As we run, the layers of responsibility and identity we have gathered in our lives, the father, mother, lawyer, teacher, Manchester United-supporter labels, all fall away, leaving us with the raw human being underneath. With nothing but our own two legs moving us, we begin to get a vague, tingling sense of who, or what, we really are.
Sally McRae took on her second 200 mile race with the goal to get the best out of herself, and to put herself out there for a podium position. This film follows the whole story of what it means to commit to finishing what you set out to do, and refusing to give up too early.
In 2023, Theodoros Ziakas and a group of friends created the “Dragon Trail,” a unique route through the mountains and rivers of Epirus—one of Europe’s last unspoiled landscapes. But in this region, the ecosystem and its vital lifelines face imminent risk of destruction. The film follows Akis Ziakas, a long-distance athlete who lives and trains in this enchanting setting. Drawing on his ultramarathon experience, Akis sets out to establish a new mountaineering trail connecting the three famous dragon lakes. The route pushes him to his physical and psychological limits, as he battles his inner demons while striving to complete the journey—one that unfolds amid breathtaking natural beauty, forging a profound connection between man and nature.
After six months of scientifically advanced training, three of the world's most elite distance runners set out to break the two-hour marathon barrier. These pioneers go on a global trek to defy the unthinkable and break the two-hour feat, from testing in wind tunnels and running labs in the United States, to balancing training with their day-to- day lives in eastern Africa, to the final heart-pounding race in Italy.
The story of Kenyan athlete David Rudisha, the greatest 800m runner the world has ever seen, and his unusual coach, the Irish Catholic missionary Brother Colm O'Connell.
La Grande Traversée
The Middle Way
In its first 25 years only 10 people have finished The Barkley Marathons. Based on a historic prison escape, this cult like race tempts people from around the world to test their limits of physical and mental endurance in this documentary that contemplates the value of pain.
The only recorded completion of the North Cascades High Traverse took 28 days. Motivated by the challenge of rugged mixed-alpine terrain, trail runners Kaytlyn Gerbin and Jenny Abegg set out to complete the epic linkup in 6.
Surrounded by the mountains and people who are his inspiration, in ‘Path to Everest’, the mountain athlete Kilian Jornet reveals his most intimate fears, contradictions and passions. Summits of My Life is the personal project of Kilian Jornet, in which for five years he has traveled to some of the most important peaks of the planet to try to establish FKT (fastest known time) of ascent and descent of some of the most emblematic mountains of the world. The project is closely linked to values and a way of understanding the purist and minimalist mountain. The experiences lived in each challenge have been captured in different films.
In 2015, L’Équipe Explore profiled Anton Kupricka, an outlier in the world of ultra-trail running. He earned this status thanks to his impressive track record, but above all because of the polarizing image he projects: that of a runner with the look of a woodsman—a maverick with a minimalist lifestyle entirely devoted to the mountains—who nonetheless evolved over the years into an accidental hipster, becoming as much a marketing asset as a popular phenomenon, a unique feat in the niche world of ultra-trail running.
On | Solace – Running the Alps in 30 days – Karel Sabbe's Via Alpina FKT In the summer of 2021, ultrarunner Karel Sabbe ran the Via Alpina trail in just 30 days. Averaging two marathons on a daily basis, he navigated the route 14 days faster than anybody else. As well as the Alps, Karel overcame sleep deprivation, illness and extreme weather. And he did it all with a camera crew in tow, documenting every step.
"Finding Traction" presents the inspirational story of ultra runner Nikki Kimball and her quest to become the fastest person in history to run America's oldest hiking trail, the 273-mile Long Trail. The documentary asks what drives her to attempt such an incredible feat, and follows Nikki's journey from its beginning - training and racing in the Rocky mountains - to her actual record attempt through Vermont's beautiful but brutal Green Mountains.
The Run is a feature length documentary film which follows Australian Pat Farmer’s test of human spirit and behind the scenes drama as he runs the length of India – 80 kilometres a day for 64 days with the backdrop of colourful, enchanting, challenging, organized chaos of India, which will saturate your senses.
WALMSLEY is a feature-length documentary that follows Jim Walmsley’s journey from the depths of a US Air Force Missile Silo to becoming the first American man to win UTMB by running 100 miles faster than anyone else in the world.
After losing his mother to obesity, a thirty-two year old chubby ginger comedian and vegan son-of-a-pig-farmer sets out to avoid the same fate by running one hundred miles through the mountains of Colorado in one of the world's most difficult ultra trail marathons...and lives to tell jokes about it.
Brian Reynolds, a double amputee below the knee athlete, has triumphed over numerous challenges throughout his life. Growing up without a role model to guide him, he has embarked on a mission to empower para athletes by demonstrating that nothing is beyond reach. Join us in this documentary as we follow Brian's journey to make history by becoming the first double amputee to conquer the legendary Leadville 100 Ultra Trail Marathon in Colorado.
Caribou
American ultra running legend Micah True (Caballo Blanco, or the White Horse) lived and ran with the Tarahumara Indians in Northern Mexico. The Tarahumara (also known as the Rarámuri or the Running People) are some of the best long distance runners in the world. This award-winning feature-length documentary chronicles Micah's quest to promote and preserve Tarahumara running tradition by creating a 50-mile foot race known as the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon, which was portrayed in Christopher McDougall’s best-selling book "Born to Run – A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen".
Zibeon Fielding, Aboriginal TSI man and long distance runner is preparing to run a crazy 62 kilometres. Driven by passion to help those he loves, Zibeon will run further than he ever has before in the heart of Australian desert.