The Jericho Mile is a tv movie from 1979, in which a man is in Folsom prison – for life. He's not interested in anything other than running and gets scouted by a running coach. After a tragic situation (no spoiler here!) he tries to qualify for the olympics.
Still from The Jericho Mile, taken from IMDB. Copyright the respective owner.
The movie is some forty years old and it shows, but apart from that, the movie is great. I sometimes feel not all actors are up to speed, and the dialogues sometimes feel a bit forced, but overall, it's a great watch. The movie did win an Emmy Award, so it's by no means an obscure, unknown movie. A bit forgotten nowadays, I guess.
Oh, something else – The Rolling Stones' Sympathy for the Devil plays at just the right moments in this movie.
Running in Meatballs (1979), © 1979 Paramount Pictures