Town of Runners (2012) Reviews

• Film shows the struggles of Olympic runners in their home country

  Bdubwatty2015-02-15

  This was a great documentary, but a sad one. The film documents the pressure of young boys and girls who feel their only chance for a better life comes with making it on the national team for their country. In many ways, I felt the sense of desperation for the families in holding high hopes that something will come out of the many sacrifices made to have more opportunity. Many to most of the runners recruited are severally taken advantage of and once they do make it to the team, it comes with more costs that may include a lot of extortion, corruption, and unfulfilled promises by those who are there to "help" and "manage" their careers, as evidenced by numerous news stories about Olympic runners once they return home. There could easily be another film as a series to this story. In the very least, it opens up the struggle to get where they are and illustrations the immense sacrifice and struggle to make a better life for themselves and their families.