Super Crews

It's come to my attention that many people are unaware of the manpower and work it takes to not only document but get two people across the country on foot. Charlie and Marshall take in about 10,000 calories a day so they can keep running - this alone occupies quite a bit of time. There's the pre-breakfast, the breakfast, then the pre-lunch, the lunch, the snacks, the dinner, the late dinner, the Vitamix smoothies, the snacks. They'll usually go through a pair of shoes every couple of days, need massages about once every hour, and so on and so on. A full-time doctor and EMT administer to their blisters, aches, pains and various other ailments. Dr. Paul, our on-staff doctor, has told us Charlie and Marshall have dealt with more pains and running issues in about two weeks than the entire field of runners at the Western States 100K deal with in two days. Their are numerous hardworking people dedicated to getting them through each mile. These folks, such as Marshall's wife, Heather - get by on very little sleep. There is a crew van, and then an RV. The crew van stops every mile for them - giving them whatever they need, while the RV will stop every 5 miles or so in case they need a rest, some hot food, or a bucket full of ice water.

From our end of things, we are usually tracking with them - doing interviews with crew, talking to the runners themselves, and also stopping along the way to get a perspective on America these days from any number of people along the route - beef jerky salesman, construction workers, bikers, off-the-grid revolutionaries, and so on. Our crew consists of Andreas von Scheele and Rick Baraff, our first and second unit cameras, Steve Clack, our sound guy, Cory Gregner, our all-around second camera/assistant camera/media management supervisor, and Amira Soliman, our wunderkind production assistant and sometimes interviewer. The crew is amazing to work with - dedicated and positive in some oftentimes trying situations. Desert wind, thunderstorms, cattle drives, eighteen-wheelers - all of the things you deal with while shooting runners moving on down the highways and by-ways of the country. We've got a lot of love and respect for their crew(s) and the same in return. We all pitch in to make whatever needs to happen, happen. Sometimes I find myself trying to convey the experience to people we speak with along the way, and sometimes it's impossible to explain. Maybe some pictures will help...