Pinch Runner

ピンチランナー (romaji: Pinch Runner) is a Hello! Project movie, starring mainly members of Morning Musume prior to the fourth generation. The movie was released on 2000, and then on VHS/DVD on 2000-10-21. A longer, 107 minute version was released on 2000-11-21, exactly a month later.

Plot
Minugishi Ayumi (Abe) is a student of Asahina High School, and the lone member of its Track and Field club. She seems hard to speak to, and despite being a good, quiet student, not many people care to know much about her. One day, a fire breaks out in the place that houses all the track and field supplies, and Ayumi is unable to get out. An aspiring member of the club, Hasegawa Sanae, cries out for someone to save her, but Ayumi cannot remember the face of whomever it was who took her out of the fire.

The events that follow the fire unknowingly change Ayumi's solitary life, and she will find herself leading Sanae, Michiko, Tomoko, Maho, Reiko and Ikue into a race where the goal is much more than just getting past the line in first place.

Cast

 * Minugishi Ayumi - Abe Natsumi
 * Hasegawa Sanae - Goto Maki
 * Kanzaki Tomoko - Yaguchi Mari
 * Matsumoto Michiko - Yasuda Kei
 * Hayashibara Maho - Ichii Sayaka
 * Sendou Reiko - Iida Kaori
 * Masuda Ikue - Nakazawa Yuuko
 * Toshiya - Oshio Manabu
 * Ayumi's Mother - Matsuzaka Keiko
 * Maho's Father - Saito Yousuke

Trivia

 * Although they're given credit, Ishikawa Rika, Yoshizawa Hitomi, Kago Ai and Tsuji Nozomi don't have roles in the movie.
 * Almost every member of Hello! Project appeared in the marathon opening ceremony scene, divided in three teams. "ハロー!プロジェクト1" had Taiyo to Ciscomoon and Heike Michiyo (along with Michiyo's manager at the time, Segi Mariko), "ハロー!プロジェクト2" had Coconuts Musume, Maeda Yuki and Miyoshi Chinatsu, and "ハロー!プロジェクト3" had Melon Kinenbi and Kikuchi Ai. Rinne was originally meant to appear in Kikuchi's place, but she fell sick 3 days before filming the scene.
 * Imai Eriko, from SPEED, has a brief appearance in the movie.