If you’ve got the time to watch TV tonight, NOVA (PBS, 8PM DST, and re-run ‘til the end of time) is devoting an hour to following a group of folks as they train for a marathon. I can’t have an opinion on the documentary since I haven’t seen it, but hopefully it won’t end up being public TV’s answer to a reality show (dysfunctional people complaining, whining, crying on-camera, etc.), nor an overly sentimental take on ‘the triumph of the human spirit’. Sure, there’s a little bit of all of that in any training and race coverage, but I hope the NOVA team has the good sense to be, well, honest about marathon training without resorting to the usual TV clichés.
Link to ‘NOVA: Marathon Challenge’
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4 comments:
I'm so taping it, although I don't know if right now is the right time to watch... It might be a bit like watching Love Story or Eternal Sunshine after a messy breakup.
So I watched this program last night. A few comments: Who picked the terrible music? Come on Nova, get with the times. Thankfully, this program didn't stray too much toward cheesy reality show or power of the human spirit, but it did lack some substance. I liked the physiological part about what the body does during running and the V02 max testing. Could have used more of that. What I didn't get was exactly how or why these people were chosen and how they were ultimately picked. Did the program answer its intended question "Can Joe Sedentary run a marathon?" Well, yeah, (spoiler alert!) they all did finish (I personally, was surprised that some of them did - wonder if the producers were in any way involved in that). What I would have liked more of is an angle on the mind body connection. Yeah, I do think "anyone" can run a marathon. And it wasn't surprising that Mr. Superior V02 max guy was the first to cross the finish line. But what about how different people experienced and interpreted fatigue? There is some new research out there regarding how we fatigue over time in endurance events and how the mind iterprets it - subconsciously slowing us down to protect from damage (because we're not really made to run more than 20 miles!). Maybe it's different for different people and that mixed with training and genetics help some go farther faster? I would have liked to have heard more about what the people were experiencing mentally and what pushed them through the tough spots. So there's my dissertation. Curious what others thought.
Mindy, I watched some of it, but not all since I had the good ol' DVR record it for future viewing (like no wetsuit girl did, she's got a point). Soon I'll probably be confirming everything you wrote. I do agree with what you said about the mental experience of getting through the 'tough spots'. That's the really, for want of a better word, hard part of every marathon, and what I think about the most right before running.
Instead I was getting ready to watch the Democrat's debate right after, that had some 'tough spots' too...
Well, probably would be impossible to cover a marathon in an hour anyway?
Interesting to watch it.
Tomorrow we are back to running.
Happy halloween.
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