This Canadian made comedy/drama, place in Hamilton, Ontario in 1954, can be a candy and - at times - goofy story that becomes poignant as the minutes tick by. It's the literary narrative of a wayward 9th grader, Ralph (Adam Butcher), who's secretly living on his own while his widowed, hospitalized mother remains immersed in a sidewalk. Usually in issue with Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent), the principal of his all-boys, Catholic school, Ralph is known as a part of a joke one of peers before he decides to pull a miracle which can save his mommy, i.e., winning the Boston Marathon. Coached by a younger priest and former runner, Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), whose cynicism was raised by the boy's pure hope, Ralph applies himself to his improbable mission, fending off naysayers and getting help along an incredibly tough route from sundry friends and acquaintances.