Colorado is full of wacky, admirable teenagers and parents who think a 10-mile run is a warm-up and a 50-mile run is just a thigh-tickler.
There’s a fascinating documentary just made for all of you, and even for the couch potatoes who would rather just laugh in wonder at you. “Running the Sahara” is an engrossing film about leadership, endurance, friendship, what constitutes “betrayal” and, oh yes, running. A lot. Try 6,920 kilometers, from the Atlantic to the Red Sea across scorching deserts, impoverished cities and endless badlands.
The 2007 movie was executive-produced by Matt Damon, and you can see why the bright Hollywood star got so enthused. Three friends, of varying expertise in extreme running, wondered aloud whether anyone had ever tried to jog across the whole Sahara. If anyone lived to tell about it, they never wrote it down, so the friends find a support truck and set out on their trek.
Canadian Ray is Mr. Cheerful who rarely seems in pain, despite running the equivalent of a marathon in the morning and another one in late afternoon, for 110 days straight. Kevin is the stoic Taiwanese marathoner, more talented than the others but also more vulnerable to homesickness and doubt. And then there’s Charlie, the tall leader of the bunch, who admits early on to the camera that he’ll have to be the tough taskmaster rather than the sympathetic friend when people inevitably get injured.
Charlie’s relentless focus and motivational style is worth a close look for all adventurers and future managers of people. He leads people toward a big goal, but he tests his friendships and raises those tricky “betrayal” issues with his own inexplicable moves. Which runner you identify with, and which one you might want to become, is a game that deepens the “Sahara” experience.
“Running the Sahara”
Not rated: Some mild situational profanity and mature subject matter about pain, ambition and success.
Best suited for: Any serious athlete or armchair adventurer over about 14 years.
