Austin Film Festival Documentary Preview: My Run
Friday, October 23rd - 9:30pm
Monday, October 26th - 9:15pm
Rollins Theatre (701 W Riverside)
[Info] | [Tickets]
Terry Hitchcock, the self-professed "dreamer of the family," found himself grounded in harsh reality when his wife passed away from breast cancer in 1984. After losing his job shortly thereafter, Hitchcock was starting to fade away. The daunting task of single parenthood loomed large overhead, channeling fears of constant uncertainty, crushing loneliness, and general hardship; he had three kids to usher through adolescence, not to mention a major grieving process. Hitchcock discovered that he still needed to learn how to be a parent and that's exactly what he did for over ten years before realizing he felt incredibly passionate about the lack of knowledge, resources, and empathy for single-parent families. Inspired by his hero, Terry Fox, Hitchcock decided to bring attention to single parenthood by challenging himself to run 75 consecutive marathons in 75 consecutive days. **Insert Forrest Gump reference here**
Tim VandeSteeg's My Run is a quiet, touching documentary revolving around Terry Hitchcock's 1996 totally-on-foot journey from St. Paul, Minnesota to the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. Although the cause itself and the intensive running offer a nice foundation for an intriguing documentary, the people involved do tend to be a bit muted in their presentation. The most affective moments of the film belong to Terry when he revisits his wife's final moments, the people he encountered during the run (there's a tear on my couch with an ex-hermit farmer's name on it), and the reaction he received during his trek through East St. Louis where he was abruptly abandoned by his team due to the area's infamous reputation. While we would like to have heard a few more of these anecdotes, the movie does not lose the inspirational element of watching a 56-year-old "Santa Claus" on blood pressure medication brave heart attacks and fractured bones to make a statement for single-parent homes.
Bonus Point: This film features about three lines of the somewhat sexy, heavily twangy narration of Billy Bob Thornton. My Run is a Documentary Feature screening at Austin Film Festival. The full AFF schedule can be seen here.
