Trailer: 3 minutes
View Trailer
Running Madness (75 minutes) grants you access into a world that inspires
both the inner hero and the inner cynic: the world of ultramarathons.
In our not so distant past it seemed astonishing that people were capable
of--and enjoyed--running 26.2 miles in around 3 hours. Marathoners were
crazy, obsessive and undoubtedly damaging their bodies if not their misled
souls. But now grandmothers as well as CEO’s hit the asphalt with
the same regularity and acceptance with which they collect the mail or
go to lunch. Therefore, meet the new crazy on the block: the ultrarunner,
who endeavors to run 100 miles through arduous mountainous terrain with
no sleep, no hot meals and questionable common sense in 30 hours or less.
But are these folks so crazy? Or could this intensity of running actually
be what is keeping them sane and potentially supplying the rest of us
with a venue for our own madness?
Running Madness focuses on the grand -daddy of all ultra runs: The Western
States 100 (WS100). Started in 1974 by the charismatically off-center
Gordy Ainsleigh WS100 has grown into the Indie 500 of the ultrarunner’s
world. A lottery gets you in and something indescribable gets you through.
Running Madness seeks to unravel what that indescribable is via interviews
with the runners, their pacers, the hundreds of volunteers who show up
year after year (as addicted as the runners are) to work the aid stations,
the organizers and the medical staff.
What personality type is drawn to such a challenge? Is there a particular
profession or region or cultural background that links the runners? Can
anyone do it? Are they damaging their bodies? Are they uplifting their
souls? Do they think this is fun? Do they eat? Where do they pee? Why-o-why
do they do it? These are only a handful of the questions that Running
Madness addresses.
Shot on the trails and in the aid stations and incorporating pre-race
jitters and post-race joy this documentary follows the trajectory of seven
runners from their hopes at the beginning to their realizations at the
finish line. The viewers end up with a few realizations of their own:
perhaps these folks aren’t so nuts after all.
Set to a rock ‘n roll soundtrack with an eye for the beauty of the
Squaw Valley landscape and an ear for the humor and hopes of the participants
Running Madness brings to life the common language of running, the intrinsic
desire for camaraderie and the wonderfully equalizing effect of lots and
lots of mountains, rocks and trees.
copyright © 2003 Jalapeño
Productions
.............................................................
www.info@runningmadness.com |
