Personal Best is a 1982 movie

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 centered on a group of women trying to qualify for the American track-and-field team bound for the 1980 Olympic Games

1980 Summer Olympics

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...

. Despite their commitment to their training regimen, their dreams are thwarted when the United States announces its boycott of the Games for political reasons, leaving them with only the informal "personal best" marks they achieved during training to connote their achievements.

The movie starred Mariel Hemingway

Mariel Hemingway

- Early life :Hemingway was born in Mill Valley, California, the third daughter of Byra Louise Hemingway and Jack Hemingway, a writer. Her sisters are Joan Hemingway and Margaux Hemingway...

 and real-life track star Patrice Donnelly

Patrice Donnelly

Patrice Donnelly is an Olympic hurdler who also acted in films.-Biography:Donnelly was born April 30, 1950, and later attended Grossmont College....

, along with Scott Glenn

Scott Glenn

Theodore Scott Glenn is an American actor. His roles have included Wes Hightower in Urban Cowboy , astronaut Alan Shepard in The Right Stuff ,Emmett in Silverado , Commander Bart Mancuso in The Hunt for Red October , Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs and The Wise Man in Sucker Punch -Early...

 as the coach of the track team. It was directed by Robert Towne

Robert Towne

Robert Towne is an American screenwriter and director. His most notable work may be his Academy Award-winning original screenplay for Roman Polanski's Chinatown .-Film:...

.

The film was praised by critics for providing a realistic look at the world of women's athletics, for exploring the complex relationships that can exist among teammates and their coach, and for its sensitive portrayal of the relationship between an older lesbian (Donnelly) and a younger bisexual woman (Hemingway). Despite good reviews, it flopped at the box-office.

Many of the scenes were filmed in San Luis Obispo County. While the sign on the track said "Cal Poly", which is a university in San Luis Obispo, it was filmed at the track at Morro Bay High School

Morro Bay High School

Morro Bay High School is located in the City of Morro Bay on the coast of San Luis Obispo County, California. Students of the school are typically residents of Morro Bay and the neighboring town of Los Osos . The school consists of about 900 to 1000 students a year...

. There are also two scenes filmed at restaurants in downtown San Luis Obispo; the Cigar Factory and 1865. Filming locations in Eugene, Oregon

Eugene, Oregon

Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

, included Hayward Field

Hayward Field

Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, is one of the best-known historic track and field stadiums in the United States. Nearly a century in age, it was the home of the University of Oregon's football team from 1919 through 1966, and has been the home to the Ducks' track and field teams since 1921...

and the nearby Track Town Pizza restaurant.