Binge these great films about running that will get you motivated to get out the door.
By Tom Layman
Aug 17, 2018
It’s hard to find anything simpler than firing through episode after episode of old sitcoms or wiping out chunks of time with random movies on Netflix or Amazon Prime. Then there are the documentaries you never thought you’d be interested in, but can’t stop watching.
For runners, there are other chunks of time when it is a perfect to get their binge on with a great documentary, like while recovering on the couch after a long run or when cranking out miles on the treadmill at home.
And if you’re looking for the right kind of motivation to get out the door, a bevy of running documentaries exist that hit just the right tone of inspiring and gripping.
We collected a list of documentaries, some more well-known and others, to get you in the spirit of putting one foot in front of the other. Find the film that’s best for you, and enjoy.
Follow the journey of Terry Fox, an amputee runner who was diagnosed with cancer, as he attempted to run across Canada in 1980. The film premiered in 2010 as part of the 30 for 30 series on ESPN. The filmmakers (one of which was NBA legend Steve Nash) spoke with those closest to Fox as he set out to cover more than a marathon distance each day in hopes of raising awareness and money for cancer research. Fox was was just 21 years old at the time, and although it’s a true story and easy to find out what happened to the young Canadian, we won’t play spoiler about how it ends.
Rent or Buy
Dean Karnazes is arguably the most famous ultramarathoner in the history of the sport. In 2008, the documentary Ultramarathon Man: 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days, chronicled the feat that really put him on the map (maybe literally since he did kind of run around the country). The documentary is more than just Karnazes’ journey. Regular people and runners join him in different cities as he makes his tour of the nation, and you get a sense of what running means to everyone.
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Runners who have ever wanted to participate in the Hood to Coast relay, one of the largest of its kind in the world, might want to take a peek at the 2011 documentary about this popular race in Oregon. The relay is approximately 200 miles long and features more than a thousand 12-person teams, and the film chronicles four groups who ran in the 2008 race. Grab 12 of your closest running buddies, watch the film, and sign up. But it’s a very popular race, so don’t hesitate.
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This newer documentary, released right before the running of the 121st Boston Marathon, chronicles everything from the origins of one of the world’s most iconic races to the tragedy in 2013 at the finish line. It’s a complete look at everything Boston Marathon from some the people who know it best. The film is narrated by Boston’s own Matt Damon.
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The name says it all, chronicling one of the most brutal races that only a handful of brave souls can actually try. For years, the Barkley Marathons was a race that nobody talked about. You had to know somebody who knew how to enter to even have a chance at entry. This documentary gives a great look at the trials and tribulations that a small number of runners put themselves through each year, and why the race director, Gary Cantrell, designed the devilish race in the first place.
Rent or Buy
RELATED: 23 Social Media Posts That Show How Insane the Barkley Marathons Is
Learn about the man who made the New York City Marathon what it is today. Fred Lebow’s life and work are brought to the screen to describe how he turned the New York Road Runners Club from a small group of men running in the Bronx to a group that oversees the biggest marathon in the world that crosses all five boroughs of New York City. The film came out in 2008.
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The film follows six runners, including American legend Deena Kastor and Kenyan elite Daniel Njenga, through their training and lead-up to the 2005 Chicago Marathon. You get a great look at how top runners train and mentally prepare for 26.2 miles, but you also see how regular folks prepare for their own big races. For anyone thinking about signing up for the marathon, this is a great, first-person look at what it’s like to put in the four months of work before race day. A follow-up documentary, Spirit of the Marathon 2, follows runners as they prepare for the Rome Marathon.
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This is a human-interest piece following two Kenyan runners—Julius Arile and Robert Matanda—who put aside their life as countryside warriors to focus on the sport. Director and filmmaker Anjali Nayar debuted this documentary in 2015. It shows how Kenyan runners go from poverty to reaching local and national fame in the sport. But it also displays just how hard it is to make it big in a country full of talented runners.
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Follow Mal Law’s attempt to run 50 mountain marathons over 50 peaks in 50 days around New Zealand in 2015. Law made a name for himself in his home country when he would take on daring feats to raise money for different charitable organizations. For this particular adventure, you get to see just what the body goes through when traversing such an intense terrain for that many days. (Buy or download it at fiftythemovie.co.nz.)
Famed ultrarunner Karl Meltzer is followed in his journey to run the Appalachian Trail in record time. Red Bull sponsors this documentary, and they document Meltzer’s third and final attempt at breaking the course record, set by Scott Jurek in 2015. While it’s probably not a good idea to attempt the feat after watching the film, you will definitely be motivated to get your feet wet and dirty on a trail right afterward. (Watch the whole film on Redbull.tv or watch it on Netflix.)
RELATED: Ultrarunner Karl Meltzer Celebrates Appalachian Trail Record with Filet Mignon
This documentary looks at the rise of distance running in the last 50 years and focuses on some of the major runners and figures who have helped shape the sport. Some of the subjects include Steve Prefontaine’s mark on the running scene, the situation at the New York Marathon shortly after Hurricane Sandy, and the growth of women’s running after Kathrine Switzer ran the Boston Marathon in 1967. The film came out in 2016.
Rent or Buy
Follow the lives of several November Project runners and athletes as they explain the reasons why they got into the grassroots free fitness movement. The movie chronicles every day people in cities like New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and Kansas City who hold themselves accountable by showing up at 6:30 a.m. for workouts a couple times a week. Chris Mosier, an elite duathlete who is transgender, plays a prominent role in the film as a member of the group. You can watch the full documentary on YouTube.
If you are up for watching runners go through excruciating pain, then this documentary of a group attempting to complete the 4 Deserts ultra races is right up your alley. Each race for these amateur runners is a little north of 150 miles and runs through the Atacama Desert, the Gobi, the Sahara, and Antarctica. Brutal.
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Nike’s Breaking2 project was the talk of the running world in 2017. Relive the real-life running science project in this documentary, presented by National Geographic. Three Nike runners, led by Eliud Kipchoge, tackle the Italian race track in Monza in an effort to do the impossible in marathoning—break the two-hour mark for the first time in history. Nike announced he Breaking2 Project late in 2016, and the film goes through the year-long process it took to get to race day. The full documentary is available on YouTube.
Learn more about the life of 2012 Boston Marathon winner Wesley Korir on and off the roads as a politician in Kenya. Korir went from professional runner to marathon winner to elected official in the Kenyan parliament. The film gives a deeper look at the man, and how he used that major win in Boston to give back to his countrymen and women.
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