I have a few minutes to post before I hit the road. I enjoyed watching the movie. I had never heard of the guy who ran across Canada. Now that looked painful. I wonder if that guy was Hitchcock's hero before he decided to run? If so why?
Things I really liked about the movie:
Hitchcock never made it about himself, even when he crossed the finish line and talked about single parent families!
Hitchcock never got skinny. He had a paunch and manboobs the whole 75 days.
He wanted to quit every day and he figured out a way to not do that.
Even when he didn't get the public support he expected, and his team left, he still didn't quit.
His older son didn't quit either, and the run shaped who he is today.
When the radio DJ talked about how this guy doesn't look like a marathon runner.
When the trainer didn't talk about telling Hitchcock that he would not train him because of the health problems.
"Be somebody's hero."
"Make the world a little bit better place today."
Things that bugged me a little:
Hitchcock never seemed to consider walking when he was in pain. It was either run or lay down.
I couldn't make the connection between the run and being a single parent. I get that he wanted publicity but what was he going to do once he got it? Is that "Kids Are Forever" thing a foundation or what? What does it do?
He talked about hitting the second wall, and the trainer talked about what a wall is, but nobody ever explained how he got past it when he never took a day off. Is it like the side stitches thing? He kept going? How can you do that when your body says no?
I have a lot more thoughts but I have to change and go.
Well, your post is so good about this, I am just going to comment on yours. I totally LOVED that he didn't look like a runner! I was thinking the same thing, how it was cool that the damn belly stuck with him the whole fucking way, it made me feel better about my own belly, which isn't going anywhere. I also liked how he talked about how he wanted to quit every day, and what I really liked was how he talked about how he just kept going. I loved the part where he was talking about quitting, after his team left, and his son said "well, let's just do today's miles and see how we feel tomorrow." That is exactly what has gotten me through so many of those damn long runs! I just figure I'll get out there and see what happens and see if I feel like going tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree, I didn't get the connection either between what he was doing and why. I think his "message" was a bit vague, which is probably why it didn't resonate very well and didn't get the publicity that he wanted it to. I mean, he said he wanted more help for single parents, but what does that look like? What, exactly, are you asking for? He was never very clear.
I saw him walking an awful lot, and he said at one point that it took him eight hours a day to get through his miles, so I do think he walked quite a bit when he was in pain. I think they just showed more footage of him sitting or laying down and I think that was just to emphasize how much pain he was in.
Overall, I liked the actual "running" parts, where the trainer talked and I liked hearing about his perseverance, but I am with Missy, I didn't really get the overall message he was trying to convey.