Racing Against the Clock

Bill Haney's documentary Racing Against the Clock opens with a view of senior athletes in action—including a 101-year-old man—but quickly narrows the field to five women: Margaret Hinton (82), Leonore McDaniels (75), Jacqueline Board (50), Pat Peterson (77), and Philippa Raschker (56)—a group of serious, committed contenders who train and compete in a myriad of sporting events without benefit of sponsors or any outside support system. After getting acquainted, the film follows them to the Senior National Championships in Norfolk, VA, where a gold or silver medal at state level is a prerequisite to enter. Interweaving individual profiles with competitive segments, the film covers several days of events: sprints and endurance running, high jump, pole vault, and hurdles, as well as discus, hammer, shot put, and javelin throws. Philippa is the star, voted one of the five top amateur senior athletes in the United States; Pat is a sprinter with a record for being the oldest stem-cell-transplant recipient for lymphoma; and Jacqueline, whose childhood was spent laboring in Southern tobacco fields, started running when she lacked a car to travel between two jobs, home, and school (she now has a master's degree and three children with college educations). As they compete, the women fight injury (Margaret throws the hammer with her left hand after tearing her rotator cuff) and bounce back from failure (Leonore eventually sets a world record for the long jump). Later, they move on to the 2003 World Championships in Puerto Rico, which features 29 events in which athletes from 78 countries compete. The film concludes with a where-are-they-now? epilogue. Beautifully edited to balance inspiring life stories with exciting competition, this is a rich documentary, in which the medals serve as metaphors for the indomitable spirits that have helped these individuals prevail in the face of life's challenges. Anyone contemplating botox should look into these radiant, wise, healthy faces and see the meaning of real beauty. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (J. Reed)