“Finish Line”
Jim Tracy was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease in June of 2010. He died last month at the age of 63 but he coached right up until virtually his last breath.
Photo by Jonathan Hawthorne
Jim Tracy
Photo by Jonathan Hawthorne
cross-country runner Holland Reynolds fell 10 meters from the finish line at the state finals. She’d hit the wall. Her body had shut down due to hyperthermia and dehydration. She crawled the final distance, clinching the team’s eighth state title. Her ending, her inspiration, was actually the start of this blockbuster — the life story of University cross country coach Jim Tracy, who died last month from Lou Gehrig’s disease after a four-year battle. Tracy’s life, his coaching, his battle with the deadly disease and Reynolds’ crawl have already been told in the award-winning documentary form in "
Running for Jim." It’s also been brilliantly told in this
ESPN E:60 feature. It’s bound to hit Hollywood. Reynolds said of Tracy's passing: "He did what he loved to do right to the end and that makes
me feel good. … I just wish I could have told him one last time how
important he was to me, but I think he knew.. ... His legacy will live on forever." Tracy's signature line: "There's no need to fail when success is offered every day."
Casting callModern Family’s
Ed O’Neill is a ringer for Tracy in many of the photos, plus he knows how to play it rough around the edges and tell it “like it is.”
Morgan Saylor, the terrific young natural and believable actress in “Homeland,” would do superbly as Reynolds. A young
Julia Stiles would be perfectly cast as well.
