The rare athlete will remember that feeling and devote his/her life to sharing it with others. Rutland, Vt. resident Steve Lulek is an example of such an athlete.
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How you can learn to control that adrenaline rush and use it to your advantage on race day.
Competitor: In an interview with Running World Magazine, you were talking about how this is the first bona-fide feature length film about marathon running. You then said that you thought one reason a film like this had never been made was because it so difficult to film. What was it about this movie that made it so tricky?
JD: The financing was very, very challenging. An independent film is even more difficult. A documentary is even more difficult. A documentary on running is even more difficult because it’s not like we’re making a film on the NBA. It’s a different kind of a sport. The logistics of it were absolutely challenging, whether it be filming people in different parts of the world and capturing their stories or the filming of the marathon itself. We had about 30 cameras total for the Chicago marathon. Again, bringing together all the different people and events and resources in the running world, it was a real collaborative effort on many different levels. That was tough. The film features the Chicago Marathon, but it’s not a film about the Chicago Marathon. It’s a film about the marathon. So how do you do that?
Competitor: You've run the Chicago Marathon four times, and it’s the race you chose to center your movie around. What do you personally think is so special about Chicago and its race compared to New York or Boston or Los Angeles?
JD: Every marathon matters. What’s unique about Chicago? It’s a special city. It’s a beautiful city. I love the architecture. It’s a flat course. It’s a great place to get a good time, if that’s what you’re striving for....It’s just an incredibly well-organized event. It’s a joy to be a part of. The city really comes out and supports it, which is true in all big-city marathons. But Chicago just really embraces it. It is a premiere running event in every way.
Competitor: Your producers (Mark Johnson Harris, Gwendolen Twist), cinematographer (Sarah Levy) and editor (Christo Brock) all have impressive resumes and histories in film making. How did you get hooked up with these people?
JD: It was a building process. Mark Johnson Harris is a three-time Academy Award winner, and he was somebody who was originally a consultant on the film...He lent a lot of support and advice early on and I ultimately asked him if he’d consider being the film’s executive producer, and he agreed with it right off the bat. He really believed in it...And we had Sarah [Levy], somebody who I’d worked with on previous occasions. We co-shot my last film, we’re graduates of the same film school—the USC film school—and the others both came along later through Mark, our executive producer. He had relationships with them.
Competitor: Any last thoughts?
JD: Dare I say the release of this film is really kind of an important moment in the history of the sport. Celebrating the marathon nation-wide, it’s something that the running world is really rallying behind, and sort of becoming united in the watching of this film. And that’s really exciting.
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