Spirit of the Marathon II

Last evening I attended the showing of Spirit of the Marathon II.  It was good.  It was inspiring.  It reminded me why I dislike watching movies in big theaters.

If you haven’t see the original, Spirit of the Marathon profiles 6 runners, both elite and middle of the pack runners, young and old, as they train and race a marathon.  Their stories are real and as a runner, there are things in each of their stories you can relate to.  Spirit of the Marathon II takes a similar view, profiling 5 runners.  

The Good

I had been looking forward to this movie since I heard about it coming out, which seems like months ago!  I happened to watch Spirit of the Marathon I on the plane to Chicago before I ran the Chicago marathon last year.  Spirit of the Marathon I just happens to be about the Chicago marathon! While I ran that day, I recounted some of the experiences and sites that were relived in the movie.  It was awesome.  I watched it again after the marathon and the viewing experience was different.  I had run those streets. I had seen the crowds, the excitement, the joy of the finish.  It was powerful. I was really invested in the runners stories and their outcomes. 

 Trailer from Spirit of the Marathon I

The Spirit of the Marathon II was set in Rome for the running of the 2012 Rome marathon.  The scenery was spectacular.  It started at the Coliseum and appeared to end there as well.  While the stories were still interesting, there was something about the runners who were profiled in the first movie that really touched me.  There were bits of humor, sadness, joy and grief….all every day feelings, all feelings we go through when we put our bodies through the rigor of the marathon itself. 

 Trailer from Spirit of the Marathon II

The Bad

Of course I sat next to the people who talked throughout the E N T I R E movie.  One of the guys who was doing all the talking was also a heavy breather…very distracting!  Heavy breather also seemed to be an expert on everything running related (yeah….one of THOSE).

The movie theater staff must have forgotten about the “special event” as we didn’t even get to watch the movie until 30 minutes after it was supposed to have started.  I will give them credit…we were all issued a voucher for a free movie. 

Overall I would give this movie 3 out of 5 stars.  I really liked the first one the best, but this one still held my attention and was very enjoyable

Did you see this movie last night?  Have you watched the first one?

What is your biggest pet peeve about movie theaters? 

Mine are (in no particular order):  talking (obviously), cell phone lights and crinkly wrappers.