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Run, Fat Boy, Run is the story of Dennis (Simon Pegg), a slightly overweight thirty-something man who left his pregnant girlfriend Libby (Thandie Newton) at the altar five years ago and is now training for a marathon to try to win her back. Half romantic comedy and half buddy movie, Run, Fat Boy, Run is an interesting mix of pus-filled blisters, fart jokes, honest heart-to-hearts, and touching reunions. Throughout the movie we learn about the dangers of running in improper attire, the solution for nipple chafing, and the many ways you can use a kitchen spatula. But as Dennis' friends, enemies, and he himself tell each other throughout the movie, the message at its center is: When it comes to living life, and especially when it comes to pursuing love, both are actually very much like running a race.

If life and love are a long distance race we are all running, Run, Fat Boy, Run is a training manual for exactly how and how not to run that race. Its first pointer—you must run in the right direction. Throughout the movie, Dennis is running in all sorts of directions. At the beginning, he is running away from a life with a woman he loves. When we meet him five years later, he is running after a panty thief. When he first starts training, he has no idea where he is going. When his son runs away, he runs with all his might towards wherever he might be. And when he finally makes it to the race, it is the finish line and all that crossing it will mean that guides his every step.

Some of the directions Dennis runs take him places and others take him absolutely nowhere. And since he is the one who decides where he is going, his second lesson for us is that when it comes to running, our motivation matters a lot. If we are running away from something out fear or insecurity, chances are we will probably have to return to that exact same spot to deal with what we left at some point. If we are running after things that don't really matter, we aren't going to get anywhere fast. And if we don't believe in our ability to go anywhere, we probably won't. But as Dennis' motivation for running the marathon expands from a single selfish desire to several reasons focused much more on the well being of others than himself, he reveals that knowing we are running a race for something bigger than ourselves and towards something that actually matters may very well be the most important factor in ever coming close to that finish line.

As Dennis shows us, however, even if we are running in the right direction and have a compelling motivation, the fact remains that we will trip, we will fall, and we will run into walls. In a great scene during his race, Dennis literally hits a brick wall. Hyperventilating at his own wedding and running away as fast as he can could pretty much be his real life equivalent. But as Dennis later proves, getting past our walls is not impossible. With his friend Gordon (Dylan Moran) on board as his personal alarm clock/trainer, Dennis actually gets out of bed and starts training for the race ahead of him. When Dennis finds himself hurt and limping, it is none other than his friendly landlord Mr. Goshdashtidar (Harish Patel) and his kitchen spatula who help him to keep going. And when it seems Dennis does not have even one more step in him, it is the reality he sees in front of him, telling him that even the most imperfect people can be just as triumphant as the professional athlete that picks him back up again and allows him to finish.

As various characters in the movie tell us over and over again, succeeding in life and love is very much like completing a race. It is about determination, discipline, perseverance, and heart. But as a final showdown between Libby's fiancè Whit (Hank Azaria) and Dennis reminds us, no matter what our running philosophy may be, it will only make a difference if we run the race. And once we start running, it is then that we will actually prove the kind of runner we are.

Like Run, Fat Boy, Run, life is one heck of a crazy race. It is crude and goofy one minute and sweet and sincere the next. It is filled with right turns and wrong turns, things that matter and things that don't, and a crazy cast of characters all looking for a reason to keep running, a destination worth running to, and something to tell us we are not running this race alone. Thankfully, like Dennis, we too live in a world where every step we take is about more than just us. We live in a reality where our lives were created with a purpose and direction that only grows greater the longer we run. And in the hands of a loving God who cares too much about us to watch us give up in the middle of any of our races, we can rest assured that no matter what kind of walls we may run into or how many spills we may take, he will always be there to pick us up, remind us of all that we have to give, and put us right back on the road before us. The only question for us is: Are we ready to run?