Movie Night with Marshall Ulrich

We got to attend a screening of this last night in Modesto at the State Theater. It was put on as a benefit for the Modesto Marathon and Teens Run Modesto with a silent auction, raffle, food, and wine. Free wine.

We didn't bid on anything in the silent auction, but I did...for the first time EVER in my life, win a raffle prize. And a damn good one.

Ta da! I win!

The film follows Marshall Ulrich  and Charlie Engle in 2008 on their attempt to run from San Francisco to New York City faster than anyone else ever had. The record of 46 days, 8 hours, 36 minutes had held over 20 years, set by Frank Giannino in 1980. To do this, they would need to average 70 miles per day for 46 days.

Not only is this a documentary of their journey, it's a snapshot of the state of the country in September of 2008, the month before the election. When the economy was crumbling. When people were losing their homes and jobs. There are candid interviews with people along the way addressing the overwhelmingly negative feelings and pessimism many Americans felt toward the government.

The sentiment was mirrored by hardships faced by the two men; There were long shots of running on a seemingly endless rural road or trudging alone up a mountain. Running through rain, illness, pain, serious injury, snow(Marshall shared with us that he was actually shot at by a farmer in Ohio)...you get an inside look at what it's like to face the body's physical limitations along with the lowest of mental states. Loneliness seems to echo throughout the first two thirds of the film.

And then comes the hope. There's the beauty and peacefulness of the landscape. The patriotism. The school kids who are waiting on the side of the road, the loyalty of the support crew covering all those miles too.

It's a great story.

I'll admit, at the end, when I realized Marshall Ulrich was sitting a few rows up, about to be introduced, I got a little star struck. He's not a celebrity, he's a hero.

He's a hero because he has a lifetime of accomplishment. He's been out there doing things. He has hundreds of stories of racing and travelling and experiencing the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. He can say things like, "the first two thousand miles were physical".

(the first what thousand WHAT!)


The guy pulled a rickshaw 135 miles across Death Valley for pete's sake.

And during the Q&A when he said "whatever you set your mind to, you can accomplish", I believed him.

Accomplishment can come in many forms whether it has to do with your health, fitness, personal life, work life, whatever.....big or small. Whether you run across the country or run your first mile, it's the exact same feeling...


I didn't know if I could, but I DID IT.