They Thought There Was Nowhere Left to Run
Upon the theatrical release of a documentary about a marathon that takes place inside of San Quentin State Prison, I speak to Christine Yoo, director of 26.2 to Life, about capturing that unique race.
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What does it feel like to be in prison? This goody two-shoes cannot comprehend it. How must it be to have one’s freedom taken away so completely? The closest I’ve come to incarceration was in those first couple of weeks of the pandemic, before we were even allowed to go for a jog within a mile of our homes.
26.2 to Life is a new documentary about the inmates of San Quentin State Prison - California’s most notorious maximum-security correctional facility.
The story? They run a marathon over 105 quarter-mile laps of the prison yard.
It’s a personal story. 20 years ago, a friend of director Christine Yoo was sentenced to 271 years in prison in what she tells me was a “gross miscarriage of justice - he really didn’t have a voice in the process.”
When she read about the inmates - known as the 1000 Mile Club - in GQ, as a habitual runner herself (“The longest I've run is like 15 miles, but usually I do 3-5 miles on a daily run.”), Christine wanted to make a film. She couldn’t stop thinking about how the sense of freedom and runner’s high that she felt during runs would feel like for those in prison.
Originally intending to remain in her wheelhouse and create a narrative film based on the true story of the 1,000 Mile Club, 26.2 to Life instead became Christine’s debut documentary feature.
“After I started going in there, researching and talking with the guys, hearing their stories, hearing their voices, seeing San Quentin and seeing those racing events, I knew people needed to see it for what it is, straight from the source.”
