WATCH: New film chronicles Anton Krupicka’s inspiring comeback at Leadville Trail 100

On Aug. 20, the second-biggest 100-miler in the U.S. saw the inspiring return of an icon of the U.S. trail-running scene. Anton Krupicka had won the Leadville Trail 100 as a 23-year-old running his first trail race, back in 2006, but he hadn’t raced since 2015. Miraculously, he finished third, beating four-time champion Ian Sharman and finishing in 17:07:55. Los Angeles-based runner and filmmaker Billy Yang was there to document the inspiring comeback, and his film, Return to Leadville: the Evolution of Anton Krupicka, is now finished and ready for viewing:

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Between 2006 and 2014, Krupicka won or medalled at various distances, including Western States (where he was second in 2010), the Miwok 100K and Italy’s Laveredo Ultra Trail (118K). With his flowing hair and laid-back attitude, he became an icon of the U.S. ultratrail scene. But by 2015, injuries had forced him to step back from the racing scene – first, a stress fracture in his shin, then problems with his IT band, then Achilles tendon issues. During that time, he became an enthusiastic cyclist, climber and skier.

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But he never lost his love of running, and his return to Leadville was highly anticipated. The 18-minute film includes footage of the race, from the sea of headlamps at the 4:00 a.m., pre-dawn start through the various aid stations, and there are some spectacular drone shots of the scenic course (most of which is at more than 3,000m of altitude), interspersed with Krupicka talking to the filmmaker at his home in Boulder, Colo. Krupicka talks about taking it easy through the first half of the race, and seeing a lot of people who went out too hard fall back or drop out. “There’s always ups and downs,” Krupicka says. “If you’re feeling crappy, just keep plugging away. Don’t push, wait for it to turn around, and it almost always does.”

At one point, Krupicka was in second position, but the eventual second-place finisher (in 16:59:38), Matt Flaherty of Bloomington, Ind., passed him at mile 94. Krupicka’s finishing time was only six minutes slower than his winning time from 2006. Adrian Macdonald of Fort Collins, Colo. won the race in 16:18:19. Both Macdonald and Flaherty were racing the 100-mile distance for the first time.