“He really wants to pave the way for the advocacy for para-athletes to say “hey you're not just gonna be on the couch all day, you can actually go out there and compete” so I think just that in itself is so powerful that like anytime I can tell his story and help push it into the world, I think that's just kind of the most rewarding part of that. At the end of the day, this guy probably can outwork three people at a time and it's just crazy to watch it from a friend perspective but also from a storytelling perspective.”

Michael Grasela is a filmmaker and runner who wants to share Brian Reynold’s story. Brian is a double amputee below-the-knee athlete. Brian and Michael have become good friends over the years as both share a love of running and both want to amplify the message that amputees can accomplish great things. Reynolds is a strong road runner but had very limited experience running on trails. So when he told Grasela that he wanted to run Leadville, the idea to document the journey was not far behind.

“When he told me about going out to Leadville to run it, I was just like, I got to come with you. This is going to be a good one to see what's happening because he's not a trail runner, he doesn't really run on the trails because of the way his legs are built. So it's a lot of different challenges that we were going to find out in the moment. It was kind of curious for me as a runner, but also just like, “hey, this is going to be a great story no matter what happens in this race, we're going to find out something new about you today, right?”

Check out the trailer here!

Michael was a lot of fun to chat with. It was great hearing how he got into filmmaking and he’s incredibly passionate about the opportunity to inspire. He has some plans in the works for another project with Brian that he’s excited about and I’m excited the next episode features Brian! Come back Wednesday to hear Brian’s interview about the film and you’ll be even more excited for the Trail Running Film Festival screenings.

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Vancouver tickets available

Thursday, April 4, 2024. The Rio Theatre. Doors at 6, show at 7.

Bring your noisemakers!

I’m so excited to host all of you amazing trail runners once again here in Vancouver, BC! The Rio Theatre is booked for Thursday, April 4, 2024, with the doors opening at 6 and the show starting at 7. We’re gonna do it bigger and better than last year and give this thing a festival vibe.

We have amazing sponsors lined up once again, we’ll have some great giveaways, another awesome guest, and a secret show opener that you’ll want to make noise for. Bring your cowbells, tambourines, or whatever you have to get loud, and let’s rock the Rio together!

Tickets are on sale now for $30.

Our local sponsors:

5 Peaks

Coast Mountain Trail Running Conquer the Vedder

Distance Runwear

Ridgeline Athletics

Peaks N Valleys

Beast of Big Creek

Heads or Trails

RunGo

Naak

Mum’s the Word

Calgary early bird tickets on sale today!

I’m so excited to get Calgary online! Get your $20 early bird tickets this week only! Edmonton and Crowsnest Pass are on sale now as well. Canmore will come online March 13 for artsPlace members and March 15 for non-members. I’m incredibly excited to be able to hang out with more of you and share the film festival vibes. Our dates are:

Tuesday, June 4, 2024, Edmonton (Garneau Theatre) Regular Price $25 (Early birds sold out in just over 72 hours!)

Wednesday, June 5, 2024, Calgary (Globe Cinema) Monday, March 4 $20 early-bird tickets. Regular Price $25 starts Monday, March 11

Thursday, June 6, 2024, Canmore (Partnering with artsPlace) Tickets on sale in March

Friday, June 7, 2024, Crowsnest Pass (Blairmore) (Frank Slide Interpretive Centre partnering with Sinister Sports) Limited (75) $25 tickets on sale now

Click on the links above for the FB event pages to keep up to date. Keep an eye peeled for official announcements as we will let you know the moment these become official and tickets are listed for sale. I’m so pumped to hang out with you all!

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Music by Paolo Argentino from Pixabay

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