Documentary 'My Run' review The most amazing of races

Terry shows the pain of the run. Photo courtesy Tim VandeSteeg

'My Run' which is subtitled 'The Terry Hitchcock Story', recently screened at the Las Vegas Film Festival (LAFF) The film deserved and indeed won the 'Grand Jury' prize.

Narrated by actor Billy Bob Thornton, 'My Run' is a bright shining light in a world that can feel hopeless.

Terry Hitchcock who is tall, with some 'extra baggage' reminds one of Santa Claus. His pleasant face and pleasing personality makes for warm and fuzzy feelings . However, Terry's demeanor belies a very deep hurt. In the 80s, Terry's beloved wife, Sue, died of breast cancer. This left Terry a single parent with three young children to raise.

Learning to run the household was now a full time job for Terry. He cleaned and tried to cook. There is a scene in the film that shows a dish Terry use to feed the kids. It looked....unappetizing.

Twelve years after the death of his wife, Terry decided to make a difference. He had to do something to make people aware of the difficulty of being a single parent. Terry could have chosen many ways to shine a light on single parenthood. Most of the roads have been traveled down thousands of times. So, Terry took his own unique road. He took the road that went from his home in St. Paul, MN to Atlanta, GA. where the Olympics were taking place. Terry ran down this road, literally.

TERRY DID 75 MARATHONS OF 26 MILES OR MORE IN 75 DAYS. 1 MARATHON A DAY.

Is Terry a world class athlete? No, NO WAY. What he is can be described with every word in the English language that means determined, courageous and caring.

Vigorous training sessions were attended everyday. Hitchcock is a large man, tall and heavy. It's hard to imagine a man of his build and age, which was 57, would even think of taking on such a project.

At one point training was halted when Terry had a heart attack. Training was suspended for a few months. After some recuperation Terry went back to training.

Terry's children, the youngest, Chris, who is 16, were on board for the run. Even the dog would be along for the trip. They would be on the road with dad, following his progress in a few cars with everything they needed to sustain them. Terry ate approximately 6,500 calories per day to keep his strength up. He drank a minimal amount of water to help with hydration. He drank a mixture of water with vitamins and heavy carbs, etc.

Terry Hitchcock ran through town, country and big city. He met people all along the way. He talked to children in school and people on the street. His progress was followed by TV and radio.

America tends to have a short attention span. Terry went through towns where only a few people met him to give him their encouragement. In some towns, no one met him at all. And then, fairly early in the run Terry's team consisting of his children and friends decided to go home. They left him in the care of his 16-year old son, they even took the dog.

A lesser man would have gone home with them. Terry is not the type of person who quits. He continued on with his run, through good weather and bad.

It took Terry Hitchcock 75 days to run into the history books. He had health problems along the way with his heart. Knees and ankles were complaining about the daily runs. On he went and on he still goes. Making a difference in many ways such as, teaching organizations and individuals that all expectations can be met. To create awareness about family needs and the issues and problems the children face each day. Terry wants to create a Secretary of Children at the Federal Cabinet level. And, of course, to highlight and raise support for beast cancer and diabetes research.

'My Run' was a labor of love for Destiny Pictures. The producers who were at the film festival were; director (and CEO of Indiewood Pictures, Destiny Pcitures) Tim VandeSteeg, Producer Mark Castaldo and Associate Producer Christine Redlin. Ms. Redlin also was the voice of Sue Hitchcock, reading a letter that she left for her family to read after her death.

The passion of these producers was evident all weekend long as they talked to others about their film.

When it was finally time to see the film the audience's reaction was very positive. We lived and breathed this film for 85 minutes. It was an emotional ride with high points and low points. 'My Run' is a must see for all documentary lovers. However, it is even more important as a study of the human spirit.

'My Run' is making the festival circuit where it has won several awards. The next showing will be June 26th at the Tribeca Cinemas in Cinema 2, 54 Varick St at Laight Street.