Best movies about runners
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- DirectorSteve JamesStarsJared LetoR. Lee ErmeyEd O'NeillBased on the life of Olympic hopeful Steve Prefontaine, a long distance runner who lived in Oregon and died young.
- DirectorMichael McGowanStarsAdam ButcherCampbell ScottJennifer TillySaint Ralph is the unlikely story of Ralph Walker, a ninth-grader who outran everyone's expectations except his own in his bold quest to win the 1954 Boston Marathon.
- DirectorHugh HudsonStarsBen CrossIan CharlesonNicholas FarrellTwo British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience.
- DirectorRobert TowneStarsBilly CrudupDonald SutherlandMonica PotterThe life of renowned runner Steve Prefontaine and his relationship with legendary coach Bill Bowerman.
- DirectorCharles-Olivier MichaudStarsKelly BlatzRichard JenkinsKim BasingerA former track coach decides to train a student with natural athletic talent. Tragedy strikes, forcing the student to confront everything that has been holding him back.
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsMichael RedgraveTom CourtenayAvis BunnageA young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDustin HoffmanLaurence OlivierRoy ScheiderAfter the shocking murder of his older brother, a New York history student finds himself inexplicably hounded by shadowy government agents on the trail of a Nazi war criminal who is trying to retrieve smuggled diamonds.
- DirectorKevin KerwinStarsCharlie EngleMarshall UlrichFollows ultrarunning veterans Marshall Ulrich and Charlie Engle as they attempt to set a new speed record for crossing the country on foot in 2008.
- DirectorMel StuartStarsAdam BookspanAngelika CastanedaEric CliftonForty runners compete in the most grueling race on earth, the Badwater. The film documents the trials and tribulations of these athletes as they run 135 miles through Death Valley in July and explores the motivations behind this seemingly masochistic contest. A celebration of the perseverance of the human will beyond the limits of the human body.
- DirectorDavid SchwimmerStarsSimon PeggThandiwe NewtonHank AzariaFive years after jilting his pregnant fiancée on their wedding day, out-of-shape Dennis decides to run a marathon to win her back.
- DirectorMichael Del MonteTad MunningsStarsWesley KorirLong-distance running allowed Wesley Korir to escape the grinding poverty of Kenya. But after winning multiple American marathons, including taking running's most cherished prize - the Boston Marathon, he risks it all and returns home to help his fellow Kenyans create better lives for themselves. In what promises to be the most challenging race of his career, Wesley takes on a well-financed, big-party candidate to run for a seat in Kenyan parliament. attempting to balance the frenzy of campaigning with the demands of marathon training.
- DirectorSteven Hilliard SternStarsMichael DouglasSusan AnspachLawrence DaneAmerican marathon runner Michael Andropolis sets his heart on representing his country at the Olympic games. Meanwhile his marriage has fallen apart and his children have no respect for him. He sets out on his task with determination and hope that his success will resolve his personal problems.
- DirectorSandy TungStarsRicky SchroderBrad PittCarrie SnodgressTwo brothers: one a drug-dealing layabout, while the other is a hardworking "model son." When the one begins straightening himself out by becoming a high school track star, the other is jealous and retreats into alcohol.
- DirectorMatty ArnoldStarsJoe NewtonCharlie KernEric DettmanCoach Joe Newton has used the sport of Cross Country Running to teach simple but important lessons to high school boys for the last 50 years. "Always do your best", "be on time" and "it's nice to be great but far greater to be nice" are mantras, which have turned the Boys Cross Country team at the public York High School in Elmhurst Illinois into the most winning high school team in any sport in America. Along with mastery of their sport, Newton turns boys into men, who carry his teaching and his love for each of them throughout their lives. The Long Green Line documents the York Duke's 2005 Cross Country season as the runners seek their record 25th state title in 50 years. In the sport of Cross Country only the top 5 athletes per team score points and only seven are included in competition. The York team has 221 athletes participating under the tutelage of Coach Newton. Though 214 boys know they will have no influence on the season's scores, they are moved to participate just to be in the presence of Coach Newton. Such a large team is a blessing and curse. Newton is able to spread his influence further but life lessons can go unheard when they have to trickle to so many ears. In the middle of the season, two of the star athletes are expelled from school after committing over $1 million in arson damage. The York team is forced to rebuild -- to face a true test of what they have learned both physically and mentally. The team is colorfully decorated with characters like the All-American winners the Dettman Twins, Sophomore John Fisher, a high functioning autistic with a heart of gold, out of shape former football players who reside on the lowest rung of the team and Freshman Connor Chadwick who has cerebral palsy but is able to run without leg braces for the first time in his life. The Long Green Line is not only a team but also, a rite of passage. It is a lifeline for these young runners as they move from adolescence to manhood.
- DirectorJudd EhrlichStarsFred LebowEd KochNina KuscsikWithout one eccentric first-generation Jewish immigrant from Transylvania, the New York City Marathon simply wouldn't exist. Ehrlich's fun, loving, and inspirational tribute to the late Fred Lebow shows how one man's imagination, determination, and love for running created one of the world's most popular sporting events.
- DirectorJ.B. BennaIn 2010, four of the greatest undefeated mountain runners on earth toed the starting line at the Western States 100-mile endurance run, the oldest and most prestigious 100-mile foot race in the world. While their lives may be quite different, the goal is the same: win the Western States 100-mile run. A win will require breaking the course record and running the fastest time in the history of the race. An epic showdown ensues, from Squaw Valley, CA in Lake Tahoe, up though the high snow covered Sierra Nevada Mountains, down through the extreme heat of the American River Canyons and finishing in Auburn, CA. Though all four are undefeated, three must break and only one can remain unbreakable.
- DirectorJim de ZoeteEdward SunderlandStarsSebastian CoeSteve CramDavid RudishaThe story of middle-distance runner David Rudisha as he breaks the 800m world record with help from his unconventional coach and Roman Catholic missionary Colm O'Connell.
- DirectorRobert TowneStarsMariel HemingwayScott GlennPatrice DonnellyThe intertwined lives and loves of three highly ranked athletes striving for the national team; Chris bounces between the beds of male coach Terry and her female friend, competitor, and role model Tory.
- DirectorLeslie WoodheadBud GreenspanStarsHaile GebrselassieShawananness GebrselassieYonas ZergawThe gold medal for the men's 10,000-metre race in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics is won by Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie.
- DirectorRob NilssonStarsBruce DernPam GrierBill BaileyIn one final attempt to achieve victory, an aging professional runner is training vigorously for a very tough marathon race.
- DirectorDonald ShebibStarsRobby BensonPat HingleClaudia CronThe story of Billy Mills, the American Indian who came from obscurity to win the 10,000-meter long-distance foot-race in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
- DirectorJon DunhamStarsDick BeardsleyRyan BradleyLeah CailleThe first ever feature-length film to capture the essence, drama and unique spectacle of the famed 26.2-mile race, the production features five runners - three amateurs and two elites - as they train for and ultimately run the Chicago Marathon.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsPeter StraussRichard LawsonRoger E. MosleyA prisoner gets a chance to take part in the Olympics.
- DirectorErich LyttleStarsSteve PrefontaineDana CarveyKen KeseyPre" embodied the spirit of athletic excellence. He had a belief in self and sport that transcended all but the outer reaches of human speed and endurance. As a freshman, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated, which hailed him as "America's Distance Prodigy". By the time he died in a tragic auto accident at the age of 24, Pre held all 7 American records between 2,000 and 10,000 meters. Off the track, he fought relentlessly for the rights of amateur athletes to prosper for their sacrifices. Narrated by Ken Kesey, Fire On the Track is the story of this young lion's life, as told through rare footage and the memories of those who knew him best - his teammates, coaches, family and friends. Interviews include David Bedford, Frank Shorter, Ian Stewart, Bill Bowerman, Jeff Galloway, Dick Buerkle, Lasse Viren, Dana Carvey, Mac Wilkins, Kenny Moore, Dave Wottle, Alberto Salazar, and many more.
- DirectorTim VandeSteegStarsJ. Marie FiegerChris HitchcockJason HitchcockAfter tragically losing his wife to breast cancer and struggling to raise three young children on his own, real life super hero and modern day Forrest Gump, Terry Hitchcock seized on an idea. He wanted to accomplish the impossible: run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days to bring attention to the incredibly difficult lives of single-parent families. He ran in spite of freezing rain and unbearable heat, in spite of chest pains and bone fractures that wracked his 57-year-old body. He just kept running - each day, every day - strengthening an unbreakable bond between father and son--- not stopping until he broke the finish line tape in Atlanta. MY RUN is more than a film about a guy running multiple marathons; it's a film about the daily marathons we all run in life.
- DirectorJennifer Steinman SterninStarsSamantha GashTremaine KentDavid O'BrienA diverse cast of non-professional runners attempt to complete the most difficult ultramarathon race series on Earth. Their dramatic journey takes them across the World's most picturesque yet brutal landscapes, pushing their bodies, hearts and spirits through a myriad of external and internal obstacles. DESERT RUNNERS delves into the mindset of ultra-athletes, and the complex ways in which human beings deal with both heartbreak and triumph.
- DirectorDavey FrankelRasselas LakewStarsRasselas LakewDag MalmbergRuta GedmintasRunning the streets of Rome in 1960, an unknown, barefooted Ethiopian man stunned the world by winning Olympic gold in the marathon. Overnight, Abebe Bikila became a sports legend. A hero in his own country and to the continent, Bikila was the first African to win a gold medal, and four years later in Tokyo would become the first person in history to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the marathon. This soldier and quiet son of a shepherd would be acknowledged by many as the greatest long distance runner the world had ever known. One evening while returning to his home in Addis Ababa from training in the Ethiopian countryside, Bikila was involved in a tragic car accident which left him paralyzed from the waist down. Unable to walk and faced with the greatest challenge of his life, he struggled to maintain his will to live and in the process discovered a deeper meaning of competition, taking up archery for the Paralympics and competing as a handicapped dog sledder in Norway. Though his running career had come to a tragic end, the race of his life had a new beginning. For the first time, the true story of Bikila's epic quest for life and sport comes to the big screen. Not since Raging Bull has the life of an athlete been rendered with such emotional power and cinematic grace.
- DirectorBenjamin HeisenbergStarsAndreas LustMarkus SchleinzerRoman KettnerA story based on Johann Rettenberger, an Austrian marathon runner and a bank robber.
- DirectorJean StewartStarsArmin Mueller-StahlNthati MosheshPaterson JosephA failed track coach finally finds someone who he believes has what it takes to win.
- DirectorJon DunhamStarsDomenico AnziniEpiphanie NyirabarameDomenico ScipioniFrom the filmmakers who brought you the award-winning documentary Spirit of the Marathon comes Spirit of the Marathon II. Featuring all new cast of athletes as they run the iconic streets of Rome.
- DirectorRegan HallStarsLenora CrichlowPhil DavisJamie HowardA street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
- DirectorRichard IrvingStarsDorian HarewoodGeorg Stanford BrownDebbi MorganThis is the compelling story of Jesse Owens, a man who overcame racial barriers to become one of history's greatest Olympic athletes by disproving Adolf Hitler's theory of Aryan athletic superiority through his success in track and field.
- DirectorJim GoddardStarsRichard HuwNique NeedlesAdrian RawlinsA dramatisation of the race to the four-minute mile, featuring Richard Huw as Bannister and Nique Needles as Landy. It was written by David Williamson and directed by Jim Goddard.
- DirectorCharles BeesonStarsJamie MaclachlanChristopher PlummerShaun SmythThe story of the four minute mile-breaker Roger Bannister.
- DirectorLachlan RyanJarrod TheodoreStarsDan CannonRosco BrauerBianca LintonA teenager pursues his childhood dream of becoming the best at reverse running.