“Running a 100 miles”
Response by: Sean Venzon
The film, How to run 100 miles, directed by Brendan Leonard is about the story based on his friend Jayson and their journey together to run the race. It wasn’t easy for them to run 100 miles but they did it anyway because they believed that they could do it together. When they almost reached the finish line, Brendan said, “Jayson’s life has been based on not quitting,” This quote inspires and motivates me to not give up on what I’m doing and the things that I’m going to do in my life. When Jayson and Brendan reached the finish line, they became very emotional and they couldn’t believe that they finished the whole marathon. All the preparations that they had to go through before the race, they did together. When they felt like giving up, they didn’t give up. They just kept moving and in the movie, lesson 6 said “You have to keep moving” and finally after hours of running and walking, they finally finished the race and it was worth all the struggles and pain to finally finish.
The writer’s purpose is to inspire us to work well and to not lose hope or give up on the things we are doing in our lives. When Brendan was telling Jayson’s story, Jayson didn’t give up even though there had been some times that really tested his will and personality. For example, when he was in his wrestling career, it took him 2 years to win 1 match. Another example is when the counsellor from the school said “The school is not for people like you” Jayson just ignored it and after a few years of studying and hard work at the Community college, he achieved his goal and became a motivational speaker. I was also amazed when Brendan said, “I don’t like running but I like challenges”. With this saying I’ve realized that we should not be afraid of facing the problems and challenges that we might encounter, we should always be prepared. We need to find inspiration or maybe someone like our friends that could help and support us to be prepared and ready to face any challenge.
The message from the story that really caught my attention was when Jayson said “Never think of things you can’t do, but think of things you can do”. For me, that message was very meaningful and it helped me to think about more ideas and solutions to different struggles and problems that I am currently facing at the present time. It has also made me realize that nothing is impossible, we just need to believe, be confident, and stay positive in order for us to achieve what we want to do and if ever we fail, we just need to think of many ways that we could possibly do until we succeed.
At the start of the film I thought it was going to be boring but as I continue watching I became so amazed as Brendan was narrating the story about Jayson’s life and also their journey to run 100 miles together. I admire these two characters especially Jayson for not giving up and being brave enough to not only their journey to run 100 miles together but also from the problems that he faced from the past. I’ve learned a lot of lessons from this film just like when Brendan said, “I’m terrified but at least we’re doing this together,” with this saying I’ve realized that our friends and family members are very important to us because they are the ones who give us advice and help whenever we need assistance. I’ve also learned to not give up on the challenges and problems that I’m currently facing but to always be positive. At the end of the movie I was inspired by the whole story even though I was bored at the beginning.
The character that made the best impression for me is Jayson. The reason why I admire Jayson is because he is so brave and he didn’t give up in all of the problems that he faced through his entire life just like when the guidance counselor from school said, “School is not for people like you,'' Jayson just ignored what he said and focused more in finding other solutions that he could use in order for him to continue learning and studying. Jayson then studied at a community college and he received a degree as a motivational speaker. Jayson became successful and he proved that the guidance counselor was wrong about what he said. With his story, I’ve learned a lot of lessons that can be very useful to all of the events in my life and I’m surely going to remember and apply these lessons to all that I’m doing and going to do. To me it is not to listen to what people say but to believe in myself.
Brendan and Jayson’s story of running a 100 miles reminded me of what my English teacher, Mrs. Gopperth told us about her story of also running a 100 miles with her friends. For me, both stories are pretty much the same because Mrs. Gopperth also finished the whole race with her fellow friends just like how Brendon and Jayson did it together. As Brendan and Jayson were running, they supported each other and they didn’t give up even though there were some times that they felt like giving up. It’s also the same as when Mrs. Gopperth’s friends supported her throughout the whole race and they did finish it together. “It helps to have a friend along'', This lesson that came up at the beginning of the film that Brendan said really caught my attention. With this lesson, I’ve realized that we all need people, especially our friends and families to support us through hard times and events that we can’t handle all by ourselves and in return, we should also support them the way that they supported us. This support helped Jayson and Brendan as well as the support Mrs. Gopperth and her friends gave her to finish the whole race, with teamwork and the power of friendship. I like how each of them thanked all their friends and family for the support as without them they would not have been able to finish the race.
