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Overlooked & Underrated Docs & Features
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Desert Runners: The Title Says It All
The beginning of Jennifer Steinman’s documentary, “Desert Runners”, includes the following text:
“The 4 Deserts ultramarathon series is considered one of the most difficult endurance challenges in the world.
Each race covers 250 km. Six marathons. In five days.
Through the four most grueling deserts on earth.
Atacama Desert, Chile.
Gobi Desert, China.
Sahara Desert, Egypt
Antarctica
You must carry everything you need to survive. In a pack on your back.
Last year, ‘ultramarathon man’ Dean Karnazes became the first person in the world to complete all four deserts in the same year—The Four Deserts Grand Slam.
This year, a new crop of competitors will attempt The Grand Slam. But they are not professionals.”
The film follows four of these competitors through all four ultramarathons: Ricky is a former professional baseball player from the United States. Samantha is a law student from Australia. Dave is an ageing businessman from Ireland, and Tremaine is a trained-to-kill bodyguard from England.
Steinman interviews our heroes before, during, and after the 4 Desert competition, and follows them running, struggling, finding whatever destiny awaits their self-chosen challenge. As much as humanly possible, utilizing the filmmaker’s tools, Steinman makes us present with these people. We root for them, of course, and we struggle with them.
And though the experience is a bit incongruous—finding pleasure in the context of struggle and pain—we are treated to a great travelogue of deserts. And speaking of pleasure, my ears have always been tuned to the music of movies, and I found Eric Holland’s original music delightful, he drew me closer to the worlds and characters of Steinman’s film.
“Desert Runners” premiered at the Edinburgh film festival on June 22, 2013, winning “Best of the Fest”.