Independent running brand Tracksmith sought to honour the amateur spirit upon which the sport was founded and champion what it calls the ‘Running Class’ – non-professional, competitive runners dedicated to the pursuit of personal excellence – through a long form film called ‘Church Of the Long Run’.
The 84-minute video, helmed by regular brand collaborator and Director Emily Maye, features a challenging run through snowy woods and launched in January with a social teaser rolling out ahead of the full length film launch.
The film follows nurse and elite marathoner Sam Roecker on a long, solitary training run through wintery Colorado forests and offers an extended, meditative perspective on challenging oneself and the elements.
The film is set to an electronic score by Michael A. Muller which is available on Spotify.
The campaign promotes Tracksmith’s core offering of what it describes as ‘well-considered and authentic products for training, racing and rest days’ which aim to ‘celebrate, support and add to running’s distinct culture’ and the film is clickable at virtually any point.
Shot over two days in November, the film was created for Tracksmith by Director Emily Maye through Imperial Woodpecker, with DP Dustin Miller, AC Asa Reed, plus music by Michael A Muller. The precision driver was Colin Floor, the arm operator was Luke Askelson, with Gimbal Tech handled by Doug Hrdlicka, editing by Chris Milliman and VFX by Andrew Fallon.
“There is an authenticity in the way we shoot running. This results in the runners going out for long, long stretches. It’s a more documentary-style approach than running back and forth in front of the camera as you see with other brands,” explained Emily Maye. “The first cut comes 17 minutes in, and there are only seven cuts in the entire film. This film feels like the most ambitious execution of real-time work we could ever attempt.”
“Of course, not everyone will want to watch the entire thing and may be quick to judge what they think it is,” she added. “But I think there’s an interesting experience in watching the entire film. It’s an investment, in the same way that running is an investment in time. It takes a lot of courage and confidence for a brand to take up that much of your time.
Comment
Challenger brands like Tracksmith are often ore prepared to be brave and crafty, but few are prepared to offer something so slow and so long. The Activative team’s opinion is that, while somewhat repetitious, the film is compellingly hypnotic and watchable.
The director has worked for the brand since it was formed in 2014 and this work is something of a natural extension of Maye’s earlier initiatives which include shorter form films such in the ‘The Last Interval’ and ‘That’s Running’ series in 2021 and 2022.
Extremely long ads form something of a marketing sub-genre with other notable initiatives including films from brands like JSX and US Cellular. Some even are semi-deliberately unwatchable as they are primarily designed to generate press coverage and buzz rather than full film views.
As for Tracksmith as a brand, the name blends ‘track’ (a symbol of commitment to training and racing) with ‘smith’ (representing dedication to a specialized craft), while there logo is a hare (an animal that relies upon speed, but not as a predator rather as a survivor).
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