Michael Andropolis is a US hopeful for the 1976 Summer Olympics as a marathon runner. However, his life is fraught with trouble. His marriage, which produced two children, has fallen apart and his wife wants a divorce. He struggles with unemployment and at one point in the movie is seen snapping due to frustration with the unemployment office bureaucracy. Additionally, his coach is reluctant to endorse him for the games. Andropolis always starts races strong, but because of his over-competitive strive, he pulls ahead of the pack too soon, sapping strength he'll need for the final minutes of the race. So he tends to not come in first, having used his stamina too early. His coach feels he is a quitter. However, he providentially makes it through to the Montreal by finishing fourth in the qualifiers, but getting the ticket due to an injury in one of the top three finishers. Andropolis surprises everyone, by pacing himself early in the race, only pulling ahead halfway through the race. Well on his way to the finish line ahead of the main pack, Andropolis slips on wet leaves rounding a turn. The fall leaves him with shoulder and leg injuries as other runners pass him by. As darkness falls, paramedics tend to him where he fell. Andropolis is overcome by the need to "finish" the task of the race. He gets up, limping by and winding his way through traffic on roads that have been re-opened, as the marathon rules mark, and since the presumed final competitor had crossed the finish line hours earlier. Exhausted by the grueling ordeal of finishing the race with numerous injuries, Andropolis is greeted with cheers and support from the entire Olympic Stadium. He is met at the finish line by his wife, who has come to Montreal to watch him and promises that he will come home with her whatever happens. His coach witnesses his finish with a proud smile, while his daughters watch him on TV.
of The New York Times described the film as "earnest but not particularly affecting." Variety wrote: "Scriptwriter Steven Stern, who directed, never really capitalizes on the sport of running which has become so popular, but Douglas overcomes to deliver a polished performance." Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one star out of four and called it "easily one of the year's worst movies... This picture was made by a TV writer-director, and it shows." Charles Champlin of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the film was "enlivened by some outstanding performances," but also stated that "I didn't get any real sense of the pain or the glory, the mystique or the physicality or the mechanics of running... and it presents difficulties in a film called 'Running.'" Gary Arnold of The Washington Post described the film as "insufferable... this sporting tearjerker is the dopiest imitation yet of 'Rocky,' already imitated into absurdity." James K. Loutzenhiser of BoxOffice gave the film a rating of "Good" and called it "an entertaining film" with Douglas "likable and convincing in the leading role." Lawrence O'Toole of Maclean's wrote, "A formula movie, nicely shot by Laszlo George and acted with real vigor by Douglas, Running is Television City, its script easily accessible to any prime-time child."
