Marathon Challenge

My name is Rebecca Jo & I am a documentary addict...

I love them.. can't ever get enough of them.

I think that's why I love Netflix so much.  It's a great place to get them delivered to your home, or streaming on your computer & you feel smarter at the end of it.  You know something about real life. You feel connected to real people.

I particularly love any that has to do with health, fitness, & running. 

I mean, we've all seen "Forks over Knives"... "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead"... "Food Inc"... "Spirit of the Marathon"

This documentary alone probably boosted Juicer Sales 150%

If you haven't ... then what's wrong with you... go change your life!

It was thanks to Food Inc. that I quite my Diet Coke obsession...

See - documentaries matter.

I thought I'd seen all the ones on running, but am anxiously awaiting for "Spirit of the Marathon II" to come out... & then I ran across this one...

Marathon Challenge...

It's actually put on by NOVA - & was put on Public access TV.  Its a short one, but a good one.

It takes 12 people, ordinary people, with ordinary lives & trains them for the Boston Marathon.

BOSTON people!!!  The Holy Grail of Marathons...

There are people who running comes naturally for, there are people who have injuries & health issues, there are people who are doing it for emotional reasons, & there is a lady who is doing it to loose weight & get healthier...

I thought it was me on the screen....

This is Betsy... she even has red hair!

They test each of the people before the challenge starts & that's where we get info to learn from.  How muscles work, how oxygen works, how the heart pumps during a run, how much VO2 someone uses... all interesting stuff if you love running.

There is one guy on here that never works out - he owns a business & is constantly traveling & sitting in offices all day.  His VO2 level?  Like an Olympic athlete.  & then someone like Betsy who worked out all the time at home anyways, her level was awful & they even had to clear her for the challenge due to some heart issues they found in the testing.

How crazy is it that bodies are so alike, but so different...

Some people are naturally made to run... they're built for it...

I especially see how people's bodies are different when Betsy, even getting up to 10-15 mile runs, she still wasn't loosing weight.

HELLO!  Its me - I'm telling you....

But they explain that as well.

So race day comes... & 12 people line up...

Here they are on Race Day... Team Nova!

I don't care if I don't know you... I will always cry along with you & celebrate with you at Race stories.

Every person crossed the finish line at different times.

Some sailed through with no problem... others had injuries that nagged them & caused them to come in over 6 hours.... the oldest, a lady at 60 years old was the last...

but she did it!!!!

They ALL DID IT!!!

I cried at every single one of them crossing the finish line... the joy on their face... the accomplishment...

I never tire of watching people succeed on a running course...

if you have Netflix, check it out. It's under an hour to watch & will give you chills as you root your new friends on....