Movie Review: Run Fatboy Run

As most of you know, 2007 was the "year of running" for myself. I declared, on New Year's Eve, that I would run a marathon.

Last year I ran and ran and ran. I started out in the gym during the winter months. I then progressed to the field - running in my neighborhood and various trails around Dallas.

All in all... I ran. I was fortunate to have two dedicated partners - Chandra and Becky. We would run either in the middle of the week or during the weekends. Typically our runs would be in the dark morning hours to beat the heat...

Most of the time, I was one humongous sweat gland. Both ladies told me that I had "sweated" on them throughout our runs. My apologies... but that's just what you get when you run near me. Especially during periods of high humidity.

People at work were enthralled with my "injuries." Yes, I had blisters at times. I had chaffing. I even lost toe nails and bled from my nipples. Ahh... good times.

During one of my runs, I encountered my boss Rob. He couldn't believe what he was seeing... he was on his bike riding alongside Becky and myself, and heard the "squishing" sound coming from my shoes. Yes... I was sweating profusely. I believe we were running 14 or 15 miles at that time.

We ran into him again towards the end. When we reached the parking lot, he said he wanted to see my feet. (I think he had a foot fetish) His reasoning was if someone is that "wet" during a run, what must their feet look like? So... I took my socks off and showed him. (Not a pretty sight).

Fast forward... recently a movie came out called "Run Fatboy Run." It is from the same people that did "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz." It follows a guy who trains for a marathon in 3 weeks.

Rob called me up one night and said, "We need to see that movie together! You OWE me that!" Of course, I think I owed it more to Chandra and Becky!

So we went to see it last night: Chandra, Rob, and some of Rob's friends. It was pretty good. I think everyone expected something different, but it was good in my book. It reminded me of running and the obstacles I faced. Chandra came out saying, "I want to go running right now!"

Overall... it's very funny. It's also very compassionate. Meaning, if you think you're going to see a movie that's very funny, you'll like it. But you'll also like the tender side of it when it deals with feelings - especially a father to his son.

I told her: "Don't think this inspires me!" Now, it's inspirational... but running is just not for me at this time in my life. This is not the "year of running" for me... maybe another time/year.

Check it out... or wait for it on DVD. It's a good movie.