BBC Radio 3, 11 August 2012
This play ingeniously combined the stories of different marathon runners
ancient and modern, ranging from Pheidippides (Alex Lanipekun) to the Erhopian runner of the 1960s Abebe Bikila (Richie Campbell),
the British runner accused of shamateurism John Tarrant (Sam Alexander), and the American runner breaking convention by running
the Boston marathon in the late 1960s, Kathrine Switzer (Susie Riddell).
The play itself suggested that marathon runners across history have experienced similar
emotions: the opportunity to reflect on their status in life, as they traverse the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards; the need
to overcome obstacles, both human and institutional, in the desire to accomplish their tasks; and the pain involved in actually
completing the run, both emotional and physical.
Sometimes the interior monologues tended to become rather verbose, holding up the
progress of the plot; but the play itself depicted the stresses experienced by marathon runners past and present, as they
tried to complete the gruelling course in spite of impossible odds. Authors Silva and Teevan drew on a great deal of archival
research to produce a play that showed just how far individuals were likely to go in pursuit of their objective - to complete
the run, so that they could say they had accomplished it in spite of impossible odds. The director was David Hunter.
