‘26.2 to Life’ Review: Running in Circles
The New York Times, September 21, 2023: ‘26.2 to Life’ Review: Running in Circles
“Christine Yoo’s documentary ‘26.2 to Life’ tells the story of a unique race: the San Quentin Prison Marathon, run by inmates of the maximum-security facility in California within the walls of its heavily guarded yard.
“As the film makes clear, with its deliberate, observational style, the mental fortitude required to endure this marathon is extraordinary: The competitors must trace the same tedious loop around a makeshift track more than 100 times to complete the 26.2-mile distance, with only their fellow inmates and a handful of volunteers to cheer them on. It’s not a setting that inspires a meditative state of mind.
“Many of these men are facing life sentences with little hope of parole, and training for the marathon enables them to derive some meaning from their time inside. ‘It allows you to feel like you’re doing something normal,’ one runner describes. ‘Like you’re doing something that’s not prison.’”
Additional reading:
Film School Radio: 26.2 to Life – Director Christine Yoo
Women and Hollywood, November 10, 2022: DOC NYC 2022 Women Directors: Meet Christine Yoo – “26.2 to Life”
