How Tracksmith Turned Sports Branding into Meditation

This is how Tracksmith, an independent running company that has been celebrating the competitive spirit since its conception, introduces audiences to its brand film ‘Church of the Long Run’ directed by Rogue Films’ Emily Maye. The one hour and 23 minute long film faithfully follows nurse practitioner and runner Sam Roecker, in real time, on her Sunday long run in the foothills of Rollinsville, Colorado - no cuts, effects or additives. Just running, revealed in its peaceful glory at a 360° perspective, highlighted by the scenery surrounding Sam. 

The gear also remains simple - arm car, Alexa LF and Cooke 30-95 FF Zoom, to allow for long, uninterrupted takes and minimal camera involvement. ‘Meditation’ springs to mind as we watch Sam move through her routine track and slowly set into a Sunday rhythm. The music used in the film doesn’t stray away from contemplative either. Sports gear brands often bet on serving the viewer a shock dose of motivation wrapped in colour, movement, striking visuals and intense music. Not Tracksmith. To them, running is a church - a hypnotic experience, at its best done in the wake of the new week, outwardly fast while inwardly slow and steady.

Director Emily Maye has been involved in the photography and films of the brand for a while now - ever since its founding nine years ago. Emily has worked with Tracksmith to shape its view on sports and sports gear, and started showing up with its own voice in the space. Through the years and the many photographs of continuous runs for the brand, both Emily and Tracksmith knew it was time to see the sport in its purest and simplest form - unfolded and uninterrupted. This film in particular was in the idea bucket for quite some time and she knew that the only way to see running truly as it is, is to be there for the entire journey.

Once the brand and the director were settled on the vision, they needed to find the perfect road for the run to take place, as well as choose their runner. “For some reason, we always talked about the film being in winter and our decision to release it on the first day of the new year was strategic,” shares Emily. “Tracksmith often talks about the ‘Church of the Long Run’ and the Sunday morning ritual of going on that long run.” It just so happened that this year’s first day fell on a Sunday and so it seemed like the perfect time to release the film. “While everyone was talking about taking up new fitness activities, this was about celebrating a long-standing consistent commitment to running.”

When Sam was chosen as the star of the film and the place was pinned down, a lot of other details came together naturally - once the crew scouted the road, they could finally see what would be possible logistically and how to best reveal the scenery accompanying the run. Emily continues: “The film was a bold choice on Tracksmith’s part in this current TikTok era. It’s a format that goes against trends.” For Sam, the task was a challenge as well, not only because her goals at the time were more focused on school and work rather than running, but also because she had never run this high up and for this long before.

Despite this, Sam’s history with Tracksmith is long-standing too. “She exemplifies the amateur spirit of the brand,” says Emily. “She is a full time nurse, elite marathoner, and holds the world record for the marathon in scrubs from 2022’s Boston Marathon. Sam was a natural choice for us and a strong long distance runner that could handle multiple runs for us to get what we needed. I think it’s so beautiful that she has a record of 90 minutes of her life in real time, doing what she loves.”

While scouting though, Emily and her DP Dustin Miller did some rehearsals with another runner, as to not tire out Sam before the real deal took place. They gave themselves three runs over two days to shoot the film, but those plans were cut short by weather complications. “But we knew we had the film from the first run. And that’s the film you see.” 

It’s hard to believe that there were no restarts either - for the opening of the film, Emily had the crew make a timing adjustment, so they restarted the first 30 seconds, but after that, they were able to roll straight into the first station. Planning, unsurprisingly, was essential on the day before on the road, so there was clarity on every movement and possible scenario. Herein lay the biggest challenge as well, says Sam. “The most challenging part of the whole process was calling each of the camera movements and car movements to keep everything smooth in the take and not ruin the take with communication.”

In terms of the location itself, the snowy slopes of Rollinsville were chosen for their authenticity to where runners would actually go, but also held visual intrigue. “In a lot of ways, the film is as much about the surrounding nature as it is about her. I love that you get a sense of the entire place by the end of the film.”

In the end, ‘Church of the Long Run’ came to be of seven shots, each of them extremely long and challenging to pull off. “We wanted the film to force you to settle in for the long haul and to observe her with minimal attention. The camera is always moving but very slowly, as to not draw attention. That was a real challenge for our team as nothing was automated in our process. The cuts in the film dramatically reveal a 180 view of the world you’ve been watching and I think they’re well timed along the road. But you’ve become so hypnotised by the pace of the film that you hardly notice them.” 

A crucial part that was added on after the shoot was the soundtrack - it proves essential to setting the tone. Michael A.Müller, the composer on the project, is another tried-and-tested friend of Tracksmith, but this was a huge undertaking. Regardless, he was able to weave a tonne of his already existing tracks together to create the incredible sound we hear as Sam settles into her pace and we tag along. 

“The most fun part of the film to me was how we came together for the real time aspect of it,” reflects Emily. “We all bought into the concept as a team and wanted to do our best. There was a great sense of teamwork with such a small team attempting such an ambitious project. The response was really satisfying too. The people that get it seem touched by it and that has been beautiful to see.”

She continues, explaining that when you go for a concept like the one behind ‘Church of the Long Run’ there is not a whole lot of room to hide - for the brand, the filmmaker, the runner, or the viewer. “It really is a timeless love letter to running,” she says. “There’s nothing particularly ‘2023’ about it, instead it offers a more meditative and contemplative look at sports and fitness storytelling. It’s an investment, in the same way that running is an investment in time.” So regardless of whether viewers invested the entire 83 minutes into the ‘Church of the Long Run’ or stopped just for a few of them to follow Sam on her journey, they surely were all left with the same feeling of dedication, consistency and inward reflection.