"The Distance" Review

Cats drinking beer, cortisone shots and birthing of babies....doesn't get much better than that!!  Enjoyed it thoroughly.  Three thumbs up.

I agree.  I am so very lucky to have been part of this  rich did an awesome job.  There were parts I wanted to cry and parts the were hilarious and parts that made me get goosebumps and so excited to do it again this year.

Rich- you should be proud- now get some sleep!!!

do not, again, DO NOT change a darn thing!

Rich, thanks for all of your hard work, and your "shout outs" to the Donkeys, during your intro. I loved the film, and it musta been great for my nonathlete hubby to completely enjoy it!!

Kudos to Rich, Dave, Tammy and Josh!!

The movie was amazing. It was so personal, by that I mean it showed a lot of stuff that I did not expect to see. The answers were so honest (Tim and Andrea)...I was amazed. Being a veteran of surgery on both knees, I almost lost my fine Ale House dinner when the cortisone needle came out.

My non-triathlete wife loved it too. She was an exceptional college athlete so the dedication angle really hit home for her. She knows my training schedule for my running races and the few sprint tri's that I do so the amount of training necessary for an IM really opened her eyes.

Rich, for anyone remotely interested in the subject I can guarantee you that "The Distance" was not too long. Bravo to you sir, I hope this opens some doors for you. It is "rich"ly deserved!

Rich - I loved it. I thought it was awesome. My husband said it inspired him (and shhhh, but he says he's going to do a tri relay with me this summer).

I have some "honest feedback" from him, though. He was a film major in college, so he picks up on weird details. But, he said that he thought the voice over was unbalanced - meaning that for the first part of the film, there's very little voice over - the stories tell themselves. But, for the race scenes, there's lots of voice over. He said it made the narrative voice uneven for him. Does that make sense? I did notice that you gave essentially the same voice over info in 2 race scenes (about transitions). 

I also think from a marketability standpoint, shorter might be better. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what pieces I would cut.  I'm sure that's why it's all in there - it's all so compelling!

Can we get a DVD of this somehow???

Sounds awesome! 

Whizzy-banger - http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=146519&posts=27&start=1

BTW - you and Core missed a great night!  Wished you peeps could have been there.

I'm retentive and could nit-pick, BUT, what you did, Rich, is from your heart, spirit, sweat, etc. and doesn't need to be changed.

YOU DID A FANTASTIC JOB AND SHOULD BE QUITE PROUD!!!  And happy belated b-day to your wife!

I am proud to know you, too!

Rich, great stuff. Not sure I could really give you a useful critical review, lacking any credentials, expertise, or knowledge, of film making, production and what not, and even from an entertainment perspective, my opinion is highly biased - I'm a triathlete, preparing for the same event this year, AND I know many of the people in the thing. I can tell you this, though, I found the film thoroughly entertaining and like we talked last night, the challenge could have been almost anything, not necessarily an Ironman event, but the three main characters made it compelling - genuinely interesting people outside of the Ironman commitment.

As others have said, the honesty from Tim? (Tammy's husband), and Andrea was essential and demonstrated to me the rawness of stories - nothing fabricated or staged (OK, except maybe Josh riding his road bike when there was still snow on the ground...who really does that?).

If it was three hours long, I didn't realize it, as I think the audience was so into the story. There were great lines and humorous scenes - it flowed well for me. With the wide range of tastes, I'm sure you will get some opinions to change this or that or to cut a bunch of stuff, but I'd leave well enough alone. You have expressed satisfaction with the effort and the end result - you should be satisfied and proud, it was well done and I am impressed. I hope this opens doors to other fun and exciting projects for you.

Great job Rich and nice meeting you and your wife as well.  As I told you, my husband isn't much into triathlons (he's a runner) and usually is in bed by 9pm.  He thought for sure he'd fall asleep when I told him the movie was three hours long.  I've witnessed this many times!  If it says anything, he was wide awake for the whole movie and really enjoyed it. 

We thought the stories of each athlete were compelling, along with the struggles with time management, families, injuries, monitoring the nutrition and making sure their effort on each part of the race didn't deter from the next part.  We also really enjoyed the humorous parts which were mixed in well.  So, overall, great job and good luck with your next endeavor. 

I have to agree. Rich, you did an amazing job and it was amazing how this turned out! The three hours went by quick. It was thrilling to see how Tammy, Josh and Davey journed through Ironman!! It was also refreshing to see how their families realistically dealt with it.

I certainly would love to see the scenes that "didn't make the cut".....cuz knowing those three, those moments are probably hilarious!

 Great job!!

Except my azz didn't think it went quick enough.

And then Petah kept kicking me trying to fight me for that extra leg space and taking up the arm. (j/king)

I bet Rich is holding out on some blackmail material.

1stTimeTri - 2009-02-10 8:33 AM I bet Rich is holding out on some blackmail material.

 

Dude already busted me! :p hahaha