Our Terrain - Trail Running Film

Fathom Studios is partnering up with Terrain Trail Runners to create a short documentary about the ultra-running community in St. Louis, Missouri. We're raising funds to help bring this film across the finish line

THE STORY:

In 2014, Shalini, an ultra runner whose past races include Western States, Barkley Marathons, and FatDog120, was struggling to find like-minded people to train with in Saint Louis, MO. This ultimately led to her creating The Terrain Trail Runners, a weekly running group that also puts on 10 trail races unique to the Saint Louis area each year. Shalini brings back pieces of races that she runs around the globe, and implements them into local parks to create truly one-of-a-kind races in the Midwest. In April, we filmed unscripted coverage of her toughest ultra, Ozark Foothills 100, and put together a teaser. This teaser showcases this unique trail running community and the challenges they faced during the 2023 edition of the race when a tornado touched down just miles from the race course.

OUR GOAL:

Our purpose in sharing this story is two-fold. We are first of all hoping to create a story that is universally inspiring to the everyday individual who is looking to challenge themselves in the outdoors. We believe it is a film that will motivate people to try new things and to work to build the type of community that they long to be part of.

The second part of our goal in highlighting the Terrain Trail Runners community is to see participation in Ozark Foothills 100 increase. The race currently draws participation from 23 states (outside of Illinois and Missouri) and has the biggest potential for national growth of all TTR races. We believe these trails, which are located just 30 minutes outside of St. Louis, have something to offer ultra runners who are looking to challenge themselves in a different kind of terrain. The film will highlight the beauty of Missouri’s terrain as well as the unique challenges of weather, mud, bugs, etc. that one might face running an ultra in this region.

These additional resources will help cover the remaining production, post-production, and distribution costs.