Run for Your Life (I) (2008) User Reviews

interesting history and personality

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 6 January 2016]

In 1969, Fred Lebow was a slow runner in the small outsider community of road runners in Brooklyn. However, they're forced by traffic and locals to move out to Manhattan central park. As New York Road Runners Club president, he organizes the first New York City Marathon running several circuits around Park Drive. To celebrate the 1976 bicentennial, the race route is changed to traverse all five boroughs of the city.

It's one of those things that I never really think about. I figured the New York City Marathon would be much older than this. It is fascinating to learn about the origins and see the history. This isn't earth-shattering but it is an interesting slice of time and a place. It is too bad that Fred lebow isn't around his story himself.

Moving and affectionate portrait of a lovably flaky visionary

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 20 July 2015]

Fred Lebow was an eccentric Jewish immigrant from Romania who first made a name for himself in the garment district in New York City in the 1960's. Lebow staged the first New York City Marathon in Central Park in 1970. However, it wasn't until 1976 when Lebow managed to have the marathon go through all five boroughs in New York City that the marathon truly became a major cultural event. The marathon helped New York City regain a feeling of pride at a time when it was in financial dire straits, encouraged trained professionals and eager amateurs alike to participate, and put the sport of running on the mainstream map by taking it out of the fringes. This warm and illuminating documentary shows how Lebow pulled off this remarkable feat with a winning mix of crafty manipulation, shrewd business sense, irresistible charisma, and good old-fashioned stubborn gumption. Friends and family alike offer fond memories of Lebow not only as a idiosyncratic visionary full of kooky ideas and a knack for creating spectacles, but also as a real ladies' man with a penchant for young gals. Runners Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter, Grete Waitz, and Alberto Salazar all have delightful stories to tell about Lebow as both a colorful guy and a tireless organizer of one of the biggest yearly events in the history of the Big Apple. Moreover, this documentary presents an evenly balanced depiction of Lebow and his marathon that covers everything from the notorious Rosie Ruiz scandal to Lebow's heated rivalry with Chicago marathon guru Bill Bright. The most touching moments happen after Lebow is diagnosed with brain cancer in 1990 and decides to go the distance in his marathon for the first and only time at age sixty in 1992. Filled with lots of choice newsreel footage and further galvanized by a lively soundtrack, it's a nice little ode to one man's quest to share his passion for running with the whole world.