LEARNING TO FLY – Review by Diane Carson
Learning to Fly probes ultramarathon runners’ psychology.
Setting the stage for consideration of ultramarathon runners’ superhuman accomplishments, director Max Lowe begins Learning to Fly’s pre-credits with a quotation from Runner’s World author John “The Penguin” Bingham who has completed more than forty marathons (26.2 miles each). “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” Watching the pain and fortitude required for 100-plus mile ultramarathoners, the question that recurs is “Why?” The daunting challenge of the grueling distance (almost four traditional marathons back to back) is compounded in several races that require running uneven, gravel trails through the night with a total elevation gain of over 18,000 feet. The most difficult 108 mile Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) involves a loop around that 15,781 foot mountain with an elevation gain of 32,800 feet and an equivalent elevation descent. Runners must finish in under forty seven hours. Painfully and reluctantly, some will have to withdraw. Others will complete the course to their incalculable delight, even as they collapse at the finish line.
As the documentary’s anchor, interrogating her own passion for ultra running, photographer Aiesha McAdams explores what drives athletes to undertake such agonizing competition, notably the Western States Endurance Run, the Hardrock 100, and the Leadville 100, in addition to the UTMB. What she finds is not surprising, at least in her case. Subjected to the prolonged abuse of her alcoholic adoptee mother, Aisha found refuge and empowerment in her running. Learning to Fly briefly, too briefly, inquires into the catalysts for other ultra participants. One of those is champion Jim Walmsley, who has won 29 of the 33 races he’s entered since 2017 and, astonishingly, has twice won the Western States 100 and set a UTMB course record in 2023, the first American man to win that race. He tells Aisha that he’s “a bit of a recluse,” so he finds the running community provides a way to connect with people. Illustrating admirable camaraderie, Walmsley and his primary competitor and friend Rod Farvard do transitions together, alternating leads upon occasion, and encouraging each other. Another short segment brings Eszter Csillag into the discussion. Remarkably, this art historian has two young daughters and yet trains for the UTMB.
The problem with Learning to Fly is its meandering profile of Aisha interwoven with its multidimensional focus throughout diverse sequences. For it cobbles together interviews with McAdams, fleeting insertions of her photographs, race transition stages, rare moments with racers dropping out and others winning, footage here and there of several training runs, acknowledgement of injuries, and superficially explaining the importance of crew, pacers and nutrition. The coherent flow from one segment to another remains elusive, a crazy quilt of images despite several nice moments enlivened by Tyler Strickland’s score. I once ran as a pacer the last few miles for an ultra-racer friend and I’ve completed in eleven traditional marathons, so I and anyone who has participated in such races are certainly the target audience. We remain eager to learn more about ultramarathon devotees, especially their psychology and physiology plus family support and crew responsibilities. And yet, in this film’s psych 101 level of analysis, it’s not unanticipated to hear that “running teaches us so much about our relationships” and that “fear of failure holds so many back.” In addition, especially with an ultra, “failure is part of the process,” individuals pushing what their bodies can or, on a disappointing day, cannot accomplish. To be fair, it is heartening for these interviewees to be so honest about their motivations and curious non-running athletes may be both entertained and intrigued. However, probing much deeper and more insightfully into grueling tests of mental and physical strength is still waiting.
