RHINO ENTERTAINMENT TO RELEASE RUNNING ON THE SUN JULY 22 ON DVD;THE ROAD TO HELL IS 135 MILES LONG...UPHILL

"...a fascinating documentary - makes 'Survivor' and its players seem like kids at day camp" - The Boston Globe

May 30 2003
LOS ANGELES --

There is no prize money for winning the Badwater 135. No medals. No trophies. Those who finish the race in less than the 60-hour time limit receive only a belt buckle. Little reward for completing a 135 mile course that covers three mountain ranges and a total of 13,000 ft. of vertical ascent across the hottest desert on Earth...on foot, in July. 

The race starts in Badwater, Death Valley at the lowest elevation in the United States, 282 feet below sea level. The race finishes at the Mt. Whitney Portals Trailhead at nearly 8,300 feet. Running through windstorms, flash floods, and temperature fluctuations from 28 degrees Farenheit to as high as 130F, their bodies succumb to sun and heat stroke, diarrhea, muscle strain, chaffing, dehydration, kidney failure, even brain damage. They survive mental and physical challenges that most people would consider bizarre and unusual form of self-torture. 

In July of 1999, four-time Emmy Award winning director Mel Stuart (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) and his team of 16 cameras and crew followed 13 racers, who competed less against each other than against their own physical and psychological limitations. In RUNNING ON THE SUN, Stuart cleverly captured the "humanistic and sometimes bizarre motivations that drive men and women to the limits of physical and mental endurance." The subjects of his documentary share their training and race experiences (one racer had his toe nails surgically removed to prevent race injury), suffering, delusions, and elation in this unique movie. "As I began shooting, I immediately realized that RUNNING ON THE SUN is not about the event," said Stuart, " ...it is about the people. It's a study of character." 

RUNNING ON THE SUN will be released on DVD on July 22, 2003, with the start of the Badwater Ultramarathon in the Mojave Desert. The DVD release will include additional bonus footage, including interviews with director Mel Stuart, and race accounts and stories from race organizer and adventureCORPS owner Chris Kostman. "Mel Stuart and his RUNNING ON THE SUN team did the unimaginable," said Kostman, "they actually captured the heart and soul of an epic running race that is larger than life. Ignoring the quick cuts, fast music, and grunge clothes that are standard in most 'extreme sports' film-making, Stuart takes us deeply into this gripping human adventure that is recognized worldwide as the world's toughest foot race."

Badwater 2003 returning competitors from RUNNING ON THE SUN include:


• Major W. Curtis Maples, 39, a Major in the U.S. Marine Corps currently stationed and training in Iraq. 

  

• Veteran competitor, Lisa Smith-Batchen, 42, who has completed the race six times, and finished in the top 4 in four races. She has competed in Eco Challenge, Raid, and ESPN games, 8 Ironmans, and the Himalayan 100. 

  

• Career Ultrarunner, Marshall Urlich, 52, has finished top 3 in 34 events throughout the world. He claims title to every crossing record in Death Valley from Badwater to Mt Whitney. 

Both Ulrich and Smith-Batchen plan to hike to the top of Mount Whitney upon completion of the Badwater race. The Whitney climb is a bizarre culminating feat that many of the Badwater racers attempt upon a successful finish in the race.

2003 Screening/Race Information -- On July 22, 2003, some 85 invited competitors from around the world will convene in California's Death Valley to run the blistering 135 miles through temperatures approaching 130F. The 2003 race roster will include women and men, citizens of 10 or more different countries and 20 or more American states, Badwater veterans and rookies, die hard ultrarunners of every speed and ability, plus athletes who are primarily known for their exploits as adventure racers, mountaineers, triathletes, or other "out there" pursuits. It will be an amazingly diverse group, the biggest and deepest ever assembled to compete in the Badwater 135. The Official Charity of the 2003 Badwater Ultramarathon is the Challenged Athletes Foundation. CAF provides grants directly to athletes with a physical disability. The contest is sanctioned by adventureCORPS.