The Run Beyond series: The power of running as therapy
In a three-part short documentary series, we travelled to some of the world’s most unusually named places to explore how runners run beyond hardship.
For every place named “Lost” and “Anguish”, there’s a town called “Hope”. Just like there’s always a way to turn darkness into light.
In a series of short documentaries, we meet the runners who did just that. Who followed the light that running provided for them during darker times. And how they seized their opportunity to Run Beyond.
Lost – How Jimmy Watkins found himself
“It’s slow. It’s heavy. But it knows the importance of taking one thing at a time.” Jimmy Watkins talks of his beloved camper van, Otto, as he trundles through the sleepy town of Lost in Scotland.
It’s the same steady commitment that can be applied to getting into running for the first time – or in Jimmy’s case, rediscovering it after years of regret for stopping. Once a record-breaking runner and professional athlete for Great Britain, Jimmy was a middle distance star until he decided to hang up his running shoes and pick up his guitar instead.“Initially I felt a lot happier,” he says, reflecting on his time in a rock band,“but looking back there was definitely a lot of regret.” Eventually, these regrets manifested in an unhealthy lifestyle and battles with alcohol, impacting his mental health.“I got within two or three millimeters of rock bottom.”
Jimmy shares his candid perspective on regret, and the age-old saying that sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself.
Hope – Sydney Allen-Ash on what running can be
“Can you describe the feeling?” Sydney Allen-Ash asks the runners she speaks to. Her ambition is to create a space to highlight and encourage the simplicity, accessibility and mental benefits of running.
“When I run, I become part of the whole universe,” one runner shares. “It saved me,” another reflects. In the town of Hope in Canada, Sydney looks beyond time pressure and the competitive nature of sport and encourages candid dialog around the joy of running and the impact it can have on our lives.
Anguish – Accepting yourself with Marcus Brown
For Marcus Brown, host of the successful“A Runner’s Life” podcast, communication didn’t always come easy.
For much of his adult life, Marcus knew he was different, and struggled with his identity.“I felt odd or out of place,” he reflects.“The irony of the name Anguish[…] I think I felt like that for a long period of time.”
That was until he received a diagnosis that changed everything. What do you do when your life turns upside down? Marcus turned to running. Instead of trying to be someone else, Marcus was able to honor his true identity through the consistency, calm, and resilience he found in running.
Jimmy, Sydney and Marcus know how running can be a powerful healing force. To run past their challenges, they rely on the supportive cushioning and comfort of the all-new Cloudflyer 4. With nothing standing in their way, they can run beyond their limits.
