Learning to Fly (2025) Movie Script

[gravel crunching under running footsteps]
[woman panting]
[gentle ambient music plays, builds]
["In A River" by Rostam playing]
Slide into the cool mud
Underneath the pines
Somewhere to your right or left
Is my body you can find
We are swimming with no clothes on
In a river in the dark
We stay up all night
And we wake up in the sunlight
We got dreams we keep together
We got time to spend, oh, hell yeah
Whoo!
Whoo!
We are swimming with no clothes on
In a river in the dark
We are lying
On the beach now
Everything is warm
[song ends]
[electronic beep]
[breathes heavily]
[mourning dove calls softly]
[indistinct chatter]
[upbeat dance music plays faintly nearby]
Hello.
-Hi.
-I'm Aisha.
Cool. Nice to finally meet you.
I know. I've-I've-I've heard a ton about--
Well, I already know a bit about you
from a few years ago
from watching your race at UTMB, but
Um, so, you're gonna go here,
and then we'll--
It's kinda like, I'm gonna adjust
as we go, if that sounds good.
-Yeah.
-Alright.
Let's have you cross your arms.
Alright.
Jim, look towards me for a second.
[camera shutter clicks]
Just kinda bring your hand to your hat.
-That's nice.
-[camera shutter clicks]
Alright, look up a little bit.
[camera shutter clicking]
Now just bring your eyes,
your gaze towards me.
[camera shutter clicking]
You're killing it. These are beautiful.
Usually, when I first meet and work
with athletes,
we'll just be hanging out,
we'll just be like
putzing around more so, and I'm like,
"Alright, this is gonna be fun.
We're gonna jump right into
a photo shoot." [chuckles]
Alright. Three, two
-[camera shutter clicks]
-Alright.
Alright.
When I first decided I was going to pursue
photography full time,
the one piece of advice that I got
was to tell stories
that you're somehow connected to.
I owe a lot to running.
It protected me from a lot of things
when I was a kid.
It was the first thing that ever gave me
self-confidence.
It got me into college.
It jump-started and launched my career.
It's the heart of my work
as a photographer.
-[crowd cheering]
-Here we go.
[camera shutter clicking]
I think the beauty of photography
is that it allows you this little window
into things you would otherwise
never get to experience.
Oh my God!
Look at that.
And it allows you to understand
those people that you're documenting
and how they see the world
in such a unique and intimate way.
I've photographed a lot of runners
over the years
and, inevitably, it led me to document
ultramarathon runners
because they're the pinnacle
of endurance athletes in the sport.
Oh l l.
I wanted to understand why they train
these endless hours,
coming back to these relentless,
punishing races over and over,
and why they're putting themselves
through so much pain.
I hope that I can find some deeper
understanding of my own relationship
to the starting line.
An ultramarathon is any race
that's longer than a marathon,
which is 26.2 miles.
The most competitive ultras
are 100 miles long.
That's almost four marathons back to back
without stopping,
often running through the night
with no sleep,
sometimes climbing more than Mount Everest
in elevation gain.
Unlike running on the track,
there's an infinite number of things
that you can't control.
Your body is physically capable
of doing these things.
It's not necessarily
the most healthy thing to do.
[tense music plays]
And then the emotional side
is far more difficult.
I've seen people get to, like,
pretty dark spots.
Hello!
[Aisha] Hi! How are you?
I'm good. How are you?
[Aisha] I'm good.
Thanks for hopping on the call with me.
Um
I would love to kinda just like
chat through with you,
like, my thoughts looking
into this summer's racing season.
I'll be at Western States,
um, Hardrock, and UTMB.
I'll be photographing these athletes
and spending a lot of time with them.
I think it's the perfect opportunity
to kinda start digging
into why they're out there.
What is it that's motivating them
to be out there to run that 100 miles?
Who are the people
that are supporting them?
There's so much more to these people
than these races.
Are you hoping to capture that side of it,
and if so, how?
[Aisha] Ideally, trying to get access
to them beyond the race itself.
So trying to spend time with them.
So, yeah, I would love to keep
the conversation rolling
if Outside would be interested
in seeing this in a form of a photo essay.
[Abby] I love it. Why do you,
as a photographer, care?
That also is interesting to me.
You're trying to capture
why they're motivated.
Okay, well, why are you motivated
to do that?
[gentle piano music plays]
[Aisha] When I was younger,
racing really was my only outlet.
It was the one thing that I could control
when the rest of my life was in turmoil.
Eventually, though, like anyone who puts
all of their energy into one thing,
I burned out
and I had to take a step back.
This story, for me, is personal
in a much deeper way.
I'm hoping that these athletes help me
answer questions I have
about my own story as a runner.
-[dramatic music playing]
-[panting]
[Aisha] The first athlete
that I wanted to spend time with
was Jim Walmsley.
He's widely considered one of the best
ultra runners of all time.
[commentator] What a monumental effort
by Jim Walmsley.
A new American record.
[Aisha] He came into
the scene around 2016,
and he made outrageous claims
about how fast he could run these races.
[interviewer] So it's your first
100-mile race.
[Jim] My goal is to win, period,
with the side goal being I want to have
a crack at the course record.
At mile 92, I ended up running past
a-a turn I was supposed to make.
And I'm walking it in, and I don't care.
Like, I'm gonna finish today,
and I'll be back.
2017, that's the year
that really spanked me.
I had ended in complete
and utter heat exhaustion,
like throwing up the rest of the night.
[Aisha] After a few
pretty spectacular failures,
he started breaking course records.
[commentator] He has won 29
of the 33 ultras he's entered since 2016.
He's the reigning world ultra runner
of the year.
[Aisha] He's been a game changer
in how people approach
these 100-mile races,
making them decidedly more competitive
than they've ever been before.
[announcer] From Flagstaff, Arizona,
Jim Walmsley.
-[man] Let's go, Jim!
-[crowd cheering]
[cheering fades]
Hello.
[indistinct chatter]
Hey.
-[woman] Hey!
-Hey! How are you?
-[woman] Good!
-I'm good, I'm good. Hi.
-Hi. I'm Jess.
-Aisha.
Are you training
for anything right now or--
No, I have two races
in, um, Europe this summer.
Do you guys get vacation ever?
Like, do you have time
where you're just, like, completely down?
We haven't even gone on a honeymoon.
Okay! When did you guys get married?
Jim's like, "Oh, moving to France
was the honeymoon."
I was like, "Not quite."
-"I don't think that's how it works."
-"Not quite."
Uh, we got married two years ago in May.
[camera shutter clicks]
[Aisha] Alright,
bring your gaze towards me.
[camera shutter clicking]
[Aisha] I was first struck by Jim's focus,
his quiet intensity.
In a world of driven athletes,
he stands apart.
And it's quite obvious when you meet him
that running is everything for him,
aside from his wife, Jess.
Perfect.
[Jess] Going too fast.
[chuckles] Thank you.
-[Jim] Left or right?
-Insulting.
How do you feel about the temperatures?
[Jim] Under 90 degrees,
the course record's game on.
Yeah.
I don't know what you had in mind
for a run, but, uh, I'm liking it.
[panting]
[Jess] I haven't met very many people
I don't like
in the trail running community,
and I think
there's a reason for that.
I feel like we all have
this commonality we share
in how we appreciate
what trail running does for us
and how it brings out the best in us.
[indistinct chatter]
[laughs] No way.
[laughter]
-[indistinct]
-It was a training.
-What?
-It was just a training.
-Yeah, it was training weekend.
-No, no, but
Oh, is it more funny, uh,
tomorrow if you--
Now he starts chasing.
[laughter]
[Jim] I've always found, like, friendships
and community within running.
I think I'm naturally a bit of a recluse,
but running's always been a way
to connect with people that
makes me feel, uh, less weird
because I can talk running
for-for a very long time. [chuckles]
A socially awkward guy
finds people to talk with
that's too shy to meet new friends
a lot of times.
-From this one?
-Yeah.
[laughs]
[bright, gentle music playing]
[Jess] Jim, what do you wanna do
for dinner?
[Jim] Pizza.
[Jess] Okay.
[Jim] You don't just go for a run
and become a runner
or go for a run and become good at it.
It's more a mindset
to stick at something long term,
and you can see your hard work,
you can see your improvements.
I've rarely gotten, like, the bigger goals
on the first try.
I think the difference between me
and a lot of fast guys
that came before me is
I think I'm just
a stubborn bastard that
doesn't like losing at this point, so.
[gentle dramatic music plays]
Western States
is the oldest ultra in the world.
It's known for its extreme heat,
which is what makes it
one of the most challenging courses.
[music intensifies]
It starts in Olympic Valley
and ends about 100 miles away
in Auburn, California.
[man 1] The king is back.
Mr. Jim Walmsley. Big round of applause.
-Come on in, Jim. Come on in. The king!
-Three-time champion!
[cheering]
[man 2] You've had a lot of success here,
three-time winner.
Where can you find time on this course?
Well, part of that's my secret, not yours.
-[laughs]
-And secondly, um
is the goal to improve on time,
or is the goal to win a fourth time,
I guess.
If I get beat at Western States,
like, where does it end?
There is something kinda big
on the horizon
that, in particular, has-has eluded men
predominantly in the sport,
and that's that Western States
to UTMB historic double.
[Aisha] Trail running
is evolving really quickly,
and as it becomes more competitive,
the goals become more lofty.
Now, the top athletes are trying to win
both of the most competitive races
in the world in the same year,
Western States,
which happens at the end of June,
followed by Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc
in the French Alps at the end of August.
The relentless part about this
for these athletes
is the lack of time to recover.
To pull off the double, winning
Western States and UTMB in one year,
is one of the most remarkable
physical feats in the sport.
The list of athletes who've won the double
is incredibly small.
You have Nikki Kimball,
who won it in 2007,
Kilian Jornet in 2011,
and in 2023,
Courtney Dauwalter won
Western States, Hardrock,
and UTMB.
No American man has ever won the double.
Jim's attempted it numerous times,
but he's always fallen short.
It starts with the first step
of Western States
and just trying to get
my best performance here,
because without performing here
then there's not much of a double.
My first Western States in 2016,
I didn't have air conditioning
because it was broke in my car.
Oh, this is--
-Ah.
-Yeah.
And then it got fixed, actually,
I think just before the race,
but I was like,
"Ah, no, I think it's better."
And then 2017,
uh, so I had air conditioning
and, uh
yeah, I-I got heatstroke
and didn't finish.
So ever since 2018, '19, '21,
I've always done no AC, like, from May on.
I increased the amount of heat exposure
I'm getting for two months.
[man] Okay.
I mean, my pants are soaked.
[laughs] So same.
-Trs bon.
-No, no, no.
Alright, I'll-I'll make an agreement.
If we, uh, get stopped in traffic,
-we can put the windows down.
-Oh.
Oh. Thanks, Jim.
You are really
-Oh, you are so kind.
-Yeah, you are so kind. Exactly, yeah.
I've had crew end up in the hospital
after the day.
-No way.
-Yeah, getting IV.
-Yeah.
-Wow.
This is how I mess with people's heads.
-Okay. You ready?
-Yeah.
["Good Enough"
by Wolfie's Just Fine playing]
I gotta get away from all the pain
But I don't know where I just went
I gotta find a way to play the game
But I don't know what I could've been
Am I good, am I good,
am I good enough?
Am I good, am I good,
am I good enough?
Am I good, am I good,
am I good enough?
Am I good, am I good, am I good enough
[laughter]
Wow, thanks, everybody,
for coming here today.
Race day plans.
Top points.
We wanna capture Jim,
who will be blazing course record pace.
We also wanna capture
the very back of the race.
Aisha, Sydney, Luke,
you're all going to the finish line.
I will be with Jim as he's finishing,
wanting to kinda get his reactions
and emotions with Jess and his family.
It gets very hot.
I've had heat exhaustion before, shooting,
and we're out there for a very long time,
so, like,
wear long sleeves that are light colors,
make sure you're hydrating,
and have electrolytes.
-And eat.
-And eat protein.
And eat.
[bird chirping]
[Jim] So I'm starting in a vest.
That means I'll be coming in
with a black shirt.
I'll be ditching everything
upper body-wise at Duncan Canyon.
So he'll be switching hat and glasses
at Duncan, Wil.
Every aid station has its own shirt,
so it'll go in the ice bucket.
Ice bandana, fill halfway with ice.
The key is not a bunch of ice because
the more ice there is,
the more he'll get choked.
And the bandana person's job
also to hand Jim the sponge
so he can sponge himself off and ask him
if he wants the red cup of water
dumped on him.
And sunscreen him.
Powders will go in my belt to carry,
and then I have a gel and a powder,
and that will get me there.
One nutrition bottle, one water bottle.
We will have Coca-Cola, Pellegrino,
cut-up cantaloupe and watermelon.
That'll all be in a cooler, I'm assuming,
to maintain cold.
-Yes. Yeah. Okay.
-Gotcha.
Easy enough.
You see the sacrifice that it takes
to get to these starting lines,
but then you also see
how much support they get,
how many people come together
to make it happen for these runners,
and how much is at stake for all of them.
I think I started understanding
how much Jim holds in these races,
but also how much of his success
ties directly back to Jess
and just her tenacity and drive
to bring everything together.
[Jess] I've always been happy
that I'm the person that gets to be there.
It takes a lot of stress off of him
to have someone that he can trust
every single race to show up,
and that gives me back
a really happy partner,
and that's, to me, motivation
to be able to give my time crewing.
[indistinct chatter]
I know it's a hard day for him.
I feel like sometimes I can, like
I don't know. Obviously, like, I think
when you spend enough time with someone,
you-you feel their energy
and stuff like that.
So it's a it's a daunting day.
[gentle dramatic music playing]
[soft, tense music playing]
I got four hours of sleep,
which is pretty, pretty generous.
I'ma hike on up.
I actually feel like
I literally can't breathe
because the air
is like 6,000-plus feet thinner
than it is back home.
Just check our list real quick.
-Lights.
-Check.
-Coolers.
-Check.
Overnight bag.
[woman] Check.
[Jess] Okay.
[Jess] C'est bon.
[Jess exhales heavily]
Alright. Let's roll.
[male announcer] Good morning and welcome
to the 2024 Western States 100.
[crowd whooping]
[male announcer] If you look to the person
to your left and to your right,
there's a story there.
We gather as strangers, perhaps,
and then somehow, over a hundred miles,
we become a community.
[cheering]
Applaud your friends, your crews,
your pacers,
all those folks
that are gonna be out there for you.
[announcer and crowd]
Five, four, three, two, one.
[male commentator] We are off, folks.
The 2024 Western States 100
is officially started.
[tense music playing]
[female commentator]Jim Walmsley in all black
is at the front of the race right now.
[male commentator] Everybody is gonna be
looking at Jim Walmsley today.
He's the best to ever run
the Western States 100.
-There's Katie Schide.
-Katie Schide.
Race leader, the second fastest woman
ever on the course,
and just behind her, Rod Farvard,
one of our dark horses.
Made it to the top. [breathes heavily]
Now it's the game of,
where do I wanna shoot?
Twenty minutes till he comes through,
hopefully.
[laughter, indistinct chatter]
There they are.
[male commentator] Lead men's pack
coming to the top.
The crowd goes wild.
There is Ron Farvard in the lead.
[loud cheering]
Jim Walmsley, three-time champ.
[cheering]
[man] Go, Jim!
[female commentator]Simon Gosselin, Cole Watson,
and then Katie Schide in 16th.
[indistinct shouting, cheering]
-[camera shutter clicking]-Allez! Allez! Allez!
[loud cheering]
[female commentator]That was Eszter Csillag.
[woman] Let's go, Eszter!
[female commentator] And I think that's
our women's main pack coming over the top.
We are going to beeline it
to Mission Bluff,
and then try and get to Foresthill.
[male commentator] We are approaching
the five-hour mark.
It feels like we are just getting started.
Eszter Csillag here.
Eszter, our third-place finisher
from last year,
sort of one of our biggest
breakout performers last year.
Jim Walmsley has not seen his crew
in the last 25 miles.
It's gonna happen fast.
Like that.
I would like to not be intrusive,
especially if Jim isn't leading.
[crowd cheering]
[male commentator]Jim Walmsley, our race leader.
[camera shutter clicks]
[Jess] Do you want any Coke?
-When's the last time you had salt?
-I need salt.
-Sunscreen
-Salt, yes.
-Okay, what kind of salt?
-I think I need to switch my shoes.
When I first saw him race, I was like,
"This man is out to hunt."
There's a point where you start thinking
these people are machines,
and you almost have to remind yourself
that they're still human.
You're doing fine. Take care of you.
[male commentator] Looks like that's
Rob Farvard coming into the aid.
His crew positioned slightly down
the street from where Jim has been.
-It's okay. It's okay. You're doing good.
-It's okay.
Okay. Cap.
This is your nutrition bottle.
Uh, no. I don't think so.
[male commentator] And we'll see
who leaves the aid station here first.
This could be a critical
at least psychological moment
for both of these athletes.
Everything's going good.
-Go get 'em, Rod.
-Let's go, Rod!
-[crowd cheering, shouting]
-Yeah, buddy!
[Jess] You're doing great.
Just run with people.
-You got it.
-[man] Go, Jim!
[overlapping shouting, cheering]
[male commentator] Unbelievable,
55-plus miles into the race here today,
and now it's official,
Rod Farvard is our race leader.
[gentle dramatic music plays]
[female commentator] Katie Schide
leads the women's field by 31 minutes.
And Eszter Csillag has been
just like chomping at the bit.
-[Jess] Alright.
-That was awesome.
Sounds good. You got a bottle to squirt?
-Yep, got one bottle.
-Uh
Where's the two nutrition bottles?
They're with Ben over here.
-Okay.
-So we got--
[Jess] Okay. Does Ben have stuff
like ready to pace?
-[tense music playing]
-[crowd cheering]
[man] Alright, Rod!
[male commentator] We are losing our minds
in the studio here.
Jim Walmsley, Rod Farvard will be doing
their crew transition together.
Rod Farvard must be pinching
himself right now.
[loud whooping, cheering]
[bells ringing]
[man] Hey!
Watch out, watch out, watch out!
Watch out, watch out, watch out!
[Aisha] You have these runners
coming through these aid stations
and you only have a few seconds at points.
Your crew is a huge factor
in the success of these athletes.
It can be the difference of, like,
winning a race or not winning a race.
[Jess] Splits, splits, splits.
[loud shouting, cheering]
[Jess] Shit!
[groans] I forgot to give him the splits.
[male commentator] Rod Farvard out ahead,
and he must be thinking and feeling
what's on the line here for him.
[man] Alright, Jim!
[bell rings]
[male commentator] This is absolutely
one for the ages here, folks.
This has never ever happened
like this before,
as we see Rod Farvard now entering
the American River.
[female commentator]Jim is gonna be right here.
-Oh my goodness, we have two--
-Two men in the river together.
So Jim and Rod
were just in the water together,
and we're like, I don't know,
we're 20 and a bit miles out,
and
we've never seen this before.
This-- it being this close
this far into it.
[director] Your money's on Jim?
-My money's on Jim. I think--
-Yeah, yeah.
I'll take Jim to Vegas.
[laughter]
New shoes, new socks. [chuckles]
Four caffeine pills, two salts.
This is lime. This is passion fruit.
-Gels, gels.
-He doesn't want those.
Okay. Okay.
Can you sponge my feet?
-I'm sorry.
-Yeah, get the dirt off his feet here.
Is this new shirt?
-Did he run through?
-Yeah.
-Let me grab this hat.
-[grunts]
Yeah. Dunk the hat. Dunk the hat or do--
One water.
-[Jim mumbling]
-It's okay. It's okay.
-No, you're doing great.
-Just focus on yourself.
-You're doing amazing. Yeah.
-You're doing awesome.
You got two, uh, mixes in the back
and you got nutrition in the front.
Is this Did you want lime?
-I have no idea.
-Let me just
Powder and bottle. Two bottles.
We need two bottles.
-Woo-woo!
-[indistinct chatter, cheering]
[Aisha] I was meeting Jess and Jim
at a pretty tense time
because he was going into
the start of trying to win the double.
You can see the stress.
I'm rooting for them,
and feeling those stomach-churning moments
when things were getting close
and Rod was coming up on him.
We're heading to the finish line.
Word on the street is that
Jim is in second right now.
Anything can change at any given moment.
[male commentator] Oh my goodness,
it looks like Jim Walmsley in the lead.
Un-freaking-believable.
This back-and-forth battle
between Jim Walmsley and Rod Farvard.
Here he is, folks.
Jim Walmsley, race leader,
now in the golden meadow,
roughly mile 95.
Still a spring in his step.
[female commentator]Rod Farvard making his way
into the Pointed Rocks aid station.
[male commentator] Definitely starting
to look a little bit wobbly.
Jim Walmsley appears to be pulling away
for what could be his fourth victory here.
[crowd cheering]
-Not yet.
-Not yet?
-This one still feels good.
-Okay.
And we got a climb to go.
Way to get 'er done, boys.
-You're doing it.
-Yeah, there's only one boy.
What's the lead?
What's the lead? On what right now?
-Second!
-Oh, on second?
-Yeah.
-Uh Like 11 or 12 minutes.
Eleven. It's growing. It's growing.
-Okay.
-You got it.
Sure don't feel like it.
[laughter]
There he is--
-Whoo! Alright. Yeah.
-[cheering, whooping]
-[cheering, shouting]
-Go, go, go!
[male announcer] Jim Walmsley
crossing the white grid
which marks a half a mile to the end.
[crowd cheering]
-[uplifting music playing]
-[cheering continues]
[male announcer] The winner
of the 2024 Western States 100,
Jim Walmsley!
[loud cheering and applause]
[camera shutter clicks]
At officially 14:13:45.
[loud cheering continues]
[male announcer]One of the greatest finishes
for 2nd and 3rd in Western States history.
Put your hands together for Rod Farvard,
Hayden Hawks.
Absolutely heroic finish here.
The fastest podium ever
in Western States history.
Three of the four fastest times
in Western States history.
Absolutely historic day.
-[camera shutter clicks]
-[Jim] Rod just, uh,
ran an incredible day, and
Yeah, it just brings a lot of emotion
'cause it was a-- it was just really hard.
So, uh, r-really proud of this one.
[crowd cheering]
[Rod] It was
unlike anything to run with
someone I look up to so much
and be able to push each other.
I didn't really feel like
I was going for a win or anything.
I just-- I just wanted to run with Jim.
[loud cheering and applause]
[male announcer] The winner
of the 2024 Western States 100,
this is Katie Schide.
[loud cheering]
First runner-up from China, Xiang Fuzhao.
From Hungary by way of Hong Kong,
-this is Eszter Csillag.
-[loud cheering]
[female commentator]Finishing 3rd here today.
[interviewer] Eszter Csillag just ran
the fourth fastest time
in Western States history.
-Big round of applause for Eszter.
-[loud cheering]
[Aisha] Ohh!
[laughs] Look at her husband.
[chuckles] Look at her kids.
There's so many things going on
at these moments at the finish line, like,
so much emotion and heartbreak
and celebratory moments and love.
It was a relief
when Jim won Western States.
It was the start
of this double crown story.
He got the first win under his belt
and the next one, you know, is UTMB.
And then to see Rod come through,
just this, like, burn in him
was pretty incredible.
[laughs] One hell of a finish.
And I just remember seeing his mom,
just her, like, emotion
and how proud she was of him.
I think you can really tell
how much these athletes
are loved and cared for.
Even if they didn't make their goal,
their partners and their friends
and family
are still gonna be there celebrating them.
It really made me reflect on my own life
and-and my family dynamics.
You know, I didn't have
the most conventional childhood.
My sister and I were adopted.
Our biological mother was American,
and our father was an immigrant
from Algeria.
Our mother had been struggling on and off
with mental health,
and our father, um,
was kind of in and out, um,
and then he was deported.
So we were taken away
and brought into the McAdams pretty young.
My adopted mom struggled with alcoholism.
I kind of became the scapegoat of
all the demons my mom
was working through, um,
which just meant that, uh,
what she couldn't control in her life
she decided to control me.
When I found running,
that was kind of like the first time
that I felt community and identity.
N-O-R-R-R-R-T-H, N-O-R-R-T-H, go North!
[cameraman] I'm here with Aisha McAdams
from, uh, North Kingston, Rhode Island,
the surprise winner of the girls'
two-mile today here at New Englands.
How many New England titles
do you think you can win?
I don't know. I just gotta go out there
and see what happens.
[male announcer] Number 5, Aisha McAdams
from North Kingston, Rhode Island.
[dramatic music plays]
[woman] I knew immediately, as a coach,
your talent was like
You could see it right from the start.
I mean, like, your mechanics,
your body type, you know,
you tiny little thing,
your grit from the st--
And that was-- it was grit in running,
but it was grit everywhere.
Um,
like, we knew right away
that you were something.
You would take me to practice,
but I'm trying to remember when
it, like, became more, like,
you weren't just "Coach,"
like, you were like,
you kinda became that mother figure.
That was sophomore year cross country.
Right?
Was that when my parents
were getting divorced,
-or was that--
-Mm-hmm.
'Cause I would get home
from school every day.
-[mumbles]
-She had-- I had a clear backpack.
-Do you remember my clear backpack?
-Mm-hmm.
'Cause she would be like,
"Aisha steals everything."
Mm-hmm.
And every-- I was so embarrassed by it.
[soft dramatic music plays]
And then I would, like,
get home from school,
-and she would, like, search me.
-Yeah.
And I would like, get stuck on that couch.
Yeah. And she would smoke.
She would smoke her Capri Slims
and she would paint.
-There'd be Law & Order or Criminal Minds.
-Yeah.
And then if I had to go to the bathroom,
I had to ask,
and she would be like,
"Leave the door open."
-Mm-hmm.
-And I'd sit on that fucking couch
for hours, literally,
until I was told I could go make dinner
or clean the kitchen.
My mom glued my blinds shut
and, like, put a bar in my window.
Once I started getting more serious
about running,
Coach Wilson started building
this relationship.
She was like, "You know,
she's really seriously training.
Like, it's really important for her
to go on these runs."
And so my mom would say,
"You can go out for, like, 40 minutes."
And I would leave,
leave the house, and I just remember
running through the neighborhood,
and feeling this, like, total [exhales]
like, freedom.
As I started escaping
a difficult situation,
and then I was able
to connect with people,
I think that was one of the first times
that I was like,
"Wow, this feels really good," um
"and I feel really empowered.
I wanna hold onto this,
and I wanna hold onto it for a while."
Oh, here's my school pictures.
"McAdams will contend
for the individual title."
Did we have, like,
a newspaper subscription,
or did we just get them every time?
We usually went out
when we knew you were gonna be in it.
[Aisha] Yeah.
I didn't know you had kept this,
all of these, uh
This must've been when I was a freshman.
You would run laps around the yard,
and we would chant or sing,
"Go, Aisha! Go, Aisha!
Beat the, beat the high score."
[laughter]
Did you enjoy it,
or were you just really good at it
and then you grew to enjoy it?
I feel like it was like Mom was always
kinda telling me I was one thing,
and it was, like, finally me
doing something for myself
and realizing that I was
not necessarily a bad kid or, like,
I wasn't too loud there or too hyper.
Like, that was, like, my superpower,
so it was kind of like something
that gave me freedom.
To me, my memory is, like,
things got the worst for me
when we moved to Rhode Island.
It did. It just kinda gradually escalated
over time, and-and, uh
I think it had more to do with her
than it did with you.
You were just there.
[Aisha] Do you have any memory of that?
I mean, if I'm gonna be real,
at times you were, like, the subject
of Mom's, like, experim--
like, abusive experiment or something.
When she was saying things that I did
or that weren't true, like,
did you ever question things
that she was saying about me?
[Mark] I was a little slow
on the uptake, but
I started hearing some of the stuff
that I wasn't aware of, and
it started about the time
you-you got into running
because that caused some
grief between us.
[Aisha] My running did?
-Yeah.
-[Aisha] Why?
Because she
wanted to punish you
by not letting you run.
And
I said no.
-[Aisha] Why was she punishing me?
-I don't--
I don't remember.
It was obvious to me that not only
was that, um,
uh, something you really enjoyed,
but something
that was really good for you.
But, yeah, for you,
I think running is just
it's part of your makeup.
[male announcer] Going on squat once again
is Aisha McAdams
[Aisha] It's wild to think
where I might be in life
if I hadn't found
the track in high school,
and also how many other athletes' stories
started there as well.
[cameraman] We are here with Jim Walmsley,
the men's Super Sweeps individual winner.
Definitely a big confidence booster.
[Jim] When I think about
high school cross country,
it was kind of the first time
finding friends, and
I didn't have to, like,
feel like this impostor syndrome of
Like, I could be a runner and dorky
and fitting in a bit.
For me, running became habitual,
became practice.
It became an outlet for the difficulties
and challenges of life.
[dramatic music plays]
Time slows, time stops.
Other things don't matter.
Running's been able to provide,
like, a sense of freedom.
I decided I wanted to prioritize
trying to trail run.
Early days of my running career
on the trails
started with me sleeping in my car,
being outdoors and chasing the wildness.
I wouldn't say I've been
a successful adult balancing running,
but I'm quite happy with running
being imbalanced in my life.
[birds chirping]
[Jess] The first big run we ever went on,
I was having the hardest time
and you were like,
"Ah, na-na-na-na-na, da-da-da-da-da."
You're, like, talking about stuff,
and your little bouncy hair
is bouncing around,
and I'm just like [cries]
"This is so hard."
[laughs]
I didn't think it was too bad.
During one of my 50-milers,
I was chasing down first place
and you crewed me,
and then I just completely deteriorated
the second half
and got passed and I was in fourth,
and then I, like, rolled my ankle
and then I got a bloody nose,
so I called him with 13 miles to go
and I was like, "I wanna be done,"
and he's like, "No, you're doing fine."
And then you tried getting back at me,
maybe.
I call you to come pick me up. I'm like--
get to the top of the climb out
of Courmayeur when you're in UTMB,
I pull out my emergency
little Zoolander phone and go,
"Jess, I'm gonna go back to Courmayeur.
I need you to pick me up."
I said, "You can make it to La Fouly.
It's only what, like 10 miles?"
So I knew what that meant.
I found my ride back.
Yeah. [chuckles]
He dropped and found his own ride back.
Made a new friend that day.
Doesn't happen very often for me.
[Jess] No. No.
But I was desperate.
[both chuckle]
[bright music playing]
[Aisha] For this story,
I was curious to spend time with a runner
who wasn't running
at the professional level,
but was purely doing it
for the love of it.
-Can we slide a smidgen?
-Yeah.
-Perfect.
-I know.
[Aisha] Just a smidgen.
[camera shutter clicking]
So they've done some interesting studies
where they take blood samples
at the end of a race,
and it's-it's an ICU patient.
You know, and the-- and the person
is up walking, talking, doing all this,
but when you look at blood calcium
and electrolytes
and the breakdown products
of your muscle, myoglobin,
all these things, it's-it's a mess.
-And you voluntarily do this.
-It's a true mess.
-Yeah, and we pay people to do it.
-Right.
-[Aisha] What is the amount to recover?
-I know. Oh, this.
[Michael] When you chat with people
who've been doing this a long time,
it-it's a month to six weeks.
But when you see
what Courtney did last year,
you know, they're doing these crazy races,
winning them in the best time around,
and he did--
she did three of them last year.
But we get to toe the line with them.
That's what's cool.
It's like you get to go play basketball
with Jordan.
It really is.
-[bells ringing]
-[crowd cheering]
[camera shutter clicking]
[Aisha] Part of what I love
about photographing running is
you get to witness these people
push themselves to a breaking point.
Their families and friends see them
in their most vulnerable moment,
which I think is an incredibly rare thing
to share.
-Hi.
-Hi.
-How are you?
-I'm doing alright. How are you?
-I'm good.
-Yeah?
We need him here, like, right now.
We're ready.
-Last night at Animus, like
-Yeah.
just seeing everybody, like, calm
and even you, like
-[chuckles]
-in this hood, and you--
-I think-- Were you doing Reiki?
-I was.
-Okay. Yeah.
-I was.
And I was taking photos, I was like,
"I'm gonna just not use the flash at all
because I feel like this moment
needs to be, like, calm and"
Yeah. So it was really beautiful to see.
And, uh, you can tell, like, you've--
He came in, and you brought him,
brought him down and--
-Yeah.
-Yeah.
I was really
I mean, I was grateful to witness it.
-[cries softly]
-So
And he's gonna be floating down there.
Yeah. He is.
-And you're gonna be there.
-That's right. He'll get here.
It seems like, ugh, at least one point
in these hundreds I'll be feeling.
Like, it comes out, which is good.
It needs to come out.
-I don't want it stuck inside.
-Yeah.
It's-- I'm always curious when, when it
-Sometimes it hits you and Yeah.
-it comes, yeah.
Dude, I wanna meet and have a part--
like, have a relationship
like their relationship.
She's running with him.
[camera shutter clicking]
-[bells ringing]
-[loud cheering]
You don't have a lot of food in here, man.
-I don't need it.
-Okay.
I have food if you need 'em.
-I'm gonna start going real fast.
-I'll catch you.
Good job.
Bye, babe.
[camera shutter clicks]
[Aisha] His son got to run, like,
a final ten miles with him
to the finish line.
-[bell ringing]
-[cheering]
[Aisha] Running
is an inherently selfish act,
but it teaches us so much
about the dynamics of our relationships,
how much we owe the people in our lives,
and through that,
what it means to love ourselves.
[camera shutter clicks]
[music fades]
For me, becoming a competitive runner
so young was--
it was complicated.
At first, it was everything I needed--
freedom, joy, and a sense of belonging
in the world.
But then as I got better at running,
it almost felt like the pressure
became more and more and more.
Running became my entire identity.
And so, if one thing went wrong in a race,
I would completely crumble.
Just severe anxiety around it of,
if I don't win this, then
you know, who am I,
or who's going to like me,
or who's gonna love me?
I became afraid to race
because I was afraid to feel the failure
that might come with it.
My junior year of college,
I started taking photo classes
and tapping into my photography
and becoming an artist.
I loved being able to
break a bit of a barrier down with people
just by having a camera.
[sips]
Moved out here like the summer of 2017,
and that was like the first summer
I kinda like took a step back
from running and
discovered myself as Aisha
and just like, formed a new community
outside of
what I had kind of identified
like my entirety as.
Um
I remember I was like living here
when I booked my first like pho--
real photo project or photo shoot.
[sniffles] And I have--
There's, like, a picture of me like,
with, like, my photo backpack,
like standing like right over there and
And I remember I made a promise to myself
that I would find joy
in racing again someday,
but until I found balance with it,
I would need to take a step back.
[cat meows]
["Some Sunsick Day"
by Morgan Delt playing]
After the blast levels our town
We can relax and watch it come down
We'll finally
Find what we need
Oh my gosh.
[floorboards creak]
[whispers] That's pretty incredible.
Basically, this is, uh, life, nature,
and that's-that's the title
of the three paintings.
-[Aisha] Yeah.
-And it just, um,
reflects on the circularity
of nature or life.
-Yeah.
-Everything.
And what is so incredible
is also the light.
-Yeah.
-So beautiful, right?
It's amazing.
[gentle music playing]
[Aisha] Eszter was raising two daughters
and pursuing a PhD in art history
while training
for Western States and UTMB.
I started trail running one year
before I got pregnant with Emma.
I was quite, like, fearful,
like, how it is going to be.
But the running throughout pregnancy
was just something
that helped me to become more,
um, like, courageous
to make your own decisions.
Because a lot of women,
they are training in secret
because you will be judged.
I just kept running
because I had to continue
the things that I loved doing.
Thank you.
[Eszter] Running is, for me, like freedom.
Obviously, having two daughters,
it's important for me
that they see it as an example
that when they grow up
they never stop dreaming.
Because I'm constantly negotiating
between being a mother and being a runner,
every day, you need to train
and every day, you need to show
that you are a good mother.
I am learning a lot from my daughters.
Like, as a person,
but also as a runner, like,
you know, for example,
they have a difficult moment and they cry
and you know that they will get over.
-Yeah.
-And when I am in a low point in a race,
I will be over it, but I-I'm not really--
I don't have the clarity
to, you know, to say that.
-Yeah.
-So, I'm learning a lot from them.
["Swim" by Dizzy playing]Sink to the bottom
Only to wind up belly-up
On your bedroom floor
[indistinct chatter]
Innocuous form
[water splashes]
I'm underwater
Half of the day, but still
[Aisha] As my photo career
started developing,
I actually started getting
the gratification
and feeling the fulfillment that I felt
competing myself
observing and documenting
other individuals
and investing in their journey.
The reason that I run
is gonna be different
than the reason why Eszter runs
or the reason why Jim runs.
When I'm photographing,
I understand that you're complex
and I know
that there's, like, a deeper level.
[dramatic music playing]
[Jim] The biggest race in the world
is held in Chamonix, France.
[reporter 1] Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc
[reporter 2] UTMB, a grueling
100-plus-mile trek around the French Alps.
[reporter 1] With over 32,000 feet
of elevation gain.
[reporter 3] It's considered
the Super Bowl of trail running.
My first UTMB was 2017.
I was racing Franois D'Haene
and Kilian Jornet
who had been doing it at that point
for over ten years,
with my own ignorance of,
"Well, I'm coming to win, of course."
[cheering]
I hadn't ever ran through the night.
It would be the furthest timed distance
I was going for.
I ended up finishing fifth.
A lot of people told me that, like,
"Oh, now you've really experienced
an ultra.
You've died and you've come back."
[Jess] UTMB 2022 was a really hard race.
I'm not sure I'm gonna be able
to hold them all.
It's okay. Just do your best.
You're doing great, okay? You've done it.
Jim walked it in to the finish line,
losing that podium spot.
In August of 2023, he did win UTMB.
[cheering]
[male commentator 1] Jim Walmsley
on his way to winning UTMB
in his fifth attempt.
-[male commentator 2] Unreal.
-[male commentator 3] What a legend.
[Jess] This idea of the double,
he has attempted to do it three times.
Western States draws a lot
out of a runner.
So this is a really hard puzzle piece
to solve.
Alright, then. So, have a seat up.
Let's, uh, let's have a feel and see
what's going on here, then.
[Jim] I think I walked out
of Western States
a little more banged up than other years.
I had some pains.
One was Achilles.
Second one was a tear in the quadricep.
And then the third one
was a dull achiness in my knee.
Most people take a reset of six weeks
with tendinopathy.
I'm gonna be quite careful around here,
so just let me know if you start to feel
any pinching right on there.
I think the frustrating part is
not being able to get it to calm down
for a few of the weeks.
It's a reminder of the frustrations
to try to do the two that I've had,
but, uh, I think I still have a shot.
If you're gonna do
something stupid and ambitious,
like, UTMB's the spot to do it,
so that's why we're gonna line up
and try to make something happen.
-Alright. Have a good one, buddy. Cheers.
-Thank you.
[gentle dramatic music plays]
And then just bring your eyes towards me.
That's it.
Beautiful.
[knocking on door]
-Hi.
-Hey.
-Good to see you.
-It's good to see you too.
-How are you?
-Good.
I'm gonna grab my camera stuff.
[camera shutter clicks]
I remember, at Western States,
being at the finish line,
and your mom was standing there.
Yeah.
How has she supported you
through your trail career?
[Rod] My whole life, they were just
supportive of anything I did.
-Yeah.
-They grew up very traditionally
and, um, having a 9-to-5 job
is-is, you know, success,
in, like, their eyes
and in their culture, so
Where did they move from?
[Rod] Uh, Iran.
-Iran? Okay.
-[Rod] Yeah. Both of them.
Um, when they were 17 and 18.
-Wow. Okay.
-[Rod] Yeah.
Both of them moved here
in order to get better education
and live a more free lifestyle,
so I think sport for them is-- it's hard
for them to view it professionally.
There's a lot of tenacity
that's involved in this sport.
-[Rod] Mm-hmm.
-Um, where do you credit that to?
[Rod] I would say them,
and knowing their stories.
There might be an element
of, like, I wanna prove
that I am as tough as they were.
I think it used to be more,
like, I would run really well
because a lot of shitty things
were happening in life.
You grow up in a small town,
you do drugs or you do sports.
My brother got into drugs really young.
He actually passed away a few years ago.
-Um, six years on this day, today.
-I'm sorry.
Uh, it's okay.
Um, he was just so just the best.
-[Aisha] Yeah.
-And, uh
I left for the airport
to go do, um, Transalpine.
And a few hours later,
I got a call from the police
that he had passed away at my house.
So when I ran well at CCC,
I think that emotion,
like, really helped me actually run well.
And then I think I've had
a little bit of an issue
coming back from kids
because I don't really have
those life issues.
-Yeah.
-You know, so I've kind of had
to rethink through,
"Why am I voluntarily doing this?"
Whereas, before, I really enjoyed that.
Because it was like, I wanna see
how far I can push through this pain.
And so, I think
it's actually helped me realize
that I just really love it for what it is.
And I love, like,
being here around all the people
and seeing my friends,
and it's kind of like
how I socialize as an adult.
[dramatic piano music plays]
[Aisha] For so many people, running
is definitely a way to process trauma.
It's almost as if
by pushing ourselves beyond
our body's perceived limits
and experiencing that physical pain,
we can make sense
of a lot of the emotional pain
we're going through.
Spending so much time with ultra runners,
eventually I started to wonder,
"Could I ever run an ultra?"
Is there maybe a way that I could get over
some of those fears
and find the same balance?
That's a pretty impressive garden.
-Yeah.
-And the gladiolus.
So, can you get a little pot out
to put this in?
Maybe the-the middle one?
I think I've been appointed as sous chef.
Actually, I'm gonna demote you
to dishwasher.
It's the same thing in this house.
I got a fresh rain jacket
and two long sleeves here.
-Nice.
-So those gotta go.
[Aisha] How do you guys
find the balance with, like,
both having races kind of back to back?
Um, it's not so balanced.
Hopefully, I get to go into the hole a bit
and have to recover
and it will be my chance to crew.
But, yeah, it's--
I mean, for sure, it's lopsided
and I don't help as much.
[Jess] No.
Okay, 4.3 miles, 1,200 feet.
Okay, you got this?
-Yeah. We're gonna do it.
-We'll be fine.
It'll be fun.
[gentle dramatic music plays]
[Aisha] I've started to realize
just how complex
and kind of beautiful it is
just to get to the starting line.
And that made me believe
maybe there is a way
that this could work for me.
Witnessing these athletes' stories,
it's really inspired me to start training
for my own ultra.
I would sit down with your coach
and ask your coach,
like, how he plans to
just your overall training volume.
Because you just have to focus
more time on feet
because it's probably gonna be, like,
maybe an eight to ten-hour effort?
[Aisha] Yeah.
So, he needs to think of it
in terms of like
preparing your body to be strong enough
to handle that many hours on your feet.
Just train like a marathon.
-[Jess laughs] Yeah.
-Yeah, I'll keep it simple.
[Jim] It's not complicated.
[Jess] I would say yeah,
train like a marathon,
but make your longer runs a little longer
than normal, like a few.
-[Jim] And do 'em on trail.
-[Jess] Yeah, do 'em on trail.
[dramatic music playing]
[Aisha] Going into UTMB,
Jim's injury was a huge question mark.
[man] What's your plan?
Uh, I'm gonna go meet
with Eszter and her family
and then go to the start.
Eszter dropped out at UTMB last year.
So this year, the stakes were really high
that she was holding for herself
to complete the race.
Alright. [mumbles]
I couldn't
I, literally, was like,
going on and on last night
about, like, which shoes I was gonna take.
-You have a change of shoes?
-Yeah.
Because I have
I think the Alpha tech with smaller lugs
as a change.
And then these ones, I think,
are full PEBA even though
-Let me see.
-Christophe was telling me
Yeah.
Those are what I started in last year.
[yawns]
[Jess] Okay, so, Kamilah,
you'll follow us right now
and then you'll hop in with me
when we drop the boys off.
-Yes.
-Where are we sitting?
I think Vincent and I sit in the back.
I think you are right.
Vincent and I are gonna TT this.
-We go?
-Yes.
Nice.
-Ready?
-[speaks French]
[indistinct chatter]
Allez! Allez! Allez!
-Love you.
-Love you.
Ready?
Thanks. Bye!
[Jess] See you soon!
-Allez les la!
-Allez! Allez! Allez!
[dramatic music plays]
[Jim] Vincent we first met at UTMB 2017.
He's shared my UTMB experience
from a crew side of things.
He has a background in cross country
and we've done bike trips and vacations.
When do we want to go?
Because I feel like we're early
and this is a good sitting wall.
-Okay.
-'Cause it's just there.
-Like a hundred meters.
-Okay.
Jim. Hey, it's you. How are you?
How are you? Good luck.
Thanks, you too.
Do you mind we take picture together?
-Sure.
-Just one quick one.
Very quick one. Very quick one.
Thank you so much.
-We are so lucky.
-Yeah.
Wish you luck at the race.
-Have a great time.
-You too.
-All the best. Yeah.
-Yeah.
Okay. I think we can go over.
Let's get it over with.
[Jim] It was the first time Vincent and I
got to go to a start line together.
I was coming back as the returning winner
and Vincent coming in as his first UTMB.
It was really special to start
on that starting line with Vincent.
-How are you?
-I'm good.
-Are you ready?
-No, I'm terrified.
I mean, I'm ready but I'm scared
and I'm terrified.
I'm trying not to vomit.
-Have fun.
-Thanks. You too.
See you.
[camera shutter clicks]
[male commentator] So both Katie and Jim
are going for
the Western States-UTMB double this year.
[crowd cheering]
[announcer speaks indistinctly]
-[bells ringing]
-[crowd cheering]
[bright dramatic music playing]
-Allez! Allez!
-[indistinct chatter, laughter]
Now we're gonna go try and get out
of Chamonix as quickly as possible.
We just need to get out of the city.
It's gonna be crazy.
He literally worked yesterday.
-Oh God.
-But it also kind of distracted him.
I had to keep telling him, like,
"Get off your feet."
Yeah, yeah.
-I hope they run together
-[Kamilah] I hope so too.
through the night. I think that would be
really good for both of them.
[Kamilah] But I think he wants to
make sure he doesn't go out too hard.
[male commentator]This is also Jim Walmsley's third attempt
at doing the Western States-UTMB
win double.
[female commentator] Jim
was very intentional about not running
Western States last year
and figuring out how to run UTMB.
-[male commentator] Oh yes.
-So now, can you put those two together?
[male commentator] Eszter Csillag, top 10.
There is a massive group up there.
So is Katie.
They all came in at 6:02.
Wow.
-Hi, nice to see you.
-Nice to see you.
[indistinct chatter]
It says he's overall fifth.
I think they must have gone out
a bit slower than he expected.
I think so, yeah.
[male announcer] You will be able to enter
only ten minutes before
the estimated time of the runners.
[announcer speaking French]
[woman speaking indistinctly]
[Jess] Okay, okay. Thank you.
-Okay. They arrive this way?
-[woman] Yeah.
[dramatic music plays]
[male commentator]So that's race leader number 1
into the aid station.
[applause]
Second in, Jim Walmsley.
[Jess] Pack. Pack, pack, pack.
How you doing?
[Jess] Alright. Well, the good news
is you got more climbing to go.
[male commentator] So this is a really,
really critical aid station.
[camera shutter clicks]
I'll have the caffeine
in Courmayeur for you.
Okay, burner bottle.
Uh, two bottles are in the pockets.
Two gels are here.
That's all you gave me, okay?
Okay, you got your
Where's your battery?
It's in my pocket.
-You good? Water? Red Bull? Good?
-It's good.
You got this. Smooth is fast,
fast is smooth.
I love you. You're doing great.
[male commentator]This is the gateway to the night.
Vincent Bouillard, top five.
[cheering]
[male commentator] Minutes away
from the crazy noise
of the Notre-Dame de la Gorge.
-[thunderous cheering]
-[bells clanging]
[dramatic music plays]
-[bells clanging]
-[thunderous cheering]
[cacophony intensifies]
[air horns blowing rhythmically]
[motor buzzing]
[cacophony ceases]
[male commentator] Eszter Csillag,
sixth place into La Balme.
Based on the fact
there's no other light around him,
Jim is running solo right now.
[dramatic music fades]
[indistinct chatter]
[male commentator] This is about halfway
through the course.
[female commentator] We're in Courmayeur.
It's about 50K
since they've last seen their crew.
So this is a really pivotal moment
for a lot of the racers.
Okay, the live trail
has Jim predicted to come
into Courmayeur at 2:49.
[Jess] I think they're all
gonna come in together.
-[Kamilah] I think so too.
-Actually.
-Kinda regroup and
-Regroup.
[tense music plays]
[male commentator] I think we have visual.
Wow, that was stealth.
That was actually a very quick pass.
Luckily, Antoine is on the--
is on the bike
so he's gonna be able to catch up,
hopefully.
-[female commentator] Will it be Jim?
-[male commentator] Yeah.
-[female commentator] It's not Jim.
-[male commentator] No.
Okay, so we're being told this is not Jim.
We're being told
this could be Vincent Bouillard.
-This is quite an incredible performance.
-Yeah, this is unexpected at this point.
It leaves a rather big question mark
on where Jim is.
[female commentator] Now, we can hear
the crowds outside
which means we should have
Vincent coming in.
And here he is.
[indistinct conversation]
-Top?
-No, no.
-In the kangaroo pocket, yep.
-In the Yep.
What did CCC do?
-Uh, 21.
-Yes.
[indistinct conversation]
Perrier. Rice chips.
You wanna take some chips with you?
-No, it's okay.
-No?
Pickles?
[indistinct]
Uh, do you wanna change your headlamp?
[Vincent] Huh? Yup. How long between?
Honestly, the next track
is about ten minutes,
but there's a couple stragglers
in the middle.
-Thank you.
-Love you.
-Have fun.
-Yeah.
Allez! Allez! Allez! Allez!
[male commentator] There he is,
coming in first and leaving in first.
[crowd cheering]
Allez! Allez! Allez!
[Aisha] Athletes just start trickling.
Time keeps passing. We're waiting.
[tense music plays]
[Jim] My knee was hurting
and my posture
was only getting weaker and worse,
and things started unraveling.
As I was descending into Courmayeur,
I remember, Vincent,
he was the first one to catch me.
And essentially, him going,
"Ah, so Arthur is still ahead?"
And I said, "Arthur is not ahead.
Like, this is the front.
Like, you're in the lead now."
[man] Allez, Jim! Allez, Jim!
Hey! Allez! Allez, Jim!
[bell clanging]
[camera shutter clicks]
[music fades]
[Jess] I asked him,
"Do you see this getting better
in the race,
and how has it progressed
from the start until now?"
and he said it's gotten worse.
And I said, "I'm not sure
it's gonna get better. What do you think?"
And he said,
"No, I think it will get worse."
The hardest thing for me to deal with
is when you put so much effort into a goal
and then you watch it
kind of crumble in a race.
[dramatic music plays]
Drops are really hard for Jim.
He wouldn't verbalize it to me out loud
because there were cameras around
and people are watching and stuff,
and he acted
like he wanted to go see the aid.
So we went over to the first aid
and that's where he told the officials
that he was gonna drop out.
[scattered applause, cheering]
[man] Good job, Jim.
[male commentator] It is official,
Jim Walmsley has officially withdrawn.
[Aisha] It was pretty heartbreaking to see
Jim's dream of winning the double,
we all just watched it slip away
into the night.
[music fades]
[Jim] From that moment,
when Vincent took the lead,
he ran faster than anyone had ever ran
from the moment I saw him
through the night,
through the highest point,
through the cold,
to the checkpoint at 125K at Champex-Lac.
I've never ran that fast.
Kilian has never ran that fast.
Franois has never ran that fast.
He ran faster than everybody
at that point,
and he ended up putting
such a big gap on everyone.
Vincent was on his way to winning UTMB.
[crowd cheering]
I had to rally.
Like, "We gotta get back out there
and we have to see him
somewhere on the course.
Like, this is insane."
I've never done this,
of, uh, seeing the end of the race and
-First time for everything.
-have a friend like this.
So much of this race, like, I think,
it was important for me not to talk about
Vincent being one of my best friends
and to give him the spotlight
and this moment
because it's a pretty special moment
that he needed to enjoy
for his own story and himself.
-[air horn blowing]
-[bells clanging]
Allez, Vincent!
Allez! Allez! Allez!
Yes!
[crowd cheering]
[male announcer]
He's on the downhill pass.
Nobody's close to him!
Vincent Bouillard, bring it home.
[male commentator] Vincent Bouillard,
ready to make history. Wow.
Wow. Now that was insane.
Never would have picked that one.
Oh, yeah.
Goose bumps time here at the finish line.
[female commentator] Holy cow,
right into his wife's arms.
That was beautiful.
[male commentator] What a race.
This is incredible.
[Vincent] It was my wildest dream
to think that I could win.
Just incredible day. Incredible day.
[crowd cheering]
Come on, Eszter!
You're doing great, Eszter!
You're so strong!
-You're doing it, though.
-It's okay. It's okay.
[man] Come on, Eszter.
[Aisha] You're still moving.
You're so strong.
[dramatic music plays]
[Aisha] With Eszter,
she was in a tough place.
She had been throwing up.
Wasn't able to take a bunch down.
She wasn't sure if she was gonna finish.
[camera shutter clicks]
But she was able to work through it.
-[announcer speaking indistinctly]
-[scattered applause, cheering]
[bell clanging]
You got this, Eszter!
[cheering]
Nice and strong!
[female commentator]Two-time UTMB champion Katie Schide
put it all on the line
from the start today.
[male commentator] Fastest female
that has ever run this course.
-[female commentator] Oh. Fastest female.
-[male commentator] I know.
Yeah, changes a little bit but
no female has ever won it faster.
[female commentator]Fastest time on the UTMB, yup.
[dramatic music playing]
[crowd cheering]
[announcer speaking indistinctly]
[sobs]
So proud of you.
[Aisha] I get to see
the intense pain and suffering
these athletes experience,
and, at some points, I see them fail
to reach those lofty goals.
But then they get up and they try again.
And I can't tell you how much reverence
I have for that,
and how much it's taught me winning a race
is far from the point of running one.
-I arrived.
-I am so proud of you.
[birds chirping]
[Aisha] So, how many of your training runs
were done here?
When you were training for UTMB.
[Vincent] Ninety-nine percent.
-That's where you grew up?
-Yeah.
-So
-How far is that from here?
Twenty kilometers.
It's a special mountain for us now.
'Cause the first time I came
to Annecy to visit you,
this was the first place we drove.
[Vincent] Mm-hmm.
-You proposed right around here, right?
-Yeah.
I thought it would be meaningful to ask
the big question up here on the mountain.
It's really beautiful.
Cute.
[Aisha] Jim being a close friend of yours,
being able to be
on the starting line with him,
how did that feel?
[Vincent] I've had
a special relationship with Jim,
because I've seen him in his UTMB project,
and following along all the way
to his victory last year,
which is one of
the most incredible memories
that I'll keep around UTMB.
Like, it was-- and I say that
even compared to my race this year.
Like, it was so incredible to live this.
-This moment was very special for sure.
-[Aisha] Yeah.
What was your relationship
with competition?
[Vincent] My relationship with competition
was never that great
because, I think, any time I'm stepping
on the track for a race,
I was so nervous.
It was always a very stressful
and non-enjoyable moment.
-Like it sounds silly to say, but
-No, I--
I guess, literally, like, all the
memories I have from racing on the track,
I feel like I was not in control.
From the start, I was like
I don't know what's happening.
Like, 800 is super short, the 15, same.
Like, and I felt like I was not in control
of my body
and I was just suffering
through the entire thing.
I came to a point where I was like,
I need a break from that.
I need to change something.
Like, I think what's reassuring for me
in the longer distance
is that you have time.
You have time to fail
and get back up to life again,
and fail again and, like, come back to it.
Like, it's just a repetitive cycle.
Throughout, that's also helped me
have a healthier approach
through competition in ultra.
-Yeah.
-Because I have more of this perspective.
[indistinct chatter]
[whistle blows]
Oh my God,
I forgot about doing workouts here.
This is a beautiful place
to do workouts, though.
Alright, guys. 355, 6, 357, 358.
Nice job, ladies.
-WB.
-Wow.
[Aisha] As I've been working
with these athletes,
I've been trying to explore,
like, why they run.
[Karen] Why the ultras? I'm curious.
I haven't felt this way with running
since I was like 13.
Like, this, like,
you're trying a new thing
you don't really know.
-There's this, like
-There's no expectations.
There's no expectations.
I said I just wanna have fun.
-It makes a lot of sense to me.
-Yeah.
The more people I meet,
there does seem to be some common thread.
Especially,
with some of these, like, higher,
like, you know, some of these
elite athletes, they're
who can put themselves through so much,
especially when it comes to ultra running
and whether it's someone
coming from, you know, a broken family
and there's addiction.
And, I mean, to me, that, like, really
resonated with me of like
just with, like, my dynamic
with my mom and then
I didn't realize how much it was
protecting me at the time.
Mm-hmm. You were dealing
with a lot of stuff
and I'm very glad
that your addiction was running.
Think about what you went through
and the skill set you had at the time
and you still kicked it out of the park.
That's what you should be so proud of.
You still kicked it out of the park.
You killed it.
You know, you have a special gift.
You're a survivor.
[Aisha] Yeah.
And I'm so proud of you for that. [laughs]
Thanks, Coach.
[Karen] Oh, you are my blessing.
[indistinct chatter]
[gentle dramatic music plays]
I feel like every year, like,
her anniversary of her passing happens,
like, you know, I try and do something.
I don't know.
I guess she used to come here
when, you know, she was in her twenties.
I'm just trying to think of her
when she was, like, my age.
I used to have so much resentment
towards her.
[sniffles]
But you look at like
everything that was happening and then
getting into running, being confident
for the first time in my life,
being told that I was a good kid,
and actually, like,
starting to believe it,
that led to my relationship
with Coach Wilson.
And then that led
to be, you know, running in college
and basically having that
pay for school and
and the tie of like, photography
and, now, photographing runners
and sharing their stories and
It all just like
built up, built up, built up.
And
now I'm standing here.
[music fades]
[ship's horn blows]
[birds squawking]
The fear of failure is what holds
so many of us back
from attempting to do things
we've never tried.
And I think the beautiful thing
about ultra running
is that failure is part of the process.
And the emotional release
is because you get back up
when you feel like it's impossible.
And I-I wanna feel that again
and try for something that pushes
my own understanding of what I can do.
[dramatic music plays]
Now I have a goal.
I've decided I'm gonna run Javelina 100K.
It's an ultramarathon
in Fountain Hills, Arizona.
That'll be my race,
it'll be my first ultra.
I am so tired right now.
Crossed the old footbridge that
I used to cross when I was like 14.
I am supposed to be doing
my long run right now,
but I'm hanging on a bit of a wall.
Six weeks out from the race.
Twenty-five in the books today.
Twenty-two days,
23 days out from Javelina.
It's been like six days
since I've run last.
Two weeks before the race.
Last, basically, long run stint
before the race.
Just trying to stay relaxed.
This run has been, like,
a lot harder than I anticipated.
One week out from the race
and I am currently soaking my feet
because that long run I did last week,
uh, completely messed up my toes
and I have to go get my toenail removed.
Fuck!
I'm just excited for it to scab over.
-Good morning.
-[Jim] Morning.
-It's quite cold here.
-It's a high desert.
-Dry cold.
-Yeah.
[Jim] Did you do some training runs?
Um, I just got in.
I had to get my toenail removed
a couple days ago.
-So, like, I
-[Jim] Jess said something.
Yeah. I was like, kind of
I called her panicking the other day.
-[Jim] Yeah.
-Um, but, so I just ran for the first--
I, like, got it removed on Friday,
and then tested it out yesterday
for the first time, so.
-Wait, which one?
-This one.
I mean, these ones are all
from Western States.
Did you lose--
This one was already gone, right?
Both of them went about a month
or six weeks
after Western States, they fall out.
I love not having toenails for races.
-Really? Okay.
-It's way better.
'Cause now you can just slam the front,
good to go.
[Jess] Hello.
Good morning.
[Jess] How are you?
-I'm doing alright. [laughs]
-Oh, yay.
I don't really have a goal timer.
-I just wanna finish.
-That's alright.
I've never done a--
[Jess] A goal is to take care of yourself
and
[Aisha] My college teammate's
gonna be there.
She's gonna help pace me at the end.
And then my friend, Jarred,
who's like one of my closest friends,
he's gonna be there.
So, they're gonna help out.
And then my Dad will be there,
but I'm gonna think of him more
as like a paperweight kind of deal.
[Jess] Yeah, I know.
Okay.
But, yeah, you fill 'em and then you do
the little loop-de-loop thing.
See if it fits you.
This one's a size four.
-I feel like it might fit.
-I think it will be--
If it's that tight with pants on
right now,
with your shorts on
-It'll be good.
-it should be good, yeah.
-Oh, thank you.
-Yes, no problem.
[gentle dramatic music plays]
I think this was maybe when I was 25,
where I was like, I'm going to only run
if it's serving me.
Mm-hmm.
Well, I think it's like realizing too,
and I feel like you do a good job at this,
that you have other things in your life.
But, like, when you realize, it's not like
your whole identity anymore,
it's just like one piece of like something
that you like to do.
Yeah, one piece of the puzzle.
Alright. It's happening.
There you go.
Is this your first time doing Javelina?
-Yeah, it's my first ultra.
-Oh, awesome.
Amanda!
Hi.
Any time it's this hot
-Yeah.
-there's always carnage.
-Yeah, which--
-Just extreme blowups.
-So if I don't blow up, though, then--
-Exactly.
If you won't blow up,
you'll probably finish
better than you're thinking right now.
-Good luck. Have fun. See you tomorrow.
-Thank you.
Oh my God. Here it is, 1251.
It's real.
[dramatic music plays]
[sighs] Oh boy.
-Thanks for coming.
-Hello.
-I forgot to tell you that.
-How are you?
How was the flight?
Oh, the flight was good.
-Hey. How are you?
-Good to see you again, Mark.
-How's it going?
-Good. How you doing?
Okay, it's 5:26. Ten minutes.
Okay, we gotta go.
There is this, you know, sense you're
putting yourself out there and what if
what if it doesn't go,
you know, as planned
-See you in a bit. Love you.
-Love you.
and all of these people came
to support you?
It's an incredibly vulnerable thing.
What one are you gonna put in your behind?
I don't know what to do. [laughs]
-There's too much shit.
-There's a lot of shit.
-Good luck. You got this. Love you too.
-Love you. Thank you so much.
-We'll see you soon.
-Yeah.
-Bye. Love you, guys.
-[indistinct] Love you.
[Aisha] But then there's this realization
that, you know, they're gonna love you
no matter what.
[male announcer] Go!
Javelina on the road!
["Jaime's Song" by Sylvan Esso playing]
It's not me you're talking to
Gently dancing in my room
Through the light beam arc
I'm all stops and starts
I'm all space and stars
I'm a brilliant machine
[crowd cheering]
Composed of softer things
[cheering]
Compression ache
Here, you wanna come in the shade?
-Scale bends and sways
-Yeah.
-Another nova on the way
-Here, this one too?
Yeah.
Though the constant is constant
I'm breaking up
-Woo, let's go!-The choices I make
Will all fade to dust
While the matter is shifting
I'm waking up
I remember, I remember
what I thought I was
[song continues]
[Aisha whimpers softly]
Oh my God!
[man] Come on, Aisha.
[crowd cheering]
Come on, Aisha. Come on.
-[cheering]
-[bells clanging]
[woman] Keep going! Keep going!
[dramatic, uplifting music plays]
[camera shutter clicks]
I'm so proud of you.
I am so proud of you.
You crushed it.
You did it!
-You alright?
-Yeah.
Thank you for coming.
I know it was [indistinct] day.
-Hi.
-Hi!
-I'm so proud of you.
-Thank you.
Oh, my ribs hurt so bad.
[sighs]
What'd I get? Sixteenth?
-Thirteenth.
-Thirteen?
-That's my lucky number!
-Yeah.
-What was Women?
-Sixth.
Whoa!
[Aisha] After taking a step back
from competing for so long,
being able to come back to running
in this new form,
it just brings me kind of back
to that place when I was a kid
and when I found running
for the first time.
To then do it well
and have fun doing it,
and do it entirely for myself,
I was really proud of it.
I was amazed what I was capable of doing.
[gentle, poignant music playing]
There's so much that you can take away
from the lived experiences
of these ultra runners.
Like, we're all going
to be challenged in life
and face things that are completely
out of our control,
and we're going to fail at some point.
But then we have to decide,
do we wanna get back up or not?
For these runners, the sport became
a way for them to deal with all of that.
Whether it's facing a fear
or challenging themselves
or just finding a sense of freedom
and belonging,
it gave them something real.
But what keeps them coming back
over and over again
is the fact that they get to share
the highs and the lows
with the people they care about most.
["Miles From Nowhere"
by Yusuf/Cat Stevens playing]
Miles from nowhere
Guess I'll take my time
Oh, yeah
To reach there
Look up at the mountain
Mm, I have to climb
Oh, yeah
To reach there
Lord, my body
Has been a good friend
But I won't need it
When I reach the end
Miles from nowhere
Guess I'll take my time
Oh, yeah
To reach there
I creep through the valleys
And I grope through the woods
'Cause I know when I find it, my honey
It's gonna make me feel good
I love everything
[crowd cheering]
So don't it make you feel sad
'Cause I'll drink to you, my baby
I'll think to that
Yes, I'll think to that
Oh, oh, whoa
Mm
Miles from nowhere
Not a soul in sight
[yelling]
Oh, yeah
But it's alright
I have my freedom
I can make my own rules
Oh, yeah
The ones that I choose
Lord, my body
Has been a good friend
But I won't need it
When I reach the end
Oh
I love everything
So don't it make you feel sad
'Cause I'll drink to you, my baby
I'll think to that
Yes, I'll think to that
Oh, I'll think to that
Miles from nowhere
Guess I'll take my time
Oh, yeah
To reach there
Mm
[song fades]
[bright, upbeat music plays]
[music fades]