Running for Jim

Filmmakers Robin Hauser Reynolds and Dan Noyes' Running for Jim profiles a high school coach who has inspired students for over 17 years. Jim Tracy started out as a runner who was not always the fastest in short races, but excelled at long distances. While living in the Bay Area, Tracy competed in high school and college, racking up numerous awards. Afterward, he continued to run, but drifted in his professional life until a freelance gig as a running consultant led to a position as the coach of the girls' cross-country track team at San Francisco University High School. Tracy's assistant, Stella Beale, describes him as “unrelenting,” while students praise his constant encouragement. To Tracy, it isn't just about winning, but about living up to one's potential; a lackluster effort counts as a disappointment even if it results in a win. For all his achievements, Tracy has nevertheless lived out of his car at times due to money management problems (according to one student, he "is a pretty crazy, strange man”). Around 2004, Tracy began to notice weakness in his hands and feet, which led to a diagnosis of the degenerative motor neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). After consulting with his athletic director, Tracy decides to continue and while he's no longer able to run, he does take up swimming to keep up his strength—and his students form a trust to raise money and help him move to an apartment better suited to his needs. The documentary leads up to a race that made Tracy the most-decorated girls cross-country coach in California history, a race with such a dramatic finish that it appeared on national news and even went on to inspire teams in other sports, including the New York Giants. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)