WATCH: Pro runner’s short film navigates huge success and crushing failure

“I have failed many, many times,” pro runner Noah Droddy shared in a social media post about his documentary We Are All Droddy, released Tuesday. “But there have been blindingly special moments between those failures where I got it right,” the runner adds. “The kind of highs that make the dark days a little harder to remember.”

Droddy’s story, encapsulated in a short film made with the athlete’s sponsor Salomon, is one we can all connect with. Whether you’re a professional athlete or training for your first 5K, you’ve undoubtedly experienced the highs and lows life can bring. Droddy’s appeal lies in his relatability, which shines through the film–he’s a regular guy, just trying his best. His self-deprecating sense of humour and attitude of acceptance make him seem like someone you could share a few miles or a cup of coffee with.

“When I graduated to the marathon, the decision was where can I go to run fast and legitimize myself as a marathoner. I went to Chicago, failed. I went to Rotterdam, failed,” Droddy says in the film. “When you’re on the track running shorter distances, next week you can try again. In the marathon you really have to live in that place of success or failure for a long time.”

Droddy, who ran to second place and a PB at The Marathon Project in 2020 (an elite-only marathon held in Chandler, Ariz., created when many world majors were cancelled due to COVID-19) also found himself without a professional contract almost immediately afterward. “A super high point, followed by a super low point,” he says.

Droddy explains how he has bounced from success to failure, success to failure, and that his running career is about learning how to respond to both. “Nobody has this linear path to success,” he says.

Even if you weren’t familiar with him before watching the film, by the final moments of We Are All Droddy, you’ll know who you’re cheering for at this weekend’s California International Marathon.