Without Limits

Without Limits is a drama based on the life of Steve Prefontaine. For runners this is a must view film. For those into sports based dramas it is pretty high up there as well. For general audiences this will fall short as the acting is weak, with the exception of Donald Sutherland’s role. The film is well paced.

Steve Prefontaine was the distance runner of the early 1970’s. While I respect Frank Shorter and his contribution to running, in popular press “Pre” was the man. He had an aggressive running style and did not believe in talent or physical limits, preferring to run on guts.

Of course his guts, combined with high mileage training and natural talent took him to the 1972 Munich Olympics with an American record in the 3 mile during the trials.

There were a couple of personal take away items for me regarding the Olympics. One was the Olympic motto of “Citius, Altius, Fortius” which translates to “Faster, Higher, Stronger.” I also learned the Olympic Creed “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”