Best Marathon Movies & TV Shows

We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song is a documentary which examines how the song was written, how producer Quincy Jones and songwriters Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie persuaded some of the most popular performers in America to donate their services to the project, and offers a behind-the-scenes look at the marathon recording session that produced the single.

After six months of scientifically advanced training, three of the world's most elite distance runners set out to break the two-hour marathon barrier. These pioneers go on a global trek to defy the unthinkable and break the two-hour feat, from testing in wind tunnels and running labs in the United States, to balancing training with their day-to- day lives in eastern Africa, to the final heart-pounding race in Italy.

When fifteen-year-old Tyson attends public school for the first time, his life is changed forever. While helping his father clean up after the football team, Tyson befriends champion marathon runner Aklilu. Never letting his autism hold him back, Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon in hopes of winning his father's approval. With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.

Without one eccentric first-generation Jewish immigrant from Transylvania, the New York City Marathon simply wouldn't exist. Ehrlich's fun, loving, and inspirational tribute to the late Fred Lebow shows how one man's imagination, determination, and love for running created one of the world's most popular sporting events.

The Secret World of Santa Claus is a children's animated television show that originates from France. It is syndicated to several countries worldwide, including Teletoon in Canada, and is generally seen every December during the holiday season. On December 25, 1999, Christmas Day, The Secret World of Santa Claus marathon took place from 6:00am to 7:00pm. The show has been put back on air and will be showed every Christmas season on Teletoon.

In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.

Brimstone is a short-lived Fox television series, featuring a dead police detective whose mission is to return to Hell 113 spirits who have escaped to Earth. The series ran for only one partial season. Since cancellation, Brimstone reruns have aired on Syfy in the United States from the summer of 1999 onward. The reruns have no set schedule, but are usually aired in marathons during the channel's seasonal events like "Creatureland", "Inhumanland" and "the 31 Days of Halloween". Chiller also began airing reruns, on July 28, 2007. It currently airs in sporadic weekday marathons, like Syfy, and has no set airing schedule.

In April 2013, chaos erupted in Boston near the finish line of one of the world's oldest and most prestigious marathons. It was the worst terrorist attack on the United States since 9/11 and led to one of the most extensive and public manhunts in American history. Now, as the one-year anniversary approaches, National Geographic Channel presents a special two-hour event, Inside the Hunt for the Boston Bombers.

Archive footage, chilling reenactments and exclusive interviews shed new light on a tragedy — and two brothers — that suspended a city in terror.

Redakai: Conquer the Kairu, also known simply as Redakai, is a Canada/France co-production animated TV series, produced by Marathon Media and Spin Master in association with Canal J and Gulli, with the participation of Le Centre National de La Cinematographie, Telefilm Canada, The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit, The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credits, and The Government of Quebec: Film and Television Tax Credit, Geston SODEC. The series is, however, the first Canadian-French co-production not to be produced with a Canadian channel. The series is 51.63% French and 48.37% Canadian. The series premiered on Canada's YTV channel on July 9, 2011 and aired on Cartoon Network one week after in the United States. In France, the series debuted on October 22, 2011 on Gulli and Canal J. They also set deals for other networks around the world.

After failing his annual physical, Fred wants to prove to everyone that he is in shape, so he decides to become the first citizen of Bedrock to enter the Rockstone Marathon.

A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.

Harry Haft is a boxer who fought fellow prisoners in the concentration camps to survive. Haunted by the memories and his guilt, he attempts to use high-profile fights against boxing legends like Rocky Marciano as a way to find his first love again.

When his son dies while hiking the famed Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route in the Pyrenees, Tom flies to France to claim the remains. Looking for insights into his estranged child’s life, he decides to complete the 500-mile mountain trek to Spain. Tom soon joins up with other travelers and realizes they’re all searching for something.

In the aftermath of an unspeakable act of terror, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the Boston Marathon bombers before they strike again.

The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil is an installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship-produced reality television series The Ultimate Fighter. This season marked the first time the show was filmed, in its entirety, outside of Las Vegas, Nevada, and consisted of 12 episodes and a live finale in Brazil. The season tournament finale appeared on pay-per-view in June 2012. It started filming in February 2012 and was in Portuguese. The season was produced by Floresta, a Brazilian production company, and aired in Brazil on Globo. Each episode was broadcast over the Internet at TUF.tv each Sunday night and later aired on Fuel TV in a marathon leading up to the finale.

The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog, also known as Les Mystères d'Alfred, is an animated French-Canadian series that airs on several broadcast and cable networks around the world. The show's characters consist of mainly anthropomorphic woodland animals such as raccoons, moose, and voles. The show follows three anthropomorphic animal tweens—Alfred Hedgehog, Milo Skunk, and Camille Wallaby—as they solve mysteries in Gnarly Woods. In the US, Discovery Kids begin airing the series on March 17, 2010, with a St. Patrick's Day marathon of 19 episodes, starting from 6:00 am to 3:30 pm. The series returned on April 12, 2010, with its regular time slot, starting at 7:00 pm and 7:30 pm. As of November 2011, the show's reruns can be seen on TVOntario, TFO, VRT, TV3, qubo, and France 5.

Haunted is an American television program first aired in September 2002 on UPN. The program, which was filmed in Vancouver, was canceled in November 2002 due to low ratings. As a result, only seven of the completed episodes were aired. However, all eleven filmed episodes have subsequently been shown in international airings of the show. In August 2007, the series aired on HDNet. The series then began airing on Sci Fi in September 2007 and January 2008. In 2009, Chiller began airing this program as part of their daily marathon line-up. It plays there sporadically. A marathon of the entire series ran all day on October 31, 2010 on Universal HD.

This two part mini-series shows the trials and tribulations all the participants endured to be a part of the very first Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. It focuses on the individuals from the many countries around the world that joined together to lay the foundation of the modern Summer Olympic Games.

A victim of the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013 helps the police track down the killers while struggling to recover from devastating trauma.

A group of Muslim men living in Sheffield hatch an inept plan to become suicide bombers.

A young boy who still wets the bed finds escapism from his abusive mother and his own embarrassment by going running after school.

An Olympic hopeful marathon runner hopes his success will be the answer to his marriage woes and other personal problems.

Eight acclaimed filmmakers bring their unique and differing perspectives to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games held in Munich. The segments include Lelouch's take on Olympic losers and their struggle to remain dignified even in the face of bitter disappointment and defeat; Zetterling's dramatic exploration of the world of weightlifting; and Pfleghar's piece on young Russian gymnast Ludmilla Tourischev's majestic performance on the uneven bars.

In 1986, Louis Malle (himself a transplant to the United States) set out to investigate the ever-widening range of immigrant experience in America. Interviewing a variety of newcomers — from teachers to astronauts to doctors — in communities from coast to coast, Malle paints a humane portrait of their individual struggles in an increasingly polyglot nation.

Monsters is a syndicated horror anthology series which originally ran from 1988 to 1991 and reran on the Sci-Fi Channel during the 1990s. As of 2011, Monsters airs on NBC Universal's horror/suspense-themed cable channel Chiller in sporadic weekday marathons. In a similar vein to Tales from the Darkside, Monsters shared the same producer, and in some ways succeeded the show. It differed in some respects nonetheless. While Tales sometimes dabbled in stories of science fiction and fantasy, this series was more strictly horror. As the name implies, each episode of Monsters featured a different monster which the story concerned, from the animatronic puppet of a fictional children's television program to mutated, weapon-wielding lab rats. Similar to Tales, however, the stories in Monsters were rarely very straightforward action plots and often contained some ironic twist in which a character's conceit or greed would do him in, often with gruesome results. Adding to this was a sense of comedy often lost on horror productions which might in some instances lighten the audience's mood but in many cases added to the overall eeriness of the production.

This Canadian made comedy/drama, set in Hamilton, Ontario in 1954, is a sweet and - at times - goofy story that becomes increasingly poignant as the minutes tick by. It's the fictional tale of a wayward 9th grader, Ralph (Adam Butcher), who is secretly living on his own while his widowed, hospitalized mother remains immersed in a coma. Frequently in trouble with Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent), the principal of his all-boys, Catholic school, Ralph is considered something of a joke among peers until he decides to pull off a miracle that could save his mother, i.e., winning the Boston Marathon. Coached by a younger priest and former runner, Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), whose cynicism has been lifted by the boy's pure hope, Ralph applies himself to his unlikely mission, fending off naysayers and getting help along a very challenging path from sundry allies and friends.

Mr. Hoppy is a shy old man who lives alone in an apartment building. For many years, he has been secretly in love with Mrs. Silver, a woman who lives below him. Mr. Hoppy frequently leans over his balcony and exchanges polite conversation with Mrs. Silver, but he is too shy to disclose how he feels. Mr. Hoppy longs to express his feelings to Mrs. Silver, but he can never bring his lips to form the words. Mrs. Silver has a small pet tortoise, Alfie, whom she loves very much. One morning, Mrs. Silver mentions to Mr. Hoppy that even though she has had Alfie for many years, her pet has only grown a tiny bit and has gained only 3 ounces in weight. She confesses that she wishes she knew of some way to make her little Alfie grown into a larger, more dignified tortoise. Mr. Hoppy suddenly thinks of a way to give Mrs. Silver her wish and win her affection.

A hustling public relations man promotes a series of fads.

A typically Beatlesque film originally produced for television, this short film was intended to be an off-the-wall road movie with the Beatles and three dozen or so friends on a psychedelic bus.

Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be coloured and gay in 1960s Unites States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

A small country on the verge of bankruptcy is persuaded to enter the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics as a means of raising money.

A young woman decides to make positive changes in her life by training for the New York City Marathon.

The true story about the Canadian cancer amputee hero who decided to run across Canada on only one leg to raise money for cancer research.

Running the streets of Rome in 1960, an unknown, barefooted Ethiopian man stunned the world by winning Olympic gold in the marathon. Overnight, Abebe Bikila became a sports legend. A hero in his own country and to the continent, Bikila was the first African to win a gold medal, and four years later in Tokyo would become the first person in history to win consecutive Olympic gold medals in the marathon.

When feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira decides to prepare his samurai troops for the onslaught of modernization by having them compete in a marathon, his independent-minded daughter Yuki secretly joins the race.

Five years after jilting his pregnant fiancée on their wedding day, out-of-shape Dennis decides to run a marathon to win her back.

Charity, an ambitious reporter, learns the true meaning of Christmas when she investigates Erik Gallagher, a beloved member of the town who insists all the gifts he provides every Christmas are from none-other than Santa himself.

Animalympics is all about the Animal Olympics Contest where all the animals around the world gather to take part in everything from skiing in North America to the very long marathon race in humid conditions.

In one final attempt to achieve victory, an aging professional runner is training vigorously for a very tough marathon race.

Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.

On leave, a sailor falls in love with a young lady aspiring to become a Broadway dancer, but their relationship is jeopardized by an established Broadway star, who is also enamored by him.

Following a wild night out with his Best Man, Rob Anderson wakes up to find himself naked in an elevator on the morning of his wedding day and is forced to relive the morning over and over again.

In 1896 it is announced that the Olympic Games will be revived in Athens. A young shepherd, Spiridon Loues, decides to enter the 26-mile marathon. Once in Athens, he meets Christina Gratsos, a young woman from his hometown who is now the personal maid of Eleni Costa, Greece's most glamorous actress. Though he has arrived after the qualification date, Spiridon's athletic prowess so impresses Coach Graham of the American team that he is permitted to enter the contest. Eleni informs the press that she will marry the victor, confident it will be her lover, Lieutenant Vinardos.

In the year after graduating college, Izzy struggles to navigate the seemingly incessant failures of adulthood, the reality of a substandard dating pool and a debilitating fear of top-sheets, all in between X-Files marathons. Comically unsuccessful in love over the course the year, including five half-hearted relationships with astoundingly self-centered men, Izzy resigns herself to the support of her mother and sister, who are struggling with their own relationship problems. Seeing herself in them, Izzy gradually gains the confidence to be honest and vulnerable.

It's the closing night at the last drive-in theater in America and Cecil B. Kaufman has planned the ultimate marathon of lost film prints to unleash upon his faithful cinephile patrons. Four films so rare that they have never been exhibited publicly on American soil until this very night! With titles like Wadzilla, I Was a Teenage Werebear, The Diary of Anne Frankenstein, and Zom-B-Movie, Chillerama not only celebrates the golden age of drive-in B horror shlock but also spans over four decades of cinema with something for every bad taste.

A small "Dance-ercize" studio fights for its existence against the unscrupulous owner of a rival club. The conflict boils down to a "Dance Marathon" to settle the score.

A hard-working small business owner and his two associates travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every imaginable – and unimaginable – way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit.

In hot water with the mob over an unpaid debt, a con man poses as a family friend in an affluent Pennsylvania suburb.

An unambitious office worker goes to great lengths—specifically 26.2 miles—to one up his exercise-obsessed, micromanaging boss.