"transsiberian" movie review

transsiberian is a hitchcock-like suspense thriller about a u.s. couple's progressively harrowing train trip across the trans-siberian railroad, from beijing to moscow. the film is filled with so many amazing twists and surprises that i'm at a loss to provide anything more than a thumbnail sketch of the plot, to avoid letting slip any spoilers. in fact, i'm tempted to just flat out say, "go see this one, it won't disappoint!" the atmospherics alone - especially the compelling sense of other-worldliness brought out by the cinematography - is worth the trip to the theatre.

there's no chance the trans-siberian express can be confused with it's more famous cousin - the opulent orient express. the tight shots, almost claustrophobic, of life on the crowded, run-down iron beast as it slowly pulls itself across the frozen tundra of siberia are offset by the unquenchable "i can't believe i'm here" optimism of the american, roy (woody harleson). while roy, a hardware store owner in the midwest and a serious train buff (with a train set in his basement), just can't get enough of the train and the ride itself, his wife, jessie (emily mortimer) hardly shares that enthusiasm.

roy's fascination with train engines sets the backdrop for the first major curve tossed at the audience. the startling consequences that flow from roy's hobby become the fulcrum that transforms not only our view of the characters, but the characters very own reactions to those events and deadly consequences of those choices. on the first leg of the journey the train was crowded, filled with unpleasant train conductors, rowdy passengers - very busy. once the trip to moscow resumes, however, a new dynamic is in play - along with a noticeably emptier, quieter train - among the passengers.

the passengers share the second leg with grinko (ben kingsley), who we had met briefly at the start of the film. grinko, as played by kingsely, is a rougher more cynical version of the russian police detective played by william hurt in "gorky park." in fact, the atmospheric parallels to the winter scenes of "gorky park" are unmistakable. as the the action move from merely mysterious to outright deadly, so does the portrait of grinko. it's fascinating to watch the earlier motif's - especially photography and train engines - find themselves brought to bear in the almost indiana jones-like resolution.

i've been intentionally sparse with plot details (and character actions) to preserve the element of mystery and suspense. but i will note the only disappointment was the all too cute wrap-up to the story-line. the crashing finale managed to tie together most of the loose ends - while at the same time (although, i hardly think it was intended) prime the rails for what could be a sequel.

the film is well-worth seeing!

ted corbitt 24-hour run: october 4, 2008

ted corbitt on third day of the 2007 pioneer memorial 100 mile trek.

the above photo is ted corbitt giving the pre-race briefing on day three of the pioneer memorial 100-mile trek. he started off each day by giving the participants his personal observations of the ultra runners that were being honored on that day/stage of the race. in addition to the pre-race briefings, ted was on the course taking pictures, manning aid stations, and just plain cheering on the runners!

aside from all his tremendous accomplishments as a runner, he was a true giant of a man. since his passing in december, 2007, richie and the broadway ultra society have planned a 24-hour ultra event in his honor. finally, after months of paperwork, all the approvals have been obtained and the date is set: october 4, 2008.

if you can, please PARTICPATE in the event! if you can't particpate, please VOLUNTEER a few hours at the event! if you're unable to participate or volunteer, please CONTRIBUTE in some small way and help underwrite the costs of staging this important event!

whatever you can do, please spread the word - and find a way to be part of this event!

here is the official b.u.s announcement. the application should be posted on the site shortly, as well as any additional race details.
_________________________________________

BUS SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

August 14, 2008

The Ted Corbitt 24-Hour is ON!!!! I have just received approval from Parks Department and a congratulatory call from the White House. The event is scheduled to start on October 4 at Juniper Valley Park in Queens. The course loop will be mainly flat and approximately 1.2-miles. The starting time has not been determined, but I am leaning towards 10:00 AM. The application will be sent in a few weeks.

I remember Ted saying that he normally didn’t like events named after him. But if that what it took to get people to participate, he would be all for it. And that’s the purpose of this event to honor Ted in the best possible way………………a race. And no better race is a 24-hour race. Ted ran in a world class 24-hour in November 1973, when such events were unheard of. Ted finished in 3rd place by completing 134.7 miles. He put out every ounce of blood and sweat he could muster. He felt he should have done better, at least 15 miles better. But his total still became the new American Record, and he was 54 at the time. The following year, Ted encountered asthma and did not run competitively again.

Let’s all put our efforts together to honor the memory of our departed friend and also the 35th anniversary of Ted’s 24-Hour American Record. And a collective effort will be needed. The proposed event is going to take some money. We are going to have to compensate Parks for use of their facilities for 24-hours. The insurance cost will be much more. And we will need continued Police patrols. To show our appreciation for such patrols, I feel we should distribute a few dozen shirts to the precinct. So, the entry fee will probably be high; somewhere in the neighborhood of $80-$100 for BUS Members. And we probably also will need donations from our membership.

The event also will need ample volunteer help and around the clock. And there is another factor. I recently had encountered a few setbacks. No, I did not invest with Freddie Mac or befriended Freddy Krueger. It seems my herniated disc problem has returned, and my range of motion has been limited. I may need to request some assistance with the pre-race preparations.

Considering all of the above, it probably would show good sense not to have the event, at least not this year. But good sense and anything “ultra” are strange bedfellows. Because of Ted, I strongly felt we must try to overcome all the obstacles and still have the event. Look at all the obstacles Ted had overcome in his lifetime. There will be more details about the event in the next mailing.

Though this is not the regular mailing, I still have enclosed the applications for the Staten Island 6-Hour to be held on Saturday, September 20 at Clove Lakes Park and the GLIRC 60th Birthday – 6-Hour Run to be held on Sunday, October 19 at Sunken Meadow State Park. These are two superb events on the Metropolitan ultra calendar. Both races provide a lot with perks and post-race goodies and ideal ultra opportunities. Both events are also part of the New York Ultra Running Grand Prix Series.

I’ll be back in touch in the near future with the regular mailing, but I wanted to quickly inform you of the 24-Hour news. I hope the summer has been a good one, and you are ready for the ultra challenges in the fall. Until next time, take care.

cheers,

Richard Innamorato
_________________________________________

update: the race application has been posted on-line at the b.u.s. site.

update: check out the race photos and results.

westport summer series, 9.3 miler: race report

the westport summer series 9.3 miler was my second trip to compo beach in one month! as i mentioned in my previous summer series race report (the 6.85 miler), i hadn't run a race in westport since 2005! not only was this the 2nd one in a month, but i'll follow it up with a third next week at the 10 miler! i haven't spent this much time in westport (and compo beach in particular) since the days when my in-laws lived here!

as for the race itself, it was a training run for me. i'm finishing off in the third of a series of low mileage weeks (30 or so miles). i'm slowly trying to bounce back from hitting the wall - mentally and physcially - three weeks ago. a combination of too many miles, too many ultras, and not enough recovery time in between, suddenly put the brakes on my running. i knew things had hit rock bottom after the joe kleinerman 12 hour run when i couldn't get myself to run an easy 4 mile training run the next day (much less go to mahopac that morning for a 3 mile race/half mile swim biathlon)!

it's difficult to be low-key at a race (even one used for a training run) when you post relatively slow times. i haven't run a 15k distance in 1:19:36 since i struggled to finish the pete mccardle xc 15k in van cortlandt park in 1:19:52 - at the tail end of the flu! it's even more disspiriting when my last one, the colon cancer 15k in central park last march, was a decent 1:07:14. but, one of my favorite lines from bard is, "come what come may/time and the hour run through the roughest day!"

so, further rationalizations aside, here are my splits:

1.

2. 15:36

3. 8:43 24:19

4. 9:08 33:27

5. 8:45 42:12

6. 8:41 50:53

7. 9:54 1:00:47

8. 8:32 1:09:19

9. 8:02 1:17:21

0.3 2:15 1:19:35

i ran the first two miles with emmy. when i realized we were on a 7:45 pace (having missed the first mile marker) i told her it was too fast for me. i didn't expect to run faster that 8:30 miles (and planned to walk the two hills in miles 4 and 7). so emmy went on ahead.

the next two miles were a trip down memory lane for me. as the course went on hillandale road, toward my wife's childhood home, i enjoyed the familiar sites including revisiting some of the same stretches i had done training runs on. just before course turned right onto south morningside drive (a few doors before her house), roy caught up with me and we ran the rest of the race together.

that too was an enjoyable stretch of running. roy was racing an alumni 5k the next morning, so this wasn't a hard effort for him either. we took the remaining 5 miles at a conversational pace - and did walk some of the hill in mile 7. don caught up to us in mile 8 and the 3 of us ran together for a half mile or so. but when we reached the mile 8 marker and crossed over i-95 on hills point road, roy and i picked up the pace and ran the last mile in 8:02.

emmy cheered us on in the last quarter mile, and after we crossed the finish line, we hung out with rob as we waited to hand in our scoring sticks. while we waited for the results, rob and emmy went in the water to cool down. i only saw don briefly post-race since he couldn't stick around. but roy, dawn and i socialized a bit before the results and raffle. rob and emmy made i back for the raffle - but none of us won anything (and considering we all have way too many vintage tee shirts, it was probably just as well).

next up, we'll probably regroup at staples high school for the 10 miler next weekend - if we don't see each other sooner, at the tuesday night waveny park xc races.

here are the my race photos.

kenyan, samuel wansiru, wins gold and sets olympic record at record at marathon!

when the lead runners went out with a 4:41 first mile in the hot, 85 degree conditions, they were all-in and weren't holding anything back. the lead pack eventually dwindled down to a two-man race, and when sammy wansiru crossed the finish line 44 seconds ahead of jaouad gharib of Morocco, he had taken 3 minutes off the previous olympic marathon record. he also became the first kenyan to win a gold medal in the olympic marathon! wansiru's 2:06:32 was an even more spectacular accomplishment when viewed against the unrelentingly hot and sunny conditions he faced throughout the race!



dan ritzenhein and ryan hall finished 9th and 10th, respectively, but well out of medal contention. given the tough weather conditions, they had solid performances. that said, hall's 2:12:33 finish was well off the 2:09:02 he ran to win the united states trials last november and his 2:08:24 at the london marathon. the third member of the u.s. team, brian sell, finished in 22nd place with 2:16:07 (well-off the 2:11 he ran at the u.s. trials).

this was the first time in 32 years that 2 americans finished in the top ten at an olympic marathon! not since the 1976 olympic marathon in montreal, when frank shorter took 2nd and don kardong took 4th, have a pair of americans done this well!

check out the ny times coverage.
check out the san francisco chronicle coverage.

westport summer series, 9.3 miler: photos and results

another saturday morning at compo beach in westport, another great day to run! today was the 2nd to last event of the summer series, the 9.4 miler. the summer series concludes with the 10 miler on labor day weekend. here are a few post-race pictures.


don


roy, rob, emmy, and dawn.


jim, in green shirt, as results are tabulated.


rob and emmy go for a post-race swim.


emmy, joe, and gail.

here are the official results.
here is my race report.

new countdown clock and updated race schedule

i hadn't planned on a new countdown clock! but when i went to flashmysite to update my old one, imagine my surprise to learn it no longer existed - at least the way i remembered it, providing countdown clock!! but as luck would have it, found a much better one, which i was able to customize, at springwidgets!

the process kicked off with a letter from b.u.s. that informed us that park department approval for the ted corbit 24 hour race had been secured! the race details will follow, but the date, october 4, is official. we finally had a date approved, but now i had no countdown clock! luckily, after a bit of on-line research, i stumbled upon the springwidget site - and was back in business. the best part was that i customized it with a photo of ted corbitt himself!

after countdown clock was up and running, i also updated my race schedule - which now reflects the slow switchover to shorter race distances. aside from the staten island 6 hour run and the 24-hour run, the race distances run from 1 milers (2) thru half marathon (1) and the nyc marathon tune-up run 18 miler. except for the new moon 5k, nike human race 10k, and the westport summer series 9.4 miler tomorrow, i've run each of these races in past years.

i'm especially looking forward to the two races katie will participate in, the tuckahoe challenge mile and the fifth avenue mile! i'm also looking forward to the post-race all-american rejects concert on randall's island after the 10k. that event reminds me of the old nike runhitwonder races in central park!

so looks like a lot of good stuff is coming up in the next month and a half!!

27th annual downtown dance festival

ballet noir performs

yesterday pat and i went to the downtown dance festival, presented by the battery dance company, at chase plaza. i went, principally, to see the battery dance company performance. i've been a fan of jonathan and battery dance since 1983! i was introduced to them by a good friend of mine, when she interned with them during college.

they performed a 2005 work of jonathan's, "where's the smoke," to the music of francis poulenc. as expected, the performance was outstanding!

preceding battery's performance were a duo from ballet noir with an excerpt from the 2008 premiere of "i do,"and the amy marshall dance company performing the 2006, unharvested. both performances were similarly outstanding!

unfortunately, i wasn't able to stay for the 4th and final performance of the afternoon, by naganuma dance. but pat, who did stay, reported that they too performed exceptionally.


jonathon hollander, founder and artistic director of battery dance company


ballet noir


amy marshall dance company


amy marshall dance company


amy marshall dance company


battery dance company


battery dance company


battery dance company