I am absolutely fascinated by the human body and its ability to push beyond one’s own physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional limits. The movie, 3100: Run and Become, directed by Sanjay Rawal, explores humans who surpass these limitations and examine the depths of themselves.
The film follows the journey of contestants as they compete in an epic race throughout the streets of New York City. In the 3100 Self-Transcendence Race, contestants covered 3100 miles in 47 days. In addition to the race itself, the film examines how people around the world use running to reach enlightenment or even to hunt.
One embedded story follows Shaun Martin, a Navajo man who lives on the Navajo Nation, in Arizona, and is an integral component of their running community. He stated, “you get up every morning as the sun rises. The sunrise is the birth of a new day.”
Martin discusses his dad running away from a government boarding school and returning home when he was five years old. His father stated that the boarding school’s motto was to “Kill the Indian and save the man.” Martin sought to honor his father by running the same route from the boarding school to the family’s ancestral home. Martin ran 110 miles in five-degree weather.
In another part of the film, the government banned the San Bushman in Africa from hunting game on their own ancestral lands. The San Bushman have historically hunted game on their land and would pursue game animals by running after their pray.
Throughout the movie, the runners overcome self-doubt, injury, inclement weather, and hear that incessant voice that tells them to quit. Yet it’s the runners’ personal history, country, and family that keep them running. One of the contestants explained that he is running for his war-torn country and the people caught in the crossfire. He said, “I pray for the Supreme Humanity and for my people.”
As we see in 3100: Run and Become, running exposes everything about a person. They wear their emotions on their sleeves and they push themselves beyond all limits. To these contestants, running is a form of meditation that allows them to overcome personal struggles. They run to become supreme.
After I finished the movie, I immediately put on my sweats, beanie, and a jacket to go for a run in this New Mexico snow. 3100: Run and Become can be downloaded on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and YouTube rentals.
Edited by Jordan A. Johnson
Photos: Sanjay Rawal