Blog Posts

Inaugural Year: The Story of Cocodona 250 | Video

A film by Dylan Harris, Inaugural Year isn’t only about the story of the race itself but also (or perhaps mainly) about the stories of the people who spent days conquering the 250 miles long course.

On May 3, 2021, 176 runners toed the starting line of Cocodona 250, a brand new footrace that was to take them through true Old West towns as well as some really dark patches. A lot can and will happen during any ultra but 250 miles offer a lot more opportunities for things to go wrong (or right!) than your usual 50-miler, and this film portrays beautifully the runners’ struggle to get to the finish line, the highs and the lows and unpredictable ups and downs of such an event.

With interviews from Michael Versteeg, the winner of the inaugural Cocodona 250 and, therefore, the first person to ever finish the race, Pete Mortimer, who came in second, Maggie Guterl, the first female finisher, and other incredible athletes who took on the course, this short film is a beautiful portrayal of the race and well worth a watch.

If video embed doesn’t work on your device, click HERE to watch the film directly on YouTube.

by Pina Marek

Stone Locals: A Sublime Love Letter to Rock Climbing by Patagonia

It took me a few months to get to watching this documentary that Patagonia published on YouTube in 2020. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to give an hour and 11 minutes of my time to watching a documentary about something, no matter how much I love it. The truth is, for several of those months, there wasn’t an hour in my life that I could spend consuming media. There was my job, there were internships, there was the constant fight for the right to stay in the country that has become my home.

Why talk about how long it took me to finally watch this documentary? Only to tell you all that I should have made time earlier, no matter the life circumstances, to watch it.

It’s a documentary not so much about climbing as it is a documentary about the people of climbing, the beautiful, kind, crazy, and incredible people, each with their own stories and experiences that shaped them both as people and as climbers.

It’s about the community that comes together when one is in need, about a community tight-knit not only by the shared love for climbing but by the bonds of friendships built over time and through trials and trust.

It’s about beauty and danger, about freedom and responsibility, and about so much more it seems nearly impossible to put it into one short summary. Therefore, I ask you to give this documentary 71 minutes of your own time—and I ask you this because I know that every single second is worth it.

by Pina Marek

Racing the Sun: A Sunrise Run Up Mount Tam for My Birthday

While most people were still sleeping and would, indeed, opt to sleep in that day before starting to roast turkeys and make separate turkey stuffings, (seriously, why is it still called stuffing if we no longer stuff the turkey with it?) I borrowed a car from my dear friend and headed to Mount Tamalpais to run (or, rather, crawl) up the mountain and watch the sunrise from the top. Because what better gift could I have given myself for my birthday than getting up at an ungodly hour and crawling up the mountain with freezing fingers and a face full of spiderwebs?

by Pina Marek