Filmmaker Statement

The original seed for The Runner came to me while training for the New York Marathon. See, what they don’t tell you about training for a marathon is that it sucks ass. And during one of my many long, lonely, and seemingly endless runs I remember my legs aching and the only thought that went through my head was: "Why the hell did I want to do this in the first place?!” It’s a tough question to answer. I’ve been a runner for years now. It keeps me sane. I do it for my physical health, but also my mental health. But when I first started out my relationship to running was anything but healthy. I ran because I thought I was fat, and I hated that about myself. I remember getting dumped and thinking, “If only I was skinnier we’d still be together”, as if my personality had nothing to do with it. This is a film about body image, insecurities, and what we do to impress others. But most importantly it’s about running. Both the extreme highs, and the terrible lows.