A Long Way from Nowhere is a new film featuring runners taking part in the 150-mile Desert RATS stage race. The course traverses the Kokopelli Trail, which stretches from Fruita, CO, to Moab, UT, during one of the hottest months of the year. Not only does the film capture extreme conditions that the participants are subjected to throughout each stage, but it also highlights the lives of runners who are all participating for reasons that run deeper than reaching a finish line. According to producers, “Each reaches their darkest hour, and each, through the curious alchemy of extreme hardship and desert solitude, emerges with a new understanding of what it is to be human.”
Directed by middle school teacher and podcaster Chris Ward, and Paul Scheuring, professional writer, producer and director, both met during the 2018 event while sharing the trail as participants and came up with the idea to turn their experience into a documentary film.