It's that time of year when my running mileage drops a little bit and I start thinking about next years' races. I like to daydream about running a faster 5K and maybe even tackling a 20K or a half marathon, or even a cross country 6K, which in my book is undoubtedly one of the absolutely gut wrenching distances known to runners all over the world. One of the ways I do this is to watch my favorite running movies. Here are five of my favorites:

1. Chariots of Fire (1981), starring Ian Charleson and Ben Cross, based on the story of Eric Liddell, also known as the Flying Scotsman, and Harold Abrahams as they trained for the English team for the 1924 Olympics in France.
2. Running Brave (1983), starring Robby Benson, is based on the true story of Billy Mills and his astounding win in 10,000 meters in the 1964 Olympics in Japan, powerful enough to give him the gold medal. If you ever had the chance to hear Billy Mills speak, go, and you'll see how much of a champion he is. Tears come to my eyes every time I see the footage of this race--it's not the win that moves me, it's the way he did it.
3. Without Limits (1998) starring Billy Crudrup, is a biopic based on Steve "Pre" Prefontaine, who was a Northwest phenomenon from Coos Bay, Oregon, known for his amazing VO2 max, blistering running style and front-running.
4. Saint Ralph (2004) is a poignant Canadian film set in the 1950s. Adam Butcher stars as Ralph Walker, an average 9th grade boy, who sets about trying to win the Boston Marathon in order to earn a miracle for his mother, who is a single parent.
5. Spirit of the Marathon (2007) is a film by John Dunham. The concept of the film is difficult to grasp, but basically what he did was to film people who were training for the Chicago Marathon, ranging from people for whom it was the first marathon to elite athletes like Deena Kastor and Daniel Njenga. The media usually focus on the elite athletes, but the efforts at the back of the pack are no less heroic and magnificent. Deen Kastor went on to represent the US in the 2008 Olympics, dropping out of the marathon early in the race with a severe foot injury.

Happy film watching!