Film premiere: Runners

The run lasts uninterruptedly for 48 hours, during which the participants cover 240 kilometres. For two days the runners are deprived of sleep or rest, not even stopping to eat. After a few hours, toe nails start peeling, later, nipples start bleeding, people are dehydrated and faint. After 24 hours they start hallucinating. Those who make it to the finishing line feel great euphoria. It doesn’t last too long, though. They soon start thinking about a next run. Extreme runs are races covering a distance of over 100 kilometres or events that take place during 24 hours or more. Such races are organized worldwide, in Poland as well. Men and women take part hand in hand. Races can be categorized into road and off-road, the latter being organized in the most demanding of terrains. To finish a run means to meet the time limit when crossing the finishing line. Usually, several dozen people take part in a race. About a half of them give up due to a crisis or exhaustion.

Why do people take part in runs during which they cover over 300 kilometres in 48 hours, for which they pay with superhuman effort, serious injuries and after-run exhaustion lasting for many days after the run? Doctors straightforwardly call such feats madness. Ultrarunning is a way to let off steam built up from various everyday frustrations: extremely stressful job, personal life, traumatic event from the past. At the same time, there is an element common for all the runners: longing for living the life in full, lack of contact with reality and with oneself. As they claim, they only really feel alive during a marathon.