"100 miles"

Thanks to Brendan Leonard for all the photos.
 

                                                        “100 miles”
                                          Response by: Chesrille Battiw

The Film, How to run 100 miles, directed by Brendan Leonard, is about 2 friends named Brendan and Jayson running an ultramarathon that is 100 Miles. They run, jog and walk until they reached the finish line. They are so determined to finish the race, they didn’t surrender even when their bodies hurt or even when  they were so exhausted.It was  emotional when they finished the race it took them 35 hours and 48 minutes to complete.

I think that the writer's purpose is to inspire people to not give up, for example when Jayson’s father left his mother with 6 kids, his mother didn’t  give up she raised the kids all by herself. Also I think that the writer’s purpose for us is to tell us to just follow your dreams and do your best to achieve it, for example in the video when a person said in that “Never think of the things you can’t do but think of the things you can do”, you should believe in yourself because there is no such thing as impossible because in all problems there is a solution. When Jayson was in wrestling and he never won a single competition for 2 years but he never gave up until the day that he got his first win.
    
In the video when it showed the lesson number 1: “It helps to have a friend along” and when Brendan said, “He keeps moving so I keep moving”. Jayson supported Brendan when they run the ultramarathon Jayson always got his back by supporting him and staying with him until they finished the race together. The lesson I learned from this is to value your best friend because he is the only friend that is true to you. Brendan said in the video “A friend is also your hero and sometimes you do what he does.'' Brendan didn’t like running but he likes a challenge. A true friend will not leave you alone in the dark and they will not let you carry your problems alone, you should believe in your friends and you should support each other in good times or bad times.
         

When I was watching the film, at first it was interesting, Brendan was narrating about the life of his friend Jayson and when I continued watching the film I was amazed because the life of his friend Jayson is a little bit hard but he didn’t surrender and continued to achieve his dream. After I watched the whole film I was touched especially when Jayson said “It’s harder than you think it is and it’s going to hurt more than you think it will” I was touched by it because it was like that time when I am doing something I believe I can’t do but I can actually can but I’m not trying hard enough. My dream is to become a Marine Architect and I should not give up, I will do my best to achieve this, I need to continue to achieve my dream and always stay positive in my life. The film inspired me to not give up and I felt like I could run 100 miles.
                 

The character that made the greatest impression on me is Jayson because his life has been hard for him, for example when his dad left them and the counsellor told him “college is not for people like you,'' he never won wrestling for 2 years, and when Jayson and Brendan ran in the ultramarathon. He never gave up in those days. The day that he won his first wrestling match after 2 years. He ignored what the counsellor said, he went to community college and achieved a Bachelor's degree and he also managed to win the US congressional campaign and he even became a motivational speaker telling people to always be positive . Jayson inspired me to never give up with everything that he went through he never gave up, I feel that I can do the same with my life in the future.
   

Brendan and Jayson’s story of running a 100 mile reminds me of what my English teacher, Mrs. Gopperth told us about how she ran a 100 miles marathon with her friends too. I think both of the stories are the same because they both ran with their friends, they are supported by their friends and they didn’t give up until they finished the race. In the lesson #1 it said “It helps to have a friend along” and when Jayson said “He keeps moving so I keep moving,” It’s true that we all need a friend that can cheer and assist us, a friend that will support and help us with our troubles like in both of the stories. With these stories, I’ve realized that we all need people around us, especially our friends and families to help and support us.