I just watched The Runner: David Horton's 2,700 Mile Run of the Pacific Crest Trail. (Hat tip: Joe)David is one of the premier ultrarunners who has run across the United States as well as several other ridiculous ultras. He teaches running at Liberty University and a number of his students (current and former) took part in this 66-day run.
He started at the Mexican border and ran the Pacific Crest Trail all the 2,700 miles north to the Canadian border. His goal was to beat the record of 83 days, done by a person who walked the trail. David wasn't walking, or at least not much. He was the first person to run the trail.
It was a relatively short movie (only 87 minutes), but I enjoyed it. We got to see part of his struggle as he had to cross treacherous rivers and through deep snow in the Sierras. For the most part, though, it didn't seem like he struggled all that much. They only showed one or two blisters and there weren't any injuries that potentially sidelined him. Needless to say, he's in unbelievable shape.
When I started watching movies about runners, I never understood why they'd attempt these ridiculous runs. But, as I watched this movie, I didn't ask that question at all. It's about the end, sure, but it's really about the journey and about doing something you never thought you could do.
4 comments:
Thanks for the review, another movie on my to watch list.
Running the Sahara (narrated by Matt Damon) is also a great movie about running journeys as you follow three incredible individuals that crossed the Sahara desert in 111 days.
Thanks for the recommendation. Have you seen "Saint Ralph"?
great review, i'll have to try to find it to check it out!
Sounds like a good one and you're right, it's about the journey. You won't catch me running any crazy ultras but I do believe this applies to shorter distances as well.
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