Day 3,785 —Video Update—

 

I started with 80 minutes of videos that I had taken from the race, and spent the first few days going through everything and cutting it down. After the first pass, I was left with 35 minutes of footage, so I went through everything a second time and cut it down to 25 minutes. I started my 3rd pass, and I am getting closer to 20 minutes, but I would like it to be between 10–15 minutes, so I am going to need to make at least one if not two more passes. I also need to add music and titles. I looked through the race photos yesterday and found some good shots. I e-mailed the photography group, and they said I could use the pictures in my video as long as I credit them for the photos. I love having action shots of running versus the videos from my perspective. 

Now, that I am seeing that the video is coming together at last, I am worried there isn’t enough of a narrative. Which is what I end up thinking about when I write the race report or edit together the video. Right now, I am like, who wants to read this story? What is the story of this race? I am never sure what the story is, but I will try. This is a story about a vegan ultra runner who trained and successfully and ran a 100-mile trail race. I guess that’s part of it, but not a story, a story must have conflict. The conflict in every trail race is the runner v. the trail, the environment, and their own body. 

I want to do a better job of showing the struggle, and in this video there is more footage of me being upset, which I think is always part of the story. But I am always afraid I am going to hurt someone’s feelings by telling a more authentic story because I do get irritable during these races. But I also know that everyone is doing their best and I don’t want to say anything negative about any of the interactions that I had, but that makes me sound disingenuous, which isn’t me at all. I am pretty straight with people, but in person I feel like that is okay. When I am crafting a story, I want people to exist as the best version of themselves through my eyes, but that’s not always the most honest way to tell a story. The video should be done by Sunday.