For one night, The Athena Cinema will exhibit films that combine the awe-inspiring sights of nature and the beauty of human athleticism.
The Trail Running Film Festival showcases a collection of films centered around the experience of trail running. Twelve short films ranging in length from one to 45 minutes will play at the Athena Cinema on Friday night.
Along with a focus on competitions and the beauty of nature, some films also highlight the diversity of trail running like one short created for the non-profit group Girls on the Run.
James Varner, founder of the festival and owner of Rainshadow Running, said there is a changing landscape of the widely non-commercialized sport.
“Trail running has grown a lot in the past five to 10 years, which leads to more people making films,” he said. “The goal of the festival is to inspire the audience and support the community and all the new filmmakers.”
Varner, who has participated in trail running since the early 2000s, said the sport and its participants have steadily grown into public conscience.
“Now you see articles about (trail running) in major newspapers like The New York Times and The Washington Post,” he said. “It’s hard to pick up an issue of Runner’s World without finding an article on trail running.”
After beginning as a three day event with 37 films in 2013, the current rendition of the festival ended up with a showing in Athens with the help of Jonathan Bernard, owner of the recently opened Ohio Valley Running Co., located at 20 Station St. on the west side of town.
Bernard, who met Varner while living in Washington state, suggested bringing the festival to town and helped to sponsor the event through the Ohio Valley Running Company.
“At first, the Athena was hesitant because they only do one film festival, but then they thought it would be a cool idea,” Bernard said. “There’s always been a fringe (of trail running filmmakers), but with the equipment readily available, it’s a growing trend.”
Bernard said the best local spots for trail running are Strouds Run State Park and Sells Park off of East State Street, which connects to the former.
Michael Owen, founder of the non-profit Southeastern Ohio Trail Runners, detailed the organization’s involvement in local races. The group holds both the Iron Furnace Trail Run, a half marathon at Lake Hope, and the Thunderbunny 50k that covers roughly 31 miles of trail.
“Those two races set the stage for trail running community,” Owen said. “There are great races in the state. Trail running has grown at a faster rate than the population can handle.”
Varner said the festival’s films previously did well at showings in other Ohio cities like Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus.
“People don’t think of Ohio as ... a hotbed for trail running, but it is,” Varner said.
Yassine Diboun, a professional ultra-marathon runner from Portland, Oregon, hosted previous tour dates and will take on the role of the emcee for Friday’s showing.
The Ohio Valley Running Company will donate running gear like shoes and apparel to be raffled off at the event. Anyone who purchases tickets online has the chance to win a grand prize trip to a trail running race in the Northwest.
