With funky facial hair, however: "Without Limits"

So just as I get this crazy idea about running a marathon, this movie breezes through my cable system. What great timing! If I start thinking about twisted sex, will the non-Oscar-winning "Crash" show up? God, I hope not.

I had seen "Without Limits," oh, maybe five years ago, when a guy I worked with -- also a runner -- raved about it. "Pure guts," he would say, " ... pure guts." To be honest, he was a little eccentric, but hey, those guys suggest the best movies. ("Repo Man?" Sure!)

I remembered liking "Without Limits" better than the other biopic about 1970s U.S. distance runner Steve Prefontaine, titled "Prefontaine." (Apparently paving the way for "Ray" when it comes to creative movie titles.) That one starred Jared Leto, who actually isn't a bad actor but was just too pretty for the role of an intense runner. Also, R. Lee Ermey as the coach? Did you see "Full Metal Jacket?" Those guys might run fast, coach, but they're never coming back.

"Without Limits," on the other hand, has a nice pair in Billy Crudup as Prefontaine and Donald Sutherland as his coach, Bill Bowerman. Yeah, the guy who later founded Nike. We even see him using the waffle iron to make shoe soles in his home and everything. Funny as that is, the movie belongs to Crudup, who is a pretty underrated actor. Hell, I'm even considering seeing "Trust the Man" because he looks funny in it. (Also, we've had a David Duchovny sighting! Seriously, where has that guy been, abducted by aliens? Pa dum dum ... I'll be here all week. Try the veal.)

Anyway, "Limits" shows how little Stevie went from being a stud high school runner to THE MAN in college running to an Olympic favorite. While that may seem a meteoric rise, there's plenty of time for tension between him and his coach, and a few runners to boot. (Boot ... shoe ... foot ... get it? Never mind.) Oh, and it wouldn't be complete without a girl. She's played by Monica Potter, whose blond tresses and button nose fit right in on the U. of Oregon campus.

While I never saw the real Prefontaine -- running or in interviews -- Crudup really seems to strike the right note throughout the movie, from the goofy kid in love to (more often) the guy who just wants to run hard and run fast, coaching be damned. The tug-of-war between him and the reserved Sutherland -- you know, as opposed to the manic Sutherland in ... um, nothing -- is fun to watch, as are Prefontaine's highs and lows. Really, it's not only a good sports movie, but a nice movie in general about a bright star who burned out too quickly.

My biggest beef: Prefontaine was a three-miler. How's that going to help me a run a marathon? Really ... suck it up, Steve, and show me how to log 26.2 miles. Three miles? I can do that in my sleep. Of course, waking up and not knowing where I am kind of sucks.