None of these developments carry much dramatic weight, yet the film is light and affable, with a few modest laughs and good observational detail about athletic training and the lives of aspiring Olympians.

"Tracktown" feels utterly authentic and earnest, even if the latter quality may serve as a turn-off to the more cynical in the audience.

It's easy to root for this disciplined but naive "girl-child," especially as portrayed by Pappas, herself a hard-to-resist blend of Audrey Hepburn and Joan Cusack.