On June 12th at 7:00 pm six hundred theatres nationwide debuted the long awaited sequel to the smash hit documentary from 2008, Spirit of the Marathon. Spirit of the Marathon II, as it was appropriately named, was much like the first movie wherein the filmmakers followed runners through their training and some of their daily lives as they prepare for and run a marathon. In this second installment the film follows 7 runners of vastly different backgrounds and age groups as they prepare to run the Rome Marathon. That's the broad strokes of what this movie is basically about. With this formula it is the filmmakers job to connect you to the main characters, make you relate to them and care about them. Jon Dunham and crew did a marvelous job of that in the first film that followed 5 characters on their journey to the Chicago Marathon. This film does not do as good a job at that.
I liked the film. I would gladly see it multiple times over, like I did with Part 1. I will likely buy the DVD. I think non-runners who see it will be motivated to give running a try after seeing it. Casual runners will likely up their game or shoot for a marathon themselves. More serious runners will likely be inspired by the stories to keep doing what they love to do. The film is great, but not as compelling as the first one. If the film's objective was to inspire people to be great, I think they hit their goal but not a slam dunk like the first edition. Let me give you my take on the characters.
