Going The Distance

There's a new triathlon DVD out: The Distance: A Triathlete's Journey. It's a documentary about 3 people training for Ironman Wisconsin. Hey, I know of FOUR people training for Wisconsin! So it seemed like an appropriate movie-night and the Wisconsin crew came over for a screening.

Now as you probably know, I'm a big supporter of all-things-Triathlon. I love to support racers and products and funny bumper stickers. But here's the deal with this movie: it's ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN MINUTES LONG. Almost 3 hours. They could cut out an entire hour from this movie, and it would STILL be 30 minutes too long. Doing an Ironman should be a test of endurance; watching a movie about Ironman should not.

The movie does have its moments. I enjoyed seeing one poor slob do a training swim in choppy, freezing Lake Michigan. And of course seeing some the race footage was good. But I think our favorite character was the overweight husband who kept complaining about all the money they were spending: $800 for new wheels, hundreds of dollars on entry fees, 8 bucks on gas to get to the race... Good stuff.

I was carbo-loading that night (i.e. drinking beer) and that certainly helped with my enjoyment. We did a bit of Mystery Science Theater with the film, adding our own snarky commentary. It's nice to see a DVD that isn't about Kona for once, but again: ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-SEVEN MINUTES.