Ultrarunning Films
February 25, 2013 by Ryan Lindemulder · 32 Comments
Film is a medium in which a filmmaker communicates with his or her viewers. In ultrarunning films, filmmakers may communicate glimpses of the training, lifestyle, and the incredible training scenery of our favorite athletes. These films can be made independently but often shoe, gear, and media companies help foot the bill and promote sponsored athletes along with ultrarunning in general. Film can also bring a unique element of race coverage and depth to the sport. Films like Unbreakable allow us to witness the front action of the 2010 Western States 100 race with some race history to boot. To the viewers, films offer insight and inspiration.
Here we look at some of the prominent ultrarunning films that have been produced as well as those coming soon; additionally, we offer viewing information for each film so you can enjoy them, too. Through this, we see that the niche of ultrarunning filmmaking has both been a part of the sport for longer than most of us have and it’s presently experiencing a boom cycle.
Cross-Continental Running Films
Several documentaries cover running across North America. The Great American Foot Race, produced by Vision Maker Video, documents the 1928 race from Los Angeles to New York won by 19-year-old Andy Payne. His win netted him an extraordinary prize purse for the time, $25,000. The Great American Foot Race is available on DVD as well as on on Amazon Instant Video for rental or purchase. You’ll see in the trailer that some entertaining reenactment is used to portray an event that took place about 85 years ago:
Running the Sahara is another documentary starring Charlie Engle. In 2007, he and two other runners, Kevin Lin and Ray Zahab, ran across the Sahara Desert and has some adventures/misadventures in the process. The film, a LivePlanet and Allentown Production, is available on DVD and by download. Enjoy the trailer:
Race Coverage Films
Two documentaries have been produced on the Badwater Ultramarathon. Running on the Sun was directed by Mel Stuart and is about the 1999 race. Purchasing the DVD is pretty pricey over on Amazon these days because the film is no longer commercially available, but you can rent the DVD on Netflix. The trailer alone will make you melt in Badwater’s heat:
Profiling HURT, produced by Barry Walton, follows runners Mark Gilligan and Scott Guild in their preparation for and racing of the 2008 HURT 100. The film is available on DVD.
A Glimpse of Heaven and a Taste of Hell from H and A Productions is a film on the 2007 Tahoe Rim Trail 100, which was also the RRCA and USATF National Championship 100-miler that year. Buy the DVD over on ZombieRunner and enjoy its trailer:
Amyx Video & Editing put together a race-coverage film on the popular Way Too Cool 50k as well as videos on the Tamalpa Headlands 50k, The Dipsea Race, and the Quad Dipsea. All are available from the Amyx Video website on DVD, but, guess what, you have to use that funny thing called snail mail to order them!
Fresh From The Yukon, Inc. produced a race video on the 2005 Yukon Arctic Ultra which includes marathon, 100-mile, and 300-mile races. The DVD is available on their website. Burr!
Not surprisingly, the Western States 100 has been the subject of numerous films. Two separate films by CentreBurn Productions titled Desperate Dreams I and Desperate Dreams II cover the race’s 1982 and 1983 runnings. We love the idea of a glimpse into early versions of the race, but don’t think you can buy that film anywhere now. You’re better off checking your old-school ultrarunner friends’ VHS collections for these.
A Race for the Soul covers the 2001 Western States 100; buy it and watch Scott Jurek and Ann Trason run like heck. Running Madness, produced by Susan Cohn Rockefeller, covers the 2002 race; enjoy the full film free online. Here’s the trailer:
Unbreakable is a feature-length film by JourneyFilm’s JB Benna that details the 2010 race between Hal Koerner, Geoff Roes, Tony Krupicka, and Kilian Jornet as well as race founder Gordy Ainsleigh. The film can be purchased (by DVD and download) on the JourneyFilm website. Note that we published a detailed review of the film and its fall 2011 premier in San Francisco. Here’s the trailer:
Runner/Team Spotlight Films
Also from JB Benna is The Runner chronicling David Horton’s emotional thru-run of the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. (Watch the trailer or buy the DVD.) The film and David are both so inspiring that you’ll want to climb every mountain and run every trail in sight. JB, too, made Ultramarathon Man: 50 Marathons, 50 States, 50 Days which captures Dean Karnazes’ 50-day journey throughout the United States. (Watch the trailer or buy the DVD.)
Legendary ultrarunner Yiannis Kouros is spotlighted in the biographical film Yiannis Kouros: Forever Running. The film is in Greek with English subtitles and is available available on DVD at ZombieRunner.
Filmmaker Joel Wolpert has done some high-quality profiles on runners such as In the Bitterroots with Mike Foote, Slogging to the Top with Geoff Roes, and The Runner in Winter about Tony Krupicka. These films yield glimpses of the lifestyle of these runners and their relationship with the environments they run through.
Joel and Tony teamed up for a second time last summer to film In The High Country, which is expected to be released in the summer of 2013. This film focuses on Tony’s late summer trips in the high Colorado Rockies after his fourth-place finish in the Leadville 100. Enjoy the trailer for it in the meantime, which will probably make you schedule a mountain vacation for next year:
The Salomon Running crew releases many short trail running films. There have been two seasons of Salomon Running TV that chronicle the races, training, and adventures of the large group of Salomon-sponsored athletes produced by filmmakers The African Attachment (Enjoy our recent interview with them.). Peruse and watch all the episodes from the first two seasons. Salomon has also put out the Kilian’s Quest films directed by Sébastien Montaz-Rosset which has now been produced for four seasons. Explore all four seasons’ episodes.
The African Attachment is also working with Salomon-sponsored athlete Ryan Sandes on the not-yet-released film, Wandering Fever. The film’s trailer will satiate while we await the real deal:
Call for Comments (from Meghan)
- What ultrarunning films have we missed? In particular, we’re interested in hearing what VHS tapes of no-longer-purchase-able films might be sitting on your shelves.
- Surely you haven’t seen all of these films, have you? Which of them are you most excited about watching?
- Videography is an especially inspiring communication medium for ultrarunning. What films or trailers have you used to psyche yourself up for a big run or race? How do you think they influence our sport?
Related articles:
- Ultrarunning Is Dead Geoff Roes explains why he things "ultrarunning" is dead....
- “Unbreakable: The Western States 100″ Film Review A review of the film, "Unbreakable: The Western States 100."...
- What Are Your Favorite Trail Running and Ultrarunning Resources? An overview of trail running and ultramarathon resources and a call for readers to suggest their own favorites....
Filed under Resources ·
Ryan Lindemulder is iRunFar’s Spring 2013 Intern. Born and raised south of Chicago, Illinois, he ran cross country and track for 11 years and is now directing his passion into trail and ultrarunning. An English major in his senior year at Trinity Christian College, he looks forward to cultivating his running and writing skills. While spending most of his time on the trails near Chicago, Ryan has spent summers working and exploring in Nevada, Utah, and Colorado.
All posts by Ryan Lindemulder
Don’t forget Seb Chaigneau’s Get Ready For… videos in conjunction with The North Face – all 3 series are my go-to’s for inspiration.
I’m off to YouTube now!
Dont forget the movie IL CORRIDORE from Marco Olmo
http://www.unpassodopolaltro.it/
And
Giorgio Calcaterra’s movie Top runner
http://toprunner.lazyfilm.it/
Five Turkish runners had a 10 episode 50 minute long film showing 2010 edition of Ultra Trail Mont Blanc TDS course on online and DVD called Pathway to dreams…
http://www.izlesene.com/savoy-dukunun-izinde-5-turk
(Scroll down for episodes and English explanations)
(The movie episodes are 100% subtitled in English)
Cheers
EMRE TOK
http://www.geziyorum.net/utmb-tds-rapor (Race Report in English)
This is really awesome to see…the creative energy, inspiring stories and history in our great sport captured in the medium of film. Thanks for sharing!
Not a film, but this homemade YouTube video of Timothy Olson at the 2011 Western States has really inspired me to want to run on the trails and even try a 100-miler someday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l38mqkVslHY
Also, totally shameless self promotion here (I don’t have a camera crew or any sponsor/company backing me up…yet), but I am hoping to be shooting and editing footage all year for my own documentary about making the transition to ultra/mountain running and racing internationally. I want to include informative training advice and hopefully capture a progression of training and racing along the way (along with interviews of key runners). My project is in the very early stages (I don’t even have a title or trailer yet) and I’m really going to have to up my game in filming and purchase/borrow higher quality equipment… however, video has already been a major side hobby of mine on my YouTube channel: http://www.YouTube.com/Vo2maxProductions and something I’m very passionate about.
Sage: I’m Timothy Olson’s father-in-law and I did 95% of this video of Timothy (i.e. winning the 2011 Western States). My wife, Debbie Loomis, did the editing. It was 100%% a homemade and heartfelt effort, and was a celebration of Timothy’s great accomplishment on that perfect day. I shot this video on my simple Cannon hunting video camera – nothing fancy. It was a blast! Isn’t that what ultra races are all about? Just celebrating being on the trail – enjoying the moment!
Bob: thanks for the note – it is a great video and very inspiring! I’m looking forward to seeing Timothy again in New Zealand in 3 weeks!
Cheers,
Sage
Don´t forget the up-coming The Barkley Marathons Documentary which should be finished shortly (I hope!).
https://www.facebook.com/barkleymarathonsmovie
For a great trailer see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1csVTlXMql0
+1. That’s the one for which I’ve been waiting anxiously.
Here’s another sneak-peak Barkley Trailer – video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hfu-F6p8Qns
This is one awesome post Ryan! Keep up the great work. In fact this is one of the best posts I have read in awhile!
Or the Red Bull Human Express….
Lots of great vids of that one on the Redbull YouTube channel. Here’s one:
Karl, is there anyway one can watch the full-length video?
I would love to watch the whole video!
Marco
Another good one is of the Bear 100 named “Dancing the Bear”. It is of the old original course, but still the same mountains and trails.
If one is planning to run the Bear 100 in Septemeber, this will inspire you.
http://runningmovies.com/title/DancingTheBear.htm
Of course, there’s also Il Corridore about inspiring Italian ultrarunner Marco Olmo.
Running the Saharah is on instant watch for any Netflix subscribers. I just watched it not too long ago, it’s a good movie. Looking forward to tracking down some of these other movie.
Watched Running the Sahara with the kids last week. The are still talking about it. Really cool.
What about Nikki Kimball’s movie Finding Traction?
I think they are still trying to get funding to finish final stages of getting that film done….. That was the case a couple months ago…..
…nevermind. Saw it.
Intern
You don’t need VHS to see Desperate Dreams; they are available from the Western States Store on DVD
http://www.wser.org/the-western-states-store/#!/~/category/id=1382951&offset=0&sort=normal
MonkeyBoy
Oh boy, life = complete. How did we not know about this? So awesome, thanks MonkeyBoy.
I am shocked this info made it past the Jones-Wilkins WS Filter and wasn’t pointed out long before I got to it. That Virginia boy is slipping!
Here’s my fav. It’s only a short film but brilliant!
Ryan Sandes in the Fish River Canyon
http://vimeo.com/m/47355798
Profiling HURT is also available as an authorized BitTorrent download from Vodo: http://vodo.net/profilinghurt. The filmmakers request a monetary donation if you download the film, but unfortunately those who have haven’t been very generous. According to the website, there have been 5,038 downloads, but only $11 in donations.
This is a fantastic list, but where are all the women? There are plenty of female runners tearing up ultras–why do all these films feature primarily men?
You’ll see at least two this year, with the Nikki Kimball film leading the way.
There’s some great shorter, homemade productions about the West Highland Way Race over on their site: http://www.westhighlandwayrace.org/
Really, really want to do that race one day!!
Who ever had the idea of this article, and proceeding comments section to add more THANKYOU!!!
“in the high counry” proves taht Jesus is an ultrarunner.
My inspirational playlist
These videos humble and inspire me:
1) Grandmothers of Endurance by Traci Hahn
http://vimeo.com/13463958
Note: One of my all time favorites. I love these ultra grandmas Barb and Vicki! Gives me something to shoot for later in life!
2) Kilian’s Quest S3 E07 – Slow Motion (another inspiring video from Salomon)
http://vimeo.com/29059143
3) Videos of ultra running on an epic scale by TNF:
Helicopter Coverage of The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, 2011
http://youtu.be/TFWDUsvLCoE
4) UTMB Official Video – The North Face Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, 2011
http://youtu.be/St49BdhuA8c
Filmmakers, Salomon, TNF, I would love to see more epic, feature-length videos and films featuring women who ultra run. There are so many out there. Happy trails!