good cause, good movie, good times
this came in via the suggest a story link and is definitely worth a mention. as part of marathon weekend for the georgia marathon there will be a one-time showing of the documentary runner’s high on friday, march 23 at the plaza theatre on ponce in poncey-highland.
the documentary, which has been an official selection at multiple film festivals, chronicles the story of several teenagers from one of california’s worst neighborhoods, east oakland, as they train for the los angeles marathon. check out a trailer here
tickets are $10 and all proceeds benefit the ing run for something better program which provides free running programs to middle school kids in the cities ing sponsors races in, including atlanta. i’ve written about this program before here and really believe in the cause.
you’ll also have the opportunity for q&a with the filmmakers and get a pair of the run for something better’s iconic orange shoelaces.
check it out. more info here.
It’s great that this program gives these kids structure in their lives and a sense of accomplishment that they seem to be lacking. However, many of the world’s top marathoners grew up in Africa with far less than these kids had. If you want to see a movie about overcoming obstacles to become a great runner, watch “Endurance” about Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who won the 10,000m at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.