Last Friday, on February 20, I was honored and humbled to help host the world premiere of Dylan Harris’s film “The Cutoff.” Screened for the very first time in the Orpheum Theater in Flagstaff, Arizona, the film tells the story of eight runners chasing the cutoffs at the 2025 Cocodona 250 Mile.
Some of them make it, and some do not. And, along the way, a countervailing story of triumph and heartbreak emerges that cuts right to the essence of long-distance running.
“The Cutoff” follows eight runners as they race against the ticking of the clock at the 2025 Cocodona 250 Mile. Photo: Dylan Harris
Although it seems like only yesterday that I first understood the power of the relationship between a runner and time, it was actually 36 years ago. I was training for my very first marathon, and, like many others, I was obsessed with time. I needed to run faster and pack more into the time I had in the hope that on race day, I could squeeze the best out of myself.
Watching “The Cutoff” gave me a renewed understanding of a runner’s relationship with time.
The premiere of “The Cutoff” drew a crowd in Flagstaff, Arizona. Photo: Dylan Harris
The star of the show is not the Cocodona 250 Mile route or even the incredible athletes who braved five and a half days of toil at the back of the pack to run from Phoenix to Flagstaff. No, the star of the show in “The Cutoff” is the clock, that thing that represents the inexorable passage of time that is at once invigorating and infuriating. It’s the thing that none of us can escape. It provides us with boundaries and possibilities, all at once.
In the film, we hear from Andre Lee, the final finisher at a previous Cocodona 250 Mile, who tells us, “We are all different, but we are all equal.” We see Liz Russ and Robby Chaney, both of whom just barely make it through the halfway mark before the cutoff, pairing up afterward to forge on into a cold and lonely night. We get to know Wynonna Fulgham and Missy Hendricks, both representing Native Women Running. They come from a background steeped in long-distance running with deep roots in Arizona, and both came to Cocodona to prove to themselves and their people that there is strength to be gained in doing hard things. And our eyes and ears are opened to Alynn Davis, a deaf runner attempting Cocodona after a previous DNF. While she cannot hear the ticking of the clock, she can feel it. And it never stops.
Many of the runners featured in the “The Cutoff” were there for the premiere. Photo: Dylan Harris
The enduring lesson of “The Cutoff,” and the thing that long-distance running has taught me better than anything else, is that time unites us. When the pressure builds, when time winds down, and when time ultimately wears us down, it tends to bring out the absolute best in us. And it’s not just us individually, but all of us, collectively.
To me, that is what makes our relationship with time so important. In spite of how obsessed we are with it, or how its passing makes us feel, in the end, what defines who we are more than anything is what we choose to do with the time we have.
AJW (center) with filmmaker Dylan Harris (right) and Emily Harris (left), production supervisor and film tour coordinator. Photo courtesy of AJW.
You can watch the film trailer below, and check out in-person watch options over on Aravaipa Running’s website.
[Editor’s Note: Click here if you’re unable to see this video.]
Bottoms up!
AJW’s Beer of the Week
This week’s Beer of the Week comes from Great North Aleworks in Manchester, New Hampshire. RVP (Robust Vanilla Porter) is a classic porter with a burst of vanilla and a roasted caramel aftertaste. A beer that truly defies convention, this is a great late-winter beer.
Call for Comments
- How would you define your relationship with running and time?
- Do you view the passage of time with dread, acceptance, or excitement?
