Overview

This feature-length documentary will follow five runners over the age of 50 for a three-month period as each one trains for his or her first 5K, 10K, half marathon, marathon, or ultra marathon. In the process, we will explore the ripple effect athleticism has in their lives. We will support our pro-exercise stance by providing interviews with top medical professionals, trainers, and coaches.

Introduction

My name is LIZ VASSEY. I’ve been a professional actor/writer for 30 years. I’ve also been a runner for 12. Running has benefited me not only physically, but mentally. It has helped me navigate some of the toughest times of my life, and has rapidly become a sacred part of my day. I thought of this documentary when I began to wonder how old most people are when they stop running. When do they hang up their shoes and take up something a little more sedate? Is there any age when they’re forced to do so? I did a little research and found out a simple and wonderful truth: some people NEVER give it up. For example:

92-year-old Harriette Thompson of Charlotte, NC: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article22753806.html

104-year-old Fauja Singh: http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/hindi/en/article/2016/01/17/104-year-old-fauja-singh-runs-mumbai-marathon

And the list goes on. So I grabbed my cameraman husband, DAVID EMMERICHS… and we went out and met runners much like the ones I mentioned above. After interviewing many older runners in Tampa, FL we were hooked. We were also convinced that this topic would make an incredible documentary.

We need your help

My guess is your first question might be: why not finance this yourselves? Well…we started out with that intention, actually. However, after flying to Florida to shoot two short videos on our own dime, we realized that this is not an inexpensive passion project. At least not if we want to achieve the level of quality we’re aiming for. We have already spent thousands of our dollars, but in order to keep going... we need your help.

My guess is your second question might be: since you have been in the business for a while, why not get this set up at a production company? Why not use your connections? Well…we tried that, too. And we learned two things…

First of all, as you may have noticed on reality television, conflict sells. Several companies were interested, but asked if we could dial up the drama. For instance, it was suggested that maybe our runners could be in a “Biggest Loser” type competition to lose weight. Or that maybe several of them could be working their way through an argument while they’re stuck in the same running club. This is not the documentary we want to make. We want this to be inspirational. We want to show what is possible at any stage of life. We believe the everyday human struggles these people are naturally grappling with will provide drama enough without fabricating more. And mostly we believe, particularly now, that there’s an audience for a movie imbued with HOPE.

Where your donations will go

Here are just a few things your donations would help secure:

- GoPros (or similar small cameras) for the runners so we can get their individual POV’s

- Plane tickets so we can interview runners all around the country

- Hotels – so we can, you know, sleep

- Camera equipment rental

- Sound equipment rental

- Hiring a sound crew

- Editing

- Color correction

- Sound mixing

- Marketing

- Promotion

- Advertising

- Music rights