RUN THE RACE
Run the Race and Trust in God
What You Need To Know
Zach Truett (Tanner Stine) and his younger brother Dave (Evan Hofer) have had the deck stacked against them their whole lives. Their mom suffered and then died from cancer two years ago, after which their alcoholic father, Michael (Kristoffer Polaha), abandoned them.
They’ve been getting by via working in a supermarket owned by their godmother, Nanny (Frances Fisher). However, their dream is for Zach to get a football scholarship due to his amazing abilities as a star running back and take Dave along with him. Sadly, just as Zach is on his way to seeming greatness, he loses his temper in an argument with a rival player and tears his vital ACL ligament in the ensuing fight.
It seems all is over, but Dave doesn’t lose faith in the future, even as Zach does. Dave had a football injury the year before that led him to have grand mal seizures, adding to the seemingly unendurable pileup of their problems.
However, when Zach meets a pretty nurse intern named Ginger, Dave hatches a plan to win a track scholarship and take Zach along with him to college, hope starts to bloom. The question remains whether Zach can learn to put his full trust in God in order to turn his hardships into victories.
RUN THE RACE is gaining some notoriety for being the executive producing debut of Christian football phenom Tim Tebow and his brother Robby, and they have chosen well for their first production. RACE is a classic underdog story that’s extremely well-made and could very well cross-over to non-Christian audiences in the same way that last year’s hit I CAN ONLY IMAGINE did. It should be noted that the same distributor, Roadside Attractions, handles both movies, and they deserve commendation for being a secular distributor willing to give very strong support to faith-based projects.
The performances are outstanding across the board in RUN THE RACE, as is the impressive sense of grit that Director and co-writer Chris Dowling brings to the movie. This is a movie that feels authentic to its setting and the emotional and spiritual struggles its characters are facing. It manages to bring Christ front and center in a dramatically suitable way rather than seeming forced or over-the-top.
All in all, RUN THE RACE is a terrific tale of family, forgiveness, reconciliation and redemption told in the arena of small-town sports. It is highly recommended viewing for older children and adults.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong Christian, morally uplifting worldview
Foul Language
No foul language
Violence
Two brief fights between high school boys, one between teams on a football field and the other one on one, with a boy punching another boy who’s taunting him before groups break into fighting, and boy tears a major ligament
Sex
No sex
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Teenage drinking is depicted and discussed briefly, like a casual part of life, the father is shown as a severe alcoholic whom the older brother resents for abandoning them after their mother died two years ago, and the father is seen passed out at their mothers’ gravesite when they visit her, but the father quits drinking and reconciles with his sons
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Teenage boy harbors huge resentment against the alcoholic father who abandoned family but eventually forgives father after initial rudeness toward him, and boy admits his severe struggles with the Christian faith in which he was raised, and a powerful speech spells out his sympathetic doubts, though he ultimately makes peace with Christ.
