The movie “Race”, the story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”, and my downbeat post-marathon week

I used to write on Medium every day. It was an explicit goal — to write every day. I started on this mission after running my first sub-three-hour marathon in September 2021. I still run every day and make no compromises with my running routine. I still write consistently on Medium, but unlike with running, I do occasionally run into a ‘wall’. The ideas run dry. This past week I’ve struggled with writing. It’s been a downbeat weak all along. My marathon last Sunday turned out rough and two days later I succumbed to a virus. Oh well, some weeks are less productive than others.

Anyway, I thought I’d mention two creative pieces that caught my attention this week. The evening before my marathon I watched the movie “Race” about Jesse Owens, one of athletics’ most famous legends. I think I’m going to make it a ritual — watching sports dramas before my races. Three months ago, before my previous marathon, I watched Nyad, the movie about Diana Nyad’s swim from Cuba to Florida.

I enjoyed “Race”. My love of running makes me appreciate everything about the sport, including delving into its history and learning about its legends. Some of the topics of the movie are eerily relevant — racism, anti-semitism, and how the Games in Berlin in 1936 were an opportunity for Hitler to put Germany in the spotlight. It made me think of Putin — the Winter Olympics of 2014, followed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and also the 2018 World Cup…