Highlights from the 2019 Ledlenser Trails in Motion Film Tour

Tayte Pollmann’s articles are supported by American Trail Running Association corporate member Nike Trail Running. You can follow Tayte’s adventures on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Last week I attended the Denver, Colorado showing of the 7th annual Ledlenser Trails in Motion Film Tour. According to the Trail in Motion, “The Ledlenser Trails In Motion Film Tour is an annual international film and content showcase for the community, by the community, bringing a collection of the finest trail and ultra running films to passionate audiences around the world.”

I encourage anyone interested in ultra and trail running to locate a screening near you and if there is not one currently in your area, contact a local running event or specialty running store to partner with the film tour to bring it to your area. Listed below are my top reasons to attend a showing of the Ledlenser Trails in Motion Film Tour.

See Trail Running From Diverse Perspectives:
The film selection at the festival promotes many different perspectives on trail and ultra-running. Each show consists of approximately 2 hours of short films, plus an intermission. The central themes for the five 2019 films include, “endurance, personal discovery, adventure, community…conservation.”

This year’s films offer perspectives from elite and non-elite runners, women and men, representing different cultures. “On the Corner,” is a Japanese film that tells the story of Japanese ultra-runner and teacher who uses his racing to inspire his students. “Running on Empty,” details elite runner Rory Bosio’s journey across the rugged GR20 trail in Corsica, France. “How to Run 100 Miles,” tells story of Jayson Sime, who overcame poverty, homelessness, dyslexia, and bullying to complete a 100 mile race. “La Barkley – Sans Pitié,” is a French film following the exciting finish of the 2017 Barkley Marathons, recognized by many as the world’s most grueling trail race. “A Few Steps Further,” is the story about backcountry hunter and ultra-runner, Kevin Davis, who explores the crossover between these two passions. Learn more about this year’s films here.

Kyle Robidoux speaking at Ledlenser Trails in Motion in Denver.

Meet Trail Runners in Your Community:
Before the showing, runners are encouraged to enjoy drinks from the theater’s bar and socialize. The intermission is also a great time to chat with like-minded runners. Additionally, you may get the chance to meet renowned runners. For the Denver showing, Clif bar sponsored trail runner Kyle Robidoux, who is visually impaired gave a captivating speech on his goals to inspire more visually impaired runners to compete in trail races. Robidoux will be racing at the historic Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run later this month, where he will be the first-ever athlete who is visually impaired to toe the line. 7-time winner of the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run, Scott Jurek, will be one of Robidoux’s sighted guides and pacers for the race. Read our feature story on Kyle Robidoux.

Robidoux will also be attending the US Trail Running Conference October 9-12, 2019 in Estes Park, Colorado and representing his organization, United in Stride, that helps match visually impaired runners with sighted guides nationwide.

Barkley Marathons race director Gary Cantrell.

Get Inspired!
I walked away from the festival inspired by all of the amazing runners in these films. I now find myself wanting to learn about the Japanese trail running scene, to run the GR20 trail in France and to be as kind to aid station volunteers as Jayson Sime in “How to Run 100 Miles.” After watching the films, I encourage you to reflect on what stood out to you. Learn from the runners in these films and let them inspire positive changes in your own running and life.

Trails in Motion is now accepting films for the 2020 film festival until September 30, 2019. Share your own trail and ultrarunning story!

Tags: ,