Billy Yang’s latest film explores the “why” behind 100-milers

Filmmaker and ultrarunner Billy Yang’s latest film, entitled The Why, explores just that. “Why do we run 100 miles?” he asks.

Below is Yang’s description of the film, with footage from Colorado’s Leadville 100, as found in the description on YouTube.

“It’s a question I get from friends and acquaintances quite often. And in the lower moments during these ultramarathon events if I’m honest, a question I direct inward too. Sure, on the surface you can cite self-improvement, challenging yourself, so on and so forth. But the longer I do this, the more I started to explore answers beyond the surface. How we relate to discomfort, uncertainty and pain. Do we have it too easy and thus, we’re drawn to the opposite end of the spectrum where we’re reduced to “survival” mode and drinking/eating/moving forward? Are we in our more natural state when this is what our world is reduced down to?

“Using the historic and legendary Leadville 100 Mile Race as my backdrop and with the support of GU Energy Labs, I explore these ideas as I ran my third 100-mile race at the “Race Across the Sky”. Through the good, bad and the ugly – I attempted to unpack “the why” in running a 100 miles. My thanks again to them for the support!”

Since being uploaded on Feb. 1, The Why has more than 57,000 views.