Probably more reality TV than doco but the Ironman series - was it called* Road to Kona*? - was inspiring for me. Most of the people really stood no chance of getting to Kona but there were some incredible stories of regular people giving it their all.
If memory serves me right, someone from here at Slowtwitch was on that show
“Boston” is a great documentary movie!
Narrated by Matt Damon, it goes through the entire history of the race (some real cool stories in there), while also following the preparation for the 2014 race the year after the bombings, and then that 2014 race with Meb’s historic win.
Thanks for the reminder. I still haven’t watched this.
I was supposed to run Boston in 2013 but had an injury that season. I ran Boston in 2014. It was a really special race. The whole city was so supportive of the runners. I would get Boston residents thanking me for coming to Boston to run it on the T (Boston’s subway) and in restaurants. The camaraderie was really amazing between athletes and supporters. I personally didn’t have a great run performance, but I remember having tears of joy when I learned Meb won. I really enjoyed the whole experience even if it wasn’t my best run.
I personally love all the long YouTube videos from Billy Yang.
Western States 100 and others.
Super nice cinematography and narration.
Go find him on YouTube. You won’t regret it.
I agree about the Billy Yang YouTube videos. I look forward to everyone of them. A few of my favorites are:
Mont Blanc
Western Time
Life in a Day
Also, Jeff Pellitier does good video content on YouTube about ultrarunning. He recently did a multipart series about a stage race in Namibia. It was enertaining.
If you have any interest in The Barkley Marathons, then check out the following:
Where Dreams Go to Die by The Ginger Runner
Out There by Karel Sabbe
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats its Young
Someone already mentioned The Vegan Cyclist. His Impossible Route videos are great. Also, for pure entertainment purposes, watch his video where he decided to spontaneously do an ironman near his house. Also, his video of his Unbound Gravel (DK) race is interesting
For cycling, Adam Roberge is a Canadian (Queebec) pro who does videos about his races and training (mostly gravel). These are pretty good.
EF Cycling does a few videos of Lachlan Morton and Alex Lowe racing Leadville and Unbound.
If you have any interest in The Barkley Marathons, then check out the following:
Where Dreams Go to Die by The Ginger Runner
Out There by Karel Sabbe
The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats its Young
There are a few really good Backyard Ultra ones from all around on YouTube as well
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=backyard+ultra+marathon
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Next Goal Wins: American Samoa’s grassroots national soccer team, with underdogs, a crazy maniac lovable manager, and a lot more.
Eyes on The Prize: PBS’s documentary of the American Civil Rights era.
Google “Snooker 147” and watch the youtube videos that you find.
The Dawn Wall, about climbing and one hell of a biography.
Since so many folks like the climbing movies, I suggest Meru (about struggle and success) and Touching the Void (harrowing).
A couple of links:
Next Goal Wins (2014) - IMDb
Eyes on the Prize | PBS
So much great stuff! Blown away by this.
The two seasons of* The Least Expected Day* on Netflix were entertaining, in a Bravo/Housewives kinda way
Watched Plan B: The Fall and Rise yesterday, about Jumbo-Visma’s 2021 TDF
I forgot that they were down to just 4 guys at the end
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Even though we all know nothing tragic happened in Free Solo, I still get sweaty palms just thinking about it
I agree and got the same impression from « The Alpinist » (now streaming on Netflix). What Andre Leclerc achieved in his short Mountaineering carrer is incredible.
The Alpinist is a great movie - it just won the Emmy for best long documentary.
**Icarus **makes me feel Juiced… because my competitors were juiced and I now feel juiced to become a keyboard warrior.
Other movies that move me
GameChangers
any other diet related movie that makes my blood pressure rise 50mmHg
…maybe that’s not what you meant by juiced…inspired…moved… 
Super League put out a nice Vincent Luis series. PTO did one on Lionel.
There are two high quality documentaries on Western States 100 on Youtube.
Can’t go wrong with Breaking 2 tho.
I think that Vincent Luis docu put a curse on him calling it ‘unbeatable’ was it? He’s been everything else but since!
Similarly, Movistar pro team had two cycling seasons on Netflix too as a doco.
Watched Plan B this morning on the trainer. Definitely a good watch.
*The Playbook *on Netflix is a good documentary series, with interviews of coaching greats and their “coach’s rules for life.”
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A Sunday in Hell. Cycling legends with a taste of 70’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxBTVU9JDrA&t=2055s
There’s a docu-series on WSL.com about an old surfer who’s still on the pro tour, somehow
Kelly, someone 😉
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Recently binged all episodes of “100 foot wave” season 1 on HBO… a great documentary about big wave surfing. Not sure if they will do season 2, I would love to see them keep trying.
A Sunday in Hell. Cycling legends with a taste of 70’s.
https://www.youtube.com/...TVU9JDrA&t=2055s
I need to re-watch* The Ride* and Le Ride by Phil Keoghan
+1
A classic!
You want to talk about a true ‘GOAT’. He truly is the greatest, and still rips. Seeing him surf in various places (Sebastian Inlet and Soup Bowls) is like watching poetry in motion. Glad someone else appreciates him
I actually just watched the Tony hawk documentary “until the wheels fall off” which was a lot more inspiring than I expected.
Most excellent soundtrack as well
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0RWOD5jp1Wly7bKMfs2lra?si=MEHR3ENDR1uklyyBjVcs6Q
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