OT: The Spirit of the Marathon

[Southpaw]

I'm not sure if there are any other runners on this board, but I saw a really great documentary last week called "The Spirit of the Marathon." It talks a little about the history of the marathon, along with profiling 6 runners in the 2005 Chicago Marathon. It was only in a limited amount of theaters last Thursday, but will also be playing again in February. Just wondering if anyone else saw it, or is going to see it. I really enjoyed watching this film.




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[Patti37]

I did not hear about the movie until after the initial showing...and found out it was playing in Revere which is really close.

I was glad to hear it will be reshown. It got great reviews on the running board I frequent.

 

[O_P_T]

But do they mention the tradition of saying "god bless the Queen" after the 20th mile?



















For those of you who don't know the story, the "original" marathon, from the plains of marathon to Athens was 20 or 24 miles, depending on what route Pheidippides took.

The present "standard" distance of 26 miles, 385 yards was what was used for the 1908 Olympics where the Royal family wanted the race to start at Windsor castle and finish in front of the royal box at the stadium.

Put the two together and you get the 26 miles, 385 yards we presently use and thus the tradition to toast the Queen for the extra yardage.

 

[Southpaw]

But do they mention the tradition of saying "god bless the Queen" after the 20th mile?



















For those of you who don't know the story, the "original" marathon, from the plains of marathon to Athens was 20 or 24 miles, depending on what route Pheidippides took.

The present "standard" distance of 26 miles, 385 yards was what was used for the 1908 Olympics where the Royal family wanted the race to start at Windsor castle and finish in front of the royal box at the stadium.

Put the two together and you get the 26 miles, 385 yards we presently use and thus the tradition to toast the Queen for the extra yardage.

They only spent about the first 10-15 minutes of the movie talking about the history of the race. There was no mention of saying "god bless the queen," and I've never heard of that until now. They talked mostly about the Greek history along with the modern history including the story you mentioned about Windsor castle and why the extra 385 yards were added.

 

[Southpaw]

I did not hear about the movie until after the initial showing...and found out it was playing in Revere which is really close.

I was glad to hear it will be reshown. It got great reviews on the running board I frequent.

Yeah, I really enjoyed it. The music is an original score and its really well-done(although they kinda over-dramatize the end of the race). I enjoyed the pros storys a little more than the amateurs. At times some of the amateur's get a little annoying in the film, especially compared to what the Kenyan runner has gone through.