"My Run" documentary to be shown in Mankato

Running a marathon isn't an easy task no matter who you are.

There's countless hours of grueling training to endure, leg pains to work through and a race day to drain you of all your energy. Most people (myself included) take time off from running in the days following a marathon to let our joints, muscles and mental fortitude heal.

However, Terry Hitchcock isn't like most people. In 1996, Hitchcock not only kept running after completing a marathon, he actually completed another marathon the very next day. If that wasn't enough, he kept up with this marathon-a-day routine for 75 consecutive days.

26.2 miles a day for 75 days. That's 1,965 miles of racing, slightly more than the distance between Mankato and Mexico City. And Hitchcock, who was 57 years old at the time, kept running despite freezing rain, unbearable heat and stress fractures that developed along the way (I had plenty of physical pain to cope with after Grandma's last summer, so I can only imagine what he went through).

You're probably wondering what would possess a person to do this to themselves. Well, in Hitchcock's case, the feat is meant to be an inspiration to single parents out there struggling to support their families. Hitchcock himself lost his wife to breast cancer in 1984 and then lost his job shortly thereafter. With three young children to raise on his own, Hitchcock needed faith, hard work and mental strength to maintain a healthy environment for his kids.

Hitchcock's story is told in the award-winning documentary "My Run," which will be showing at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Movies 8 Theater in the River Hills Mall. Narrated by Billy Bob Thorton, "My Run" takes viewers through Hitchcock's personal struggles after his wife's death and the physical hell he put his body through during the "Mega-Marathon."

Cost of the event is $12.50. Tickets can either be purchased here or at the theater. Here is link to Hitchcock's website for more background on his incredible achievement.