Chicking the Guys

"Miles & Trials" star Christina Overbeck-Crawford (wearing blue) placed 6th this weekend against some VERY tough competition in the Stumptown XC Race in Oregon. Then she jumped into the men's race for an extra workout "to humiliate us a bit further," said our friend Dave Ross, one of the guys in this photo! Wish Christina luck because in a few weeks, she's running the Osaka Marathon in Japan as part of the Osaka-Chicago Sister Marathon trade :)

How Much Do I Love Olympic Track & Field?

This much! Getting a big, fat needle in my spine (an epidural steroid injection for disc degeneration and spinal stenosis) wasn't enough to keep me from watching the Olympic women's 10,000m track finals on my laptop at the hospital. Check out the attached photo of me and my very patient nurse :)

(p.s. Happy to report that I lived, and that our three U.S. women - Amy Hastings, Lisa Uhl and Janet Cherobon-Bawcom - while they didn't medal, all set personal bests in the biggest race of their lives. GO U.S.A!!!) 
For a full replay of the Olympic women's 10,000m final, click here.

Title IX & the Chicago Women's Half Marathon/5K

It was a great day to be a female athlete on Sunday, June 24th! The inaugural Chicago Women's Half Marathon & 5K coincided with the 40th Anniversary of Title IX (otherwise known as the Equal Opportunity in Education Act). Without it, the women in "Miles & Trials" would not have had the chance to attempt to qualify for the Olympic Trials and I wouldn't be producing this film!

© 2012 Ali Engin Photography

It was a beautiful morning in Chicago. Christina and Heather, both teammates on the Fleet Feet Elite Racing Team, were among thousands of women of all ages who toed the line in the half marathon and 5K. 

Heather had made the somewhat painful decision to end her trials qualifying attempt after the 2011 Chicago Marathon. I spoke with her and she is completely okay about it and said that she's bringing the same intensity she put into her running into her personal and professional life and enjoying time with family and friends. Christina has been in Chicago for several months and just graduated from Northwestern University's Prosthetics-Orthotics program and will be starting a new career as a Prostheticist in Portland. 

Both continue to race well; Heather won the 5K with Christina close behind her in 2nd! The 2016 Olympic Marathon Trials is not out of the question for either of them, should they choose to go for it again.

That's what friends are for!

First Film Screening!

On May 22nd, we screened an extended trailer for "Miles & Trials" at Chicago's Indie Incubator Film Festival in Chicago. It was an opportunity to test-drive our editing of the film so far and gauge audience reaction. Our Olympic Trials qualifier, Christina Overbeck, attended the screening with some of her grad school classmates and when the host of the film festival introduced her and her accomplishment, a great cheer went up from the audience. Whenever there was a scene with her on the screen, cheers and shouts of, "Yeah, Christina!" erupted, as well.

Christina watching herself on the big screen

Since I am editing this film myself (pending acquisition of the financial resources necessary to hire an associate producer/editor), I learned from watching the trailer on the big screen that there is much tweaking and massaging of the footage to do to make it visually appealing, as well as to fix some of the audio. As a mentor of mine (who is a well-respected film producer) said to me, "If you don't have great sound, you don't have sh*t." This is definitely a learning experience! If you'd asked me two years ago if I'd ever have the dream of producing, shooting and editing a feature-length documentary, I would have told you, "You're nuts!" I'm sure that if you asked any of the women featured in "Miles & Trials" the same question about going for an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier, they'd all say the same thing. But just like these athletes, I'm dreaming big!

[Note: If you'd like to support this film and help us finish the post-production necessary to get it released by August, please donate to our Film Fund by clicking on the yellow Donate button on the right-hand side of this page.]

Opening credits of "Miles & Trials" at the Indie Incubator Film Festival

When Will "Miles & Trials" Be Released?

Many of you have asked, “When will ‘Miles & Trials’ be released?” Well, that depends...

We have over two years worth of footage to organize and edit — nearly 50 hours of video! Like the women in our film, this female Producer has tried to do it all but it’s time to ask for your help. The film is nearly finished, and we need your assistance to cover the post-production costs of editing, color correction, music rights and distribution. Thanks to you, our fans, we have managed to travel to marathons across the U.S. and film this documentary for just under $20,000, most of which was raised through donations to our Film Fund.

RELEASE DATE: As of now, we’re looking at release in July/August 2012 but again, that depends on whether or not we can get the funding to meet that timeframe.

STAFF: We’ll need to hire an Associate Editor who can assist with organizing the footage, color correction and sound design to help craft our story into something powerful. 

EQUIPMENT: We’ll still need to purchase media to store all of the footage and need to purchase or rent equipment to continue the ongoing post-production process.

MUSIC: Music composition and/or licensing to add emotion and punch to the soundtrack.

LICENSING: Although “Miles & Trials” is about finding one's inner strength, having big dreams and the tenacity to go after them, we’ve also focused on our athletes’ journeys to qualify for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials. For us to be able to incorporate the some of the video we shot in Houston, we’ll likely have to pay to license our footage.

DISTRIBUTION: Your contribution will help us produce DVD’s, submit “Miles & Trials” to film festivals and begin the distribution process. Any additional funds will help us reach more and more people, and work towards our ultimate goal of getting this film into the world.

POST-PRODUCTION FUNDRAISING GOAL: $20,000 USD

Simply put, we want this film to reach as many people as possible! “Miles & Trials” is a film with a universal message of tenacity and willpower, taking place on the roads and the track but carrying over into all aspects of life.  We believe “Miles & Trials” is a story that will inspire everyone who sees it. If you’d like to donate to our Post-Production Fund, please visit our website and click on the “Donate” button. With your help, we can reach the finish line!

WEBSITE: http://www.wix.com/wendysity1/milesandtrialsfilm

Life on the Run... From Law Enforcement!

After beginning filming on "Miles & Trials" in early 2010, we are about to begin the daunting task of going through two years worth of footage and head into post-production so we can get this film out there in the world! We have over 40 hours of high definition video to go through. The fun part of this is reliving some of the more memorable moments following fast women around the country, and watching some of the crazy things our cameras caught.

One of those moments was this spontaneous story from Elite marathoner, Leah Thorvilson of Little Rock, Arkansas who competed in the Olympic Trials. Here she is blowing off some steam the night after the Trials at a bar in Houston. She had a hilarious story to tell us about the time she was... well, I'll let Leah tell the tale:

The Power of the Pack!

Check out a snippet of my interview with some of the 25 women who qualified for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Marathon Team Trials at the California International Marathon in December. Filmed in Houston, the day before the Trials.

"Miles & Trials": How it all began!

In 2008, I ran the Chicago Half Marathon and stopped at Mile 6 to film the female leaders as they ran by on the opposite side of the road. Those women were Amanda Domich, Alona Banai and Christina Overbeck, three women I’d seen winning various races throughout the city. I was so impressed with their performances that I sacrificed going for my own PR to film them!

Here is the original video I shot of the 2008 Chicago Half Marathon on my little Canon PowerShot camera. It's a bit long and the part with the female leaders is halfway through the video—apologies for how crappy the quality is; I knew next-to-nothing about video production back then!

Feeling inspired by Amanda, Alona and Christina, I suddenly had the grandiose idea of producing a web series about some of Chicago’s top female distance runners and began interviewing some local women but soon realized that I’d eventually have enough footage for a feature-length film. In February 2010, I put out a call on Facebook for any fast women who thought they had what it took to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Trials to participate in my as-yet untitled film—by that March, I officially began production on “Miles & Trials” at the 2010 Chicago Shamrock Shuffle. Tera Moody won it that year and graciously agreed to let me do a post-race interview with her the next day. 

In the ensuing two years, I followed six women as they trained and raced, determined to lower their times to meet the qualifying time standard. I’ve traveled to marathons across the country and met some amazing women (and men) and have made so many new friends! I am truly grateful for and humbled by the support this film has received from you, our fans in the running community. Without your donations of funds and frequent flier miles, I would not have been able to get this far.

On this, the eve of my departure for Houston to film the culmination of “Miles & Trials” at the 2012 Olympic Marathon Team Trials, I am finalizing my production schedule and reflecting back on the generosity of our many supporters, as well as the willingness of Christina Overbeck, Claudia Becque, Amy Haney, Heather Prekop, Jacqui Aubert and Suzanne Ryan to let me follow them around with my camera for two years, as well as that of the many women I’ve met and interviewed who have dreamed big and run fast. My own personal journey through unemployment, a very long job search and learning the craft of video production (without any prior experience) has been a learning experience and a test of my own resolve but the perseverance of our female athletes has really taught me that you can do anything you want to do if you keep your eye on the prize!

The “Miles & Trials” story does not end at the Olympic Trials, though. In the end, it’s not really about qualifying for the Trials at all—it’s about determination and doing what you love to do—and how running can fulfill us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I will continue to follow our women for the next few months and then begin the daunting task of going through two years worth of footage to craft this story. I hope to have our film released this summer but in order to do so, we still need financial assistance for additional filming, as well as the post-production phase which will require my hiring an associate editor, sound designer and the money to produce DVDs, distribute the movie and travel to film festivals (where I hope we will win some awards!) 

If you would like to help us complete “Miles & Trials”, please continue supporting this film by donating to our Film Fund through our website. Thank you for supporting women’s distance running and female filmmakers!

Sincerely,

Wendy Shulik | WendyCity Productions
producer | editor | runner