Run the Race | 2019 | PG | – 2.4.2

Why is “Run the Race” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “thematic content and some teen partying.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few scenes of flirting including hugging and kissing, teen girls wearing cheerleader outfits and cleavage revealing tops and dresses, a few fight scenes and one that leaves a teen boy injured, many scenes of football field skirmishing, discussions of death from cancer, head injuries, knee injuries, alcoholism, underage drinking, discussions of faith, and some mild language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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Two young men (Tanner Stine and Evan Hofer) living on their own after their mother died and their father abandoned them, struggle to leave their small town by way of a sports scholarship. But they run into one roadblock after another until their only means to finding a way out is through faith. Also with Mykelti Williamson, Frances Fisher, Kristoffer Polaha, Kelsey Reinhardt, Mario Van Peebles, Caleb Castille, Eddie George and Tim Tebow. Directed by Chris Dowling. [Running Time: 1:41]

Run the Race SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A teen girl lies in a teen boy’s lap on a park bench. A teen boy and a teen girl hug. A teen boy flirts with a teen girl and she declines to give him her phone number in a few scenes, before relenting. A teen boy flirts with a teen girl when they go out to a restaurant. A teen boy seems to be flirting with an older woman at a diner.
► A teen boy goes to dinner at his girlfriend’s house and her father quizzes him about what he likes about the man’s daughter. A teen boy compliments his girlfriend’s mother and her father says, “Don’t make eyes at my wife, son” (he’s joking).
► Cheerleaders are shown wearing short skirts in a few scenes (we see their bare legs to the hips). A teen boy takes off his shirt in a hospital to put on a hospital gown and we see his bare chest and abdomen. A teen boy gets out of bed shirtless and we see his bare chest, abdomen, back and upper buttocks. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage. A teen girl wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage, bare back and legs to the mid thighs. A teen girl wears a camisole that reveals cleavage and bare shoulders and she sits next to a teen boy and they embrace.

Run the Race VIOLENCE/GORE 4

 - Two teen boys talk trash about each other and one mentions the other's brother, who was badly injured in a football game; the two boys fight and others join in until one of them is injured (we hear a crunch as he falls to the ground yelling). A man knocks on a door and a teen boy inside holds a baseball bat and stands by the door telling the man to leave; the boy opens the door and threatens the man who stumbles down the stairs (he's been drinking) and drives away. A teen boy goads another teen boy who lunges at him with a crutch (they are separated).
► A teen boy in a hospital begins seizing, hospital staff attends to him and eventually performs CPR on him; we watch his heart monitor flatline. A teen boy falls on the floor and thrashes while having a seizure in a few scenes (we see him frothing at the mouth and twitching); one such scene ends up with the boy in the hospital and we hear that he had 4 grand mal seizures.
► We see several football games with players being tackled and players making diving touchdowns (there are no injuries). A coach yells in a locker room before a game to get his players riled up; players yell and chant. A teen boy asks his brother why he looks like someone just ran over his dog after a winning game. Two teen boys play fight in a few scenes. A teen boy takes a martial arts stance to illustrate that he would use his skills to protect a teen girl he is with. Several teens in a truck drive away and one of them returns later with alcohol on his breath.
► A teen boy and his father argue about the man having left the boy and his brother alone after their mother died and then storms off. A man yells at a teen boy for an injury that will take him out of the rest of the football season. A teen boy goes to dinner at his girlfriend's house and her father quizzes him about his faith. A man cradling a bottle of beer lies on his wife's grave and talks to her tearfully. A teen boy talks about breaking off the leg of the baby Jesus in a manger outside a church. A teen boy compliments his girlfriend's mother and her father says, "Don't make eyes at my wife, son" (he's joking). A teen boy tells his brother that he always sabotages his relationships. A teen boy and a teen girl argue over the fact that he is not religious and she is. A teen boy pleads with God to help him.
► A teenage boy vomits in a garbage can in a locker room before a football game (we see a bit of goo and hear him cough). We see a teen boy's badly bruised knee and we hear that he has a torn ACL that will need repair. A teen boy pretends to spit food out in a teen girl's hand when he starts to eat before saying a prayer. A teen boy sprays whipped cream in a teen girl's mouth and misses getting some on her face and blouse. A teen boy asks his brother to empty his bed pan and that it is really full (he is joking). A woman talks about doctors finding tumors on both of her ovaries when she was younger and that she could never have children. We see a large scar on a teen boy's knee after surgery. Several scenes show a town with many abandoned shops and buildings and rundown houses.

Run the Race LANGUAGE 2

 - 4 mild anatomical terms, name-calling (drunk, cheesy, loser, feisty, mess, broken, coward, soft jaw, loser, jerk), exclamations (shut-up), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh God, All That God Stuff, Oh My Lord, references to a Bible passage about "crucified with Christ"). | profanity glossary |

Run the Race SUBSTANCE USE

 - A teen boy takes a prescription medication in a few scenes and we understand that he suffered a head trauma that causes seizures. A man drinks from a bottle and throws the empty on the ground as he leaves a house, a man drinks a beer in a pool hall, a teen has alcohol on his breath and there are a few scenes of underage drinking (mostly beer). A teen boy talks about a nurse having a smoker's cough and we hear her later coughing and clearing her throat, and a teen boy is shown with a cigarette behind his ear.

Run the Race DISCUSSION TOPICS

 - Faith, family, abandonment, death of a parent, forgiveness, competition, drive, losing faith, making mistakes, respect, memories, opportunity, ambition, doubting, fate, chivalry.

Run the Race MESSAGE

 - It's better to run to something rather than from something.