Executive produced by famously Christian retired football player Tim Tebow, “Run the Race” operates differently than most faith-based productions, in the apparent hopes of reaching a younger, wider audience that may or may not be inherently interested in religious entertainment.
Directed by Chris Dowling (“Where Hope Grows,” “Rock Slyde”), this is unequivocally a message-pushing drama, but one with a subtler touch and more artistic merit than many of its thematically linked predecessors.
Its kinetic opening sequence is a sharply edited (by Dan O’Brien, “CBGB”) series of shots following high-school quarterback Zach Truett (Tanner Stine, “The Thundermans”), as he scores nearly half a dozen touchdowns on game night to get noticed by a Florida Gators scout.