50/50/50

Last night, we went to see Dean Karnazes's new movie, UltraMarathon Man. It played only one night, one time, in only one theater in town. It felt pretty great to be seeing a movie that was all about running, inspiration, and perseverance. In an effort to raise money to combat the childhood obesity epidemic in America, he ran 50 marathons in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days.

Angie and I met up with a running friend of mine and we found seats toward the back. The theater was full. Some people were clearly runners; all one had to do was look at some of the leg muscles on these folks to know they'd logged a few miles in their day. Others were clearly not runners. Maybe they came to be inspired by Dean's message, or maybe they were dragged, kicking and screaming, by a friend. Either way, they made the right decision.

The film showed little snippets of all 50 marathons, and spent additional time covering the more interesting ones. He started his journey in St. Charles, Missouri, at the Lewis and Clark Marathon. Before the race began, he and his wife renewed their wedding vows near the starting line. It was sweet. In Kansas, my home state, Dean ran in Wichita during gale-force winds and pounding rain. He definitely was having a bad time, and it was only the second day.

I shed a tear or two (big surprise), and laughed a lot as well. But mostly, it filled me with excitement, knowing my marathon is not too far off. At a time when my training is wearing on me, the film reaffirmed why I'm doing what I'm doing.

Dean touched a lot of people during his 50/50/50 challenge. He seems like a very humble, approachable, likable guy, and I really hope I get the opportunity to meet him one day...maybe even run with him, if only for a minute.