The "state meet" was shown as a single race with no divisions, not on woodward park or anything resembling it. They compete against Palo Alto, despite the fact that McFarland was in D4 and Paly was in D2.
Also, you wanna know the best part?
Palo Alto didn't even qualify for the 1987 state meet. They took 7th at their section finals. Crosstown rival Gunn won the D2 team title instead.
Zatopek was not a very good movie, due to poor depictions of Zatopek and Ron Clarke, too much jumping back and forth, many irrelevant scenes, and much of the story being factually incorrect. The marathon scenes with Jim Peters were rather ridiculous. However, the main character did a good job making his running look like Zatopek.
Tubi also has the following running movies, which I haven't yet watched: Without Limits There is no Finish Line (Joan Benoit) Spirit of the Marathon The Barkley Marathons.
ON THE EDGE (1986). Bruce Dern plays a disgraced former track-and-field star who spends a year secretly training to win a race that's a hybrid of the Dipsea Race and the Mt. Tam Hill Climb.
Copied from an old vhs tape and hard to find anywhere....always managed to inspire me to drag the running shoes out after watching the last 15 minutes...hope...
I know this might surprise, but Revenge of the Nerds...the part where they designed the javelin to "go along with Lamar's limp-wristed throwing style."
The first 36 minutes of Marathon Man (1976) might have the most accurate portrayal of the stereotypical letsrun hobby jogger.
- gets turned off by a woman who tries to talk to him, is socially awkward, a loner, doesn't appear to have any friends
- drops lines randomly into conversation such as "when running 26 miles you learn to deal with pain" while only later admitting he hasn't actually run a marathon yet.
- training runs involve trying to beat random faster people in central park
- runner is made fun of by the locals for his weird running habits
- his training appears to consist of trying to beat the prior days time over the same route (this is before strava)
So what its a fantasy with the same rules as our universe, except ninth graders can win the boston marathon by training really hard.
Yes, that's pretty much it. I think in St. Ralph he doesn't actually win, but takes second, which back in the 50s would be in the 2:20s. Heck the race was won in 2:31 in 1952.
The movie itself is about miracles. The themes and messages wouldn't work if the movie were about a runner achieving something expected, ordinary, and well short of miraculous. It only works if the attempt is nothing short of being a miracle. The story exists in the universe where miracles do happen, including the mother waking up from the coma upon receiving the silver medal. Through the catholic teachings in the film, Ralph is taught what it takes for a miracle to occur. So we have two miracles occur in the movie, through means explained by the movie itself. Miracles happen in the reality of the St. Ralph story, that's a fact of the story's reality. The question for the viewer is, how can miracles be achieved in our own reality, in our own lives? Each viewer will probably have very different answers to that question. Some may feel more connected to the spirituality aspect, some more connected to the hard work. I think for all the message of St. Ralph is that miracles aren't going to happen on their own, but through your own actions/prayers/etc.
If you are just watching St. Ralph for the training and racing aspects and feel the realism is a problem, then you are missing the entire point of the movie.
My daughter was in elementary school and she watched St Ralph. She loved it. It actually inspired her to become a runner. I didn't tell her how unrealistic it was. Why? She loved the movie, she started running, got a scholarship and continues to run for health and fitness today about 25 years later.
There is something about St Ralph that the lack of realism doesn't bother you.
I DO remember him doing mile repeats in a park or something like that. I thought that was a cool scene.
This seriously was the worst running movie of all time. But it wasn't really springting.
His cheating mentor was just jokes. Everyone starts hating on him for cheating and therefore evil. Then after months he can finally explain: "I accidently took banned cold medicine" oh okay we all forgive you.
And the mayor trying to kick the autistic kid so it doesn't become all about him.
And of course the kid winning the race.
There's some other almost terrible ones where this native canadian decides to run a marathon and gets visited by Tom Longboat. At least she doesn't 'win' a race.
There was another one were some old German dude in a nursing home and he somehow wins the Berlin marathon outright at the age of 80 or so....
Yes, that's pretty much it. I think in St. Ralph he doesn't actually win, but takes second, which back in the 50s would be in the 2:20s. Heck the race was won in 2:31 in 1952.
The movie itself is about miracles. The themes and messages wouldn't work if the movie were about a runner achieving something expected, ordinary, and well short of miraculous. It only works if the attempt is nothing short of being a miracle. The story exists in the universe where miracles do happen, including the mother waking up from the coma upon receiving the silver medal. Through the catholic teachings in the film, Ralph is taught what it takes for a miracle to occur. So we have two miracles occur in the movie, through means explained by the movie itself. Miracles happen in the reality of the St. Ralph story, that's a fact of the story's reality. The question for the viewer is, how can miracles be achieved in our own reality, in our own lives? Each viewer will probably have very different answers to that question. Some may feel more connected to the spirituality aspect, some more connected to the hard work. I think for all the message of St. Ralph is that miracles aren't going to happen on their own, but through your own actions/prayers/etc.
If you are just watching St. Ralph for the training and racing aspects and feel the realism is a problem, then you are missing the entire point of the movie.
My daughter was in elementary school and she watched St Ralph. She loved it. It actually inspired her to become a runner. I didn't tell her how unrealistic it was. Why? She loved the movie, she started running, got a scholarship and continues to run for health and fitness today about 25 years later.
There is something about St Ralph that the lack of realism doesn't bother you.
I DO remember him doing mile repeats in a park or something like that. I thought that was a cool scene.
At first I thought: wait she could not have seen it 25 years ago. But "about" is in there and that movie is from 2004. I had forgotten just how old it is.
There was a "based on a true story" 1981 TV movie called "300 Miles for Stephanie", which starred Tony Orlando as a cop who decides to do a 300 mile/5 day run as a deal with God to save his disabled niece. The real story is heavily disputed but as for the running in the movie - let's just say that Tony Orlando was a better singer than he was a runner. ;) But bonus points for having several cast members from American Me/Stand and Deliver in early roles (it's nice to see a film where Pepe Serna doesn't shiv Edward James Olmos in prison)
I felt that Personal Best was the most accurate depiction of the national class track and field scene I’ve ever seen. Many real world class athletes were in this movie, which added to the authenticity of the film. I haven’t seen it in a long time, but I remember the line from Scott Glenn (as the coach) saying that the high jump is an event that always ends in failure.
Not a movie, but in one of the early episodes of the series Landman, the oil CEO and his wife go to a college track meet to watch their daughter race. As they arrive the filmed focus is on the high jump and the bar is about waist high.
In the tv shows "Saved by the Bell" and "Gossip Girl", a character is mentioned as being a cross country runner in a single episode. In the case of the latter its mentioned and the character is seen jogging in a single episode. These are unrealistic because most runners can't shut up about being runners, especially at upper class prep schools.
The 1987 hit Like Father Like Son. Father and son switch bodies and the dad thinks he can run lightning fast in his son’s body. It’s a 4x4 but I always remember it taking forever, maybe cause half it is slow mo. But anyway Kirk Dummy Cameron drops the baton fumbles it runs for last place. Anyway in todays meets that’s a DQ
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