Episode 39: Running with Friends Series- Running Movie Recommendations
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Welcome to Chasing Life podcast, where we talk about fitness, running, career, and life tips to inspire you to live your best life. I'm your host, Sarah Kane, and I hope you enjoy today's episode. It doesn't matter who we are. Once we start running, we leave everything at the door. Hello, and welcome to another episode of Chasing Life. I'm your host, Sarah, and today's guest is Leti from the Marathon Running Podcast, as we continue our Running With Friends series.

On today's episode, we will catch up on our training as well as share some of our favorite running movies in the hopes that it will inspire you whether you're injured or currently training for a race. So welcome, Leti. Hi, Sarah. Thank you so much for having me back. I'm excited to talk with you today. We're going to catch each other up on our training as well as our favorite running movies.

Which will come in super motivational right now because, you know, so many people are training for a fall marathon. So Leti, let's kick this episode off with sharing a training update. How is your marathon training going? My training is going well. I think I've just completed week nine and I'm going into week 10, 76 days left till the Berlin marathon, which sounds like miles

and miles away, literally. But at the same time, it's been flying by. I can't believe we are at week 10. And yeah, I feel like what I've been doing the first 10 weeks is just running a bunch of miles, not much speed training, which is what I'm kind of rolling into now. We're at, I think, 60 miles right now, trying to get ourselves up to about 80. So we'll see how that goes.

Wow, that's awesome that you are already at that mileage. And Berlin is a green light? Berlin seems to be a green light. Apparently, according to insider information, that race will take place. But you know what? If not, I'm going to do that marathon that you were talking about. Yes. So the Wineglass Marathon in Corning, New York. But how is your training going? I know you're running your half marathon, but I know you've also been looking into getting a running coach and all that stuff.

Yeah, so I have a good update to share. So I'll start with the running coach after our last episode where we talked about the things that you should look for in a running coach and having that conversation and not being afraid to ask questions of a running coach. So I met with one locally a few weeks ago. We had a really good conversation. He's been coaching for 10 years now.

And he is very reasonable after talking with you and a few other runners, he charges $60 a month for coaching, which I realize is a huge bargain compared to other prices. He, uh,

is currently only working with about seven runners, but that's because he has a full-time job and he does the coaching on the side. So he is very limited in who he works with because he wants to provide that quality. And so we talked for like an hour and a half of all things running. And after talking with him, my announcement to share is that I will probably be

delaying my Boston qualifying race until the fall of 2022 instead of attempting it in the spring of 22. And the reason for that is

Because, well, one training through the winter would be more challenging, but the racing a spring marathon is a toss up in Northeast in the Northeast because the weather could be really hot. And after training in the Northeast winter, which is cold and then having a hot spring day, the cards are kind of stacked against me. Plus with still recovering from tendinosis and

My body would have a better chance of reaching that goal time if I gave it longer to heal instead of trying to rush into it. So I thought about it after that conversation. I will have a Boston qualifying race in the fall of 22. And hopefully with the way that at least Boston qualifying window is this year, the registration isn't until November, which would allow me to run a marathon qualifying race in November.

say beginning of October, which that didn't used to be the case. So I'm hoping that for the race of 2023, that the registration window will include like races in October of the prior fall. So that's the update on that. So I'm delaying my qualifying race.

And that's also to say my tendinosis is doing better. I ran 25 miles this last week. I'm up to nine miles on my long run. So things are progressing. It's still not a hundred percent, but it's definitely a step in the right direction, which is really good because I have a half marathon in 11 weeks. So that's kind of my update. That's a lot of update right there, but I mean, your coach sounds awesome.

It sounds good that he doesn't have a bulk of runners because he can probably still put a lot of energy into his individuals that he is coaching. And I also like what you said about giving yourself more time, not just because of that whole, you're training up in the Northeast and you'd be going to a hot race. But also I just had a conversation with Brody, the physiotherapist about the whole

misconceptions and why people tend to get injured in the areas that you're injured in and he says most of the time it is because of an overload it's not like they say you know tight hamstrings and all that stuff is strictly overloading so I think it's really smart what you're doing by waiting just a little bit more for your body to heal and to be able to take on that training load so

That's good. That shows some good characteristics about you, being able to self-constraint even though you probably really want to do it. So that's awesome. Congrats on all of this.

Thank you. Because for months I was like, okay, like I'm going to do it in May. And so to kind of accept this revised timeline took a little thought, but it's either I try to, you know, push my body. I could attempt it in the spring, but the likelihood would be lower or I wait another six months and the likelihood would be a lot higher. And I'm thinking, you know, I'd rather wait, train correctly because when I talked to the coach, we kind of laid out a rough plan.

which would be increasing my mileage to actually about where you are now, I would be increasing those 60 miles a week, you know, not to progress too soon. So that way I have a better chance of achieving my goals the first time instead of, you know, maybe pushing too soon and re-injuring and then delaying it another year or two. So, yeah. Yeah, no, that's good because I think, I mean, I think 60 miles is a lot of miles, especially cause you have a full-time job, you know, you're not just,

quote unquote, you know, a runner, you don't get to run and then go home and sleep and eat and go sleep and rest some more. And I think given that 60 miles is a lot of miles, it's tiring and it's a strain for sure. So I think it's something that we as non-elites can attempt doing for a while.

But obviously, it's not a long term goal with unless, of course, we get super fast and we make it to be elite. But my time's passed. You still got you still got plenty of time for that. That's wishful thinking, Ladi. I don't think I'll ever get to the elite level, but thank you for that confidence. Hey, never say never. I would be happy just to start with a Boston qualifying time.

You'll get there and I can't wait to watch it. And hopefully I'll get to run Boston with you whenever you do it for the first time. Cause that'd be cool. It'd be cool to meet up in Boston and you know, I'm super excited about going to Boston and knowing people that run from all these different running communities. So that's really kind of cool.

That would be really fun. Or we also previously talked about you coming to pace my qualifying race. So that would be fun too. Yeah, but now you picked the fall race. So now we got to think. I'm thinking you should probably do like Chicago lottery or something flat and fast. Yeah, I'll definitely have to look into that.

All right. So today we're going to talk about 10 very great running movies. They can be inspirational or motivational or just running movies. So we each decided to come up with five. Hopefully we won't overlap, but who knows? And share those with our listeners.

So they can have something to watch if they want to watch something, especially right now when everybody's training for these fall marathons and we're starting to get a little bit fatigued. It's nice to have something to look forward to that keeps us in that whole mindset of running. So,

Letty, what is one of your favorite running movies? All right. So my first one, which is not in any particular order is called the Skid Row Marathon. And so Skid Row is an area in Los Angeles that has hosts, basically homeless people, people living in tents. And it's,

a very much growing area in LA downtown. And also downtown is the courthouse, most of the courthouses, including the Los Angeles Superior Court. So this is a documentary that follows a judge, Judge Craig Mitchell. It follows him because he decided to start leading a long distance running club out of the Midnight Mission on Skid Row. So basically he encounters people that are

homeless or addicted or that he knows from the prison system and talked them into participating in this run club as they prepare for running events and marathons. And it's really cool because he's very into it and he's very much saying stuff like,

It doesn't matter who we are. Once we start running, we leave everything at the door. So have you heard of that one? I haven't. And as you were talking, I looked it up. It's available on Amazon Prime for anyone who is interested. And so I've added it to my watch list. So thank you for the recommendation.

Yes, of course. And I also found it so interesting to see somebody with a big heart that doesn't discriminate. And this is just for me as an attorney, it sums up what a judge is supposed to be. He's supposed to be a party that is neutral and he treats people like that. He treats everybody equally. So it's kind of, it's really kind of cool. Yeah, that sounds really interesting and just very uplifting and a reminder of how, you know, maybe people make mistakes in their life, but I

by running that just kind of puts everyone on the same playing field. And it's also, you know, running is such a unique sport too, is you don't know what about running is benefiting each individual. Yes, absolutely. You summed that up really well. So that was my first one. Let's hear what you've got on your list. So this one actually, people may have heard of it. It's called Brittany Runs a Marathon. It's also available on Amazon Prime. You're laughing.

Have you heard of it? I've watched it a couple of times. Yeah. So it was pretty popular maybe like a year and a half ago or around the time that the pandemic started, it kind of, it came out. So this description is, it's,

Hilarious and outgoing, Brittany Fogler is everyone's best friend except her own. Her partying, underemployment, and toxic relationships are catching up with her. Too broke for a gym and too proud to ask for help, Britt is at a loss until her neighbor pushes her to run one sweaty block. Soon she sets an almost unthinkable goal, the New York City Marathon. And so I watched that and...

I got chills at the end because, you know, it's maybe one of those things where only a runner can understand the type of dedication that goes into training for a marathon and then showing up on race day and completing it. You know, that distance, that event is something that

at one point in your life probably seemed impossible. But after weeks of training, and then you show up at the start line and you prove to yourself more than anyone that you can do it. And so that's why I like that movie. Yeah, that's cool. I've, like I said, I've watched it before. And that movie always kind of takes me back to my mid twenties because I feel like I've had

many friends like Brittany where you know you're at an age where you're hitting the crossroad of you're done with college you're kind of done partying but not really and you're also trying to live a healthier lifestyle so you're at the crossroad of should you run in the morning when you're hungover and that kind of stuff so it's it's kind of it's kind of funny I you know it wasn't my favorite movie but I liked it I liked it enough to watch it a couple times

Yeah, it's kind of, you know, just a fun, like casual watch. Maybe you need something that makes you laugh, but also is inspiring. I think that that's a good one. So what's another one on your list? All right. I'm going to name two of them because they're kind of sequels. They are documentary films directed by John Dunham, and he directed The Spirit of the Marathon and The Spirit of the Marathon 2. The first one is called The Spirit of the Marathon 2.

the first one came out in 2007 and the second one came out in 2013 and they kind of are the same just with different people in it. So they chronicle the running journey of a few marathon runners while they're training. And the first one they're training for the 2005 Chicago marathon in the second one, they're doing the, um, I think it was the Rome marathon. And, um,

I liked the first one better because it was more... It was fresher. You know, the idea repeated itself in the sequels. But at the same time, I liked the second one better because it includes international travel. It goes to Rome and, you know, I love traveling. So I like the scenery. I also like the second one because...

one of the characters in it is a writer. It's Julie Weiss who wrote a memoir where she chronicled about her running 52 marathons in 52 weeks. The book is called Miles and Trials of a Marathon Goddess. That's on the side note. But yeah, so it's those two sequels that are really kind of cool, very inspiring for people not to just run, but also to live life in a very full and happy way.

Those are also two movies that I haven't seen. I feel like I need to check out more running movies. I haven't engaged enough in that genre, but that sounds definitely very inspirational. So my next one is a documentary and it's called City Slickers Can't Stay With Me. And it's the

Coach Bob Larson's story. So the summary of this is legendary UCLA and Olympic running coach Bob Larson remains a key factor in the resurgence of American distance running on the international stage. City Sucklers Can't Stay With Me chronicles Larson's collaboration with four-time Olympian Mev Kapleski and the world-class distance running with unique American success story. So that one was something I never heard of, but through talking with Brian

Brian Green and Bob Larson was his coach when Brian ran at UCLA. So it was kind of like led me to watch that documentary. So I think it was just really interesting because the U.S. didn't used to have a good distance running program. And now we have...

so many runners that have a chance to medal in the upcoming Olympics. So it's pretty cool that Bob Larson was at the forefront of bringing this back. And he was a coach to Meb, who is one of the best American marathoners in our history. So.

It's pretty neat to see that side of things. So I have not heard of that one. It sounds super interesting for all those reasons that you just said, especially now that we have a better program, you're saying in the U.S. for distance running. So I'm excited to look at that one, too. All right. So I have, well, I guess two more.

One of them I haven't watched yet, but I'm going to tell you about the one I watched. So it's the Breaking 2 movie, which is a documentary that follows Elliot Kipchoge and two other runners in their quest of breaking the two-hour marathon barrier. And that was in 2017. So it's basically an experiment where they check out human performance and science and how close they can get to pushing those boundaries of running. And it's by National Geographic's

In 2017, the two-hour barrier wasn't broken. I think he, Elliot Kipchoge, was 25 seconds away from it. But it's still super interesting to get to know him and his positive spirit and his constant smiling and the other two runners as well. So I just thought that was really cool. Yeah, I watched that movie also. It was on my list. And it was really cool just to see their attempt and to root for them and even...

though that happened a couple of years ago and you knew what the outcome was going to be, you still can't help but root for them to do it. And you feel bad that Elliot just missed it by like 25 seconds. And it was just so close.

I know. How ridiculously close was that, right? How frustrating must that have been to have 25 seconds? I mean, that's literally less than a second per mile, which made it even more exciting to watch him break it in, I think it was 2019 in Austria.

What a difference that made for everybody and for how people think about this two hour mental barrier. Yeah, definitely. And, you know, just kind of the fortitude that he had to continue and to try again and not be discouraged by that really close attempt, but to just have it inspiring to keep trying. Oh, yeah. So true. So true. And now he's going down in history. So that's awesome. Right. So do you have any more, Sarah? Yeah.

They do. One of my favorite running movies, and this was actually introduced to me by my dad, but this is a must watch for anyone who hasn't seen it. And it's called Prefontaine. And it's based on the life and Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine, who was a long distance runner who lived in Oregon and died young. He ran in the 72 Munich Olympics and he was

probably any runner who searched for running quotes has probably seen one of his quotes. He was known for is to give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. And one that really kind of explains his personality is the best pace is a suicide pace today feels like a good day to die. And he was just known for putting everything out on the track and just racing his heart out. And he, uh,

was from the famed Oregon, like Hayward field where the Olympic trials were run. That's a field that he ran on. Um, he worked with Bill Bowerman and the Nike. He was a part of that development. And so this story really touches upon the creation of Nike, uh,

the birthplace really of Hayward Field and into what it is now. And so I definitely highly recommend Prefontaine. That sounds like a good one. It'd be cool to watch his life story. And just because he's made such a change even for running for us nowadays, and he's still being quoted.

Absolutely. And he was just such a gifted runner and just his life was was cut too short. And I can't tell you how many times I've seen it, but it's a it's a good one. I'll have to do that then, especially since you just mentioned you've watched the whole bunch of times. What's your last movie to round us out?

So my last one that I haven't watched yet is Boston. And it's a documentary by the same person who wrote the Spirit of the Marathon 1 and 2, which is John Dunham. And it basically talks about the history and origin of the Boston Marathon. And then the tragedy puts a lot of emphasis on the bombing in 2013.

you know, where three people died and hundreds were injured and people lost their limbs. And it's a film that's narrated by Matt Damon. And it has a lot of good actors in it. And so yeah, it's been on my list forever. And I guess I'll have to watch it now because now that we're getting closer to running marathons in the fall, and I'm probably going to be running Boston in

is something that definitely has to be watched. That's another one I just added to my list. And speaking of Boston and the Boston Marathon, this isn't really a running movie, but it's a really good movie, is Patriot's Day, which is about the Boston Marathon bombing and the story of...

of tracking down the bombers and the police officers who were involved as told from the police officer's perspective. So that was a really good emotional movie. And it provides kind of a lot of details that maybe weren't covered in the news, but just from a different perspective. So just from a general movie, action movie perspective, Patriot's Day is also one I recommend and it's sort of running related, but yeah.

No, totally. I appreciate you mentioning that because I'm definitely going to watch that one too now. Yeah, when I watched it, it came out and it was available on Netflix last summer. And I stayed up till like two o'clock in the morning watching it because it was just so good and it hooked me. And I was like, okay, I got to finish this tonight. So hopefully- Oh, wow. Those are the good ones. And hopefully the movies that we just summed up for our listeners do the same. If they don't, we're sorry. We have bad taste, I guess. Yeah.

But I feel like all those movies are very inspirational and they have good messages and they will keep you engaged in running, which is what you're probably doing. You're training for something. So hopefully that'll also help you in that aspect.

Yeah, absolutely. And I love how you share documentaries and I shared kind of more fun movies or just more life story movies, if you will. So I think we offered a really good mix. I like that too, because when I was looking at my list, I was like, man, those are all documentaries. I'm really glad that yours aren't. Anything else you want to say about how good movies are for running? Well, I

I think they're a really good distraction if anybody's stuck inside on a treadmill right now, or maybe they're, you know, nursing an injury and they're riding a bike indoors, you can turn on a movie and it'll distract you for a while. So, or put these on your list and save them for later.

When you are running inside, enjoy the weather outside and, you know, maybe just on your rest days or after your long runs and you're just resting on the couch because you need to make sure you're resting after all you're running. Turn on one of these movies and continue to be inspired.

Or another one, another opportunity of watching those movies would also be the day before race day when you're you've flown into whatever city you're racing and you've eaten and now you're sitting on your bed just, you know, because you're supposed to rest. So it's sometimes helpful to do something running or watch something running related to just keep your mind engaged a little bit.

Yeah, absolutely. That's a really good idea. And plus then it will prevent you from just overthinking your own race and you get distracted by, you know, watching a movie that still keeps you in the running mindset. So that way you have some good inspiration going into your race morning.

Yes, exactly. Especially if it's one of those spirit of marathon one or two, where you literally follow other people around going through the exact same thing that you're going to be going through. So I don't know, I feel like there's a, what's that saying called? Misery left company. That's what it is. Yep.

Thank you so much for talking to me about our favorite movies. Hopefully, as we just mentioned, those will inspire people. Hopefully you wrote them down. If you haven't, then we'll put them on our show notes. As always, Leti, it's great to talk with you and I'm looking forward to our next Running With Friends episode.

Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it on social media. Tag me at Sarah Chasing Life or at Chasing Life Podcast. If you haven't already, please be sure to subscribe and rate this podcast. That helps me to reach more listeners.