine; though the character of main coach, Bill Bowerman, is also present in the movie. Ed O’Neill donned the role of Dellinger.

3. Another movie on Prefontaine, ‘Without Limits’
Produced by Tom Cruise in 1998, is also a depiction of the life of Prefontaine but from the viewpoint of Bill Bowerman and a previous girlfriend of Prefontaine, Mary Marckx. Directed by Robert Towne, ‘Without Limits’ had Billy Crudup as Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland as Bowerman. Both movies bring out the fact that Steve Prefontaine brought glamour and spark to long distance running by his numerous running records, in spite of being slightly opinionated and arrogant in his personal life.

4. Running the Sahara
Another great documentary movie that chronicles the true story of 3 men who ran across the Sahara Desert. Ray Zahab, Kevin Lin, and Charlie Engle travelled 6,290 km to reach the Red Sea in February 2007. The documentary was directed by James Moll. The three runners started their incredible desert running expedition from the Atlantic Coast of Senegal and ran through Mauritania, Mali, Niger, and Libya, before running through Egypt to arrive at the Red Sea. This documentary shows that extreme efforts can also succeed if determination and perseverance are present in us. A truly inspirational and motivational effort by the three runners.

5. Chariots of Fire
Another British movie released in 1981, which was based on the real life of 2 athletes who participated in the 1924 Olympics. The athletes were Eric Liddell, a Scotland runner and Harold Abrahams, an English runner. The film was directed by Hugh Hudson. Both runners were motivated by their religions of Christianity and Judaism. Liddell refused to run on Sunday due to his deep religious convictions. Another athlete gave his place to allow Liddell to compete on Thursday. Liddell won 400 meter gold and Abrahams won 100 meters gold in the 1924 Olympics.


... and remember the popcorn!