Running Film Review: Ultramarathon Man: 50 Marathons – 50 States – 50 Days
By David Hanenburg on 22 Feb 2010 at 4:48 pm | Tagged as: inspiration, movie review
I recently watched the running film, Ultramarathon Man: 50 Marathons – 50 States – 50 Days. It is a film that follows ultrarunner Dean Karnazes, as he attempts to raise awareness of childhood obesity and also simply inspire all people to get active in some way that they enjoy.
Overview
To personally deliver this message throughout the entire country, Karnazes decides to challenge himself in a way only fitting for an ultrarunner; run 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 days. Each marathon would be ran on a certified marathon course. Most of the 26.2 miles were not during the actual official marathon but eight of them were, including Chicago and New York City.
For each marathon, a number of athletes would join Karnazes for a portion or the entire marathon. Karnazes didn’t want this challenge to be a solo endeavor but an inclusive opportunity for any of us to stand along side him and support the message.
The film attempts to capture the miles, challenges, and amazing people throughout the 50 day adventure.
Here are some moments from the film.
(If you can’t see the video, click here.)
My Thoughts
One of my first thoughts on the film was that it had to be a bit of a challenge to create. How do you make running on the road in a non-race environment interesting for nearly two hours? They were able to find a way.
Both my wife and I felt the film was interesting, entertaining, and inspiring. Besides the crazy physical feat and of even greater value, the film provides an opportunity to see the amazing power we as individuals have to make a positive difference in our personal micro-world and greater macro-world if we so choose. This is one of my greatest take-aways from the film.
Yes, the film is filled with Karnazes which should seem reasonable for a film based on his adventure. If you have difficulty with that I would recommend you look beyond the man and see the message. If you still don’t like what you see, then happily move on.
Karnazes has a simple, yet powerful message – be active. How can one not commend him for that. Simply look around your neighborhood and community for the answer why. If he receives attention for his message, all the better.
For some, this film may just be the spark that changes their life for the better.
The beauty is, each one of us can also be that spark. How big a fire can we make?
Be active – Feel the buzz!
David – EnduranceBuzz.com
About the author
David Hanenburg is the passionate dirt-lovin' creator of Endurance Buzz and has been playing in the endurance sports world since 2000 after knockin' the dust off of his Trek 950 hardtail thanks to a friend asking to go ride some local dirt. In 2007 he ran his first ultra on the trails and fell in love with the sport and its people. For more information on David's endurance sports journey, check out the About page.
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