"Spirit of the Marathon" Looks at the 2005 Chicago Marathon

Like "Hoop Dreams" did for young basketball hopefuls in the 1990's, "Spirit of the Marathon," a new documentary about the 2005 LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon, brings the intense, personal nature of running into sharp focus. Filmmakers Mark Jonathan Harris ("Into the Arms of Strangers"), Mark Dunham ("Keepers of Memory") and Gwedolen Twist ("Flight 29 Down") follow six runners as they prepare for the Chicago Marathon.

Sports films are fairly common, but the back stories of 6 marathon hopefuls featured in the film have made "Spirit of the Marathon" an audience favorite. That's not surprising because the most successful running films in cinematic history are more about the people, not the sport itself:

"Chariots of Fire" (1981)

When "Chariots of Fire" received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture in early 1982, people across the country scratched their heads in wonder because this little film hadn't quite made it to the Heartland at that point.

"Chariots" tells the real-life story of two athletes, Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), who compete for Great Britain in the 1924 Olympics. Abrahams, a Jewish college student, is good at everything he does, but his self-confidence takes a nosedive when he runs against Liddell, the Scottish son of Christian missionaries. Liddell truly earns his nickname of "The Flying Scot."

Liddell has devoted himself to the sport because, as he puts it, when he runs, he can "feel God's pleasure." At the Olympic Games, Liddell finds himself at the center of a controversy, though, when he refuses to run on the Sabbath day. Despite intense political pressure, Liddell refuses to dishonor God by running.

Combined with that well-known, haunting theme song from Vangelis, "Chariots of Fire" is a superb sports biopic that truly deserved the Best Picture Oscar. It's the kind of film that I'll watch all the way through just to see the ending once again.

"Without Limits" (1998)