In 2011, Alison Chow participated in the 38th Berlin Marathon. She finished the marathon in 2 hours 49 minutes and 57 seconds, 7 minutes slower than the Olympics entry requirement, thus the name of this documentary, Breaking 7. Alison gave up on her stable teaching job and left her comfort zone at the age of almost 30 just to follow her dream. She went through countless challenges with her coach, good friends and family, and was further inspired in life.
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Marathon (1965)
Started as a class project in what was likely the first filmmaking course ever taught at Harvard, Marathon documents the running of the 1964 Boston Marathon.
Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man for Sport Relief (2016)
Eddie Izzard pushes her body and sense of humour to the limit for Sport Relief as she takes on an immense challenge - travelling to South Africa to run 27 marathons in 27 days to mark the 27 years that their hero Nelson Mandela spent in prison. It is a gruelling, uplifting and hilarious journey through baking heat, high roads and hospitals - but can Eddie make it to the final finish line?
Once is Enough (2020)
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.
Barkley 100 (2014)
This short documentary tells the story of one of the world’s most difficult and bizarre sporting events: The Barkley Marathons. This 100-mile footrace and its 60-hour time limit force athletes to run, crawl and climb an elevation gain equivalent to two treks up Mt. Everest. In nearly thirty years, only fourteen runners, out of over one thousand participants, have finished The Barkley.
Days of Giants III (2024)
Our imperative is not an individual's victory - but a better community.. We do not want to overtake you - but to surpass ourselves.. Our results do not point out that we are better - but that you can do it as well.
Solstice (2014)
1 day. 100 miles. The idea sounds impossible to most of us, but that's the challenge Ashley Lindsey faces in 'Solstice,' which documents her attempt to finish the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. The world's oldest and most prestigious 100 mile trail race, Western States runners travel from Squaw Valley to Auburn, battling bitter cold, stifling heat, and their own mental and physical limitations along the way. From mountain peaks to river canyons, runners climb over 18,000 vertical feet and descend nearly 23,000 feet on this ultimate challenge for long distance runners. 'Solstice' is the story of a rookie attempting to run 100 miles for the first time, and to prove that 'impossible' is just a word.
300 KM TO EVEREST (2020)
From the Alps to the Himalayas, living legend of mountain sports, Dawa Sherpa, has left his mark on the trail running world and the Olympic games. A top-level sportsman, yak keeper, mason and Buddhist monk, Dawa now organizes races for humanitarian purposes in the heart of his native mountains. One of them is the Solukhumbu Trail. A trail running race of approximately 300km, an adventure which takes place 5000m above sea level and a total amount of vertical drop kilometres equal to twice the ascent of Everest! Discover a wild and authentic Nepal, at the foot of the highest mountains in the world, while 60 running enthusiasts embark on a humanitarian adventure. Sometimes they have to sleep at the home of locals, in a refuge or in frozen tents. To exceed yourself while supporting a human cause that is the magic of the Solukhumbu Trail.
The Runners (2013)
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.
100 Seconds to Beat the World (2014)
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.
Love in the Long Run (2024)
A young runner adventures solo from LA to Denver seeking answers and healing following a special love lost.
Breaking2 (2017)
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.
mm 49: Vivian Fine Marathon! (2014)
"mm"s are m(usic(ian's))m(eetings) mostly held at the Who Unit? in Pittsburgh as a 21st century salon of sorts where formal interests can be broached casually. Attendees delight in sharing their sometimes obscure & sometimes popular musical (& otherwise) loves. For mm 49 (in the 37th month of "mm"'s history) a marathon listening party celebrating the music of Vivian Fine was decided upon. Fine was a dedicated composer who produced a variety of work over a 70 year career. This movie, of course, is not an imitation of Ken Burns style documentary movie-making. Instead, I gleefully mix the casualness & lively uninhibited conversation of mms with the formal exactitude of Fine's music. I hope you enjoy it as an upstanding example of Punk Classical. "Bah to the Bourgeoisie"! Note that I'm starting to disappear in this movie - will you miss me when I'm gone? This is my 111th feature & my 404th movie.
Boston (2017)
The history of the Boston Marathon from its humble origins starting with only 15 runners, to the first female runners, through the tragedy in 2013, and ultimately the triumph of 2014.
Reach Your Limits (2015)
One of the best Bulgarian mountain runners – Kiril Nikolov, known as Disl, attempted to set a new record – to run through the longest and legendary Bulgarian mountain route – 600 km from the mountain peak of Kom on the west border to cape Emine on the Black Sea coast, in less than 5 days. Through steep mountain paths, pouring rain, and sticky mud, the glorious adventure takes him beyond the barriers of his own consciousness, facing hidden fears, pain and exhaustion. Tо the point where he has to make a tough choice – to quit or to push his will to the ultimate challenge, beyond his own limitations.
The 41st Day (2019)
Follow Ryan Hall, America's fastest marathon runner, in his search for courage, faith, and overcoming the impossible. Following a disastrous showing at the 2012 Olympic Games, Ryan Hall, then America's fastest marathoner, controversially turns to God to coach him. The next four years mark a cross-continental search for athletic, personal, and spiritual redemption, then redefinition, as the victories that once defined him begin to elude him.
Lorena, Light-footed Woman (2019)
A young woman of the Tarahumara, well-known for their extraordinary long distance running abilities, wins ultramarathons seemingly out of nowhere despite running in sandals.
Big Pink Dress (2021)
Colin, from the North East of England has been an inspiration to thousands, raising money by running marathons in Big Pink Dresses. The documentary gives an insight into Colin’s fundraising journey, the highs and lows he has faced along the way, and why it may be time to hang up the dress.
How to Become a Hero (2008)
Mladen Maticevic is a 40 year old Serbian film director. In the summer of 2005, he decided to try and run the full marathon race on the next Belgrade Marathon, in the spring of 2006. This film depicts his struggle to train, lose weight, learn the tactics and eventually win the race. His family doubts that such feat is possible while friends both encourage him and discourage him to pull it off. Suddenly the whole marathon run becomes a metaphor for everyday struggles in post-Communist Belgrade.
Goshen (2015)
Goshen is a documentary depicting the diet and active lifestyle of the indigenous Tarahumara, a light-footed running tribe, who are striving to maintain their ancient culture against all odds. The Tarahumara are renowned for their incredible long distance running endurance and prevention of modern chronic diseases. Featuring the Born to Run author Chris McDougall and health specialists.
