Ultramarathon Video Production
Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Endurance Run Official Video
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Transcript: Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Endurance Run Official Video
The Rio Del Lago 100-mile endurance run is an ultra marathon in Northern California, presented by NorCal Ultras. It starts at Beal's Point on Folsom Lake and travels up the American River.
Runners and pacers check in the day before the race and go through a medical examination, checking their blood pressure and weight. They also get their bibs and goodie bags.
**Participant:** I think it's gonna be a great adventure. It's a beautiful course, it's a beautiful area. These guys put on a really good race.
**Participant:** It's a really cool spiritual experience, it's like me and God just hanging out out there in the darkness. It's gonna be wild.
The runners get an early morning start. They run the first section of the race before the sun comes up.
The aid stations are fully staffed to assist the runners and fully stocked with nutrients and snacks.
The race is coined the Jewel of the Sierra Nevada foothills. It attracts runners and spectators from all over the country.
The course is 99% trails. Runners traverse through oak woodlands and along the most spectacular trails in the area.
For runners and their crews, they have easy access to meet up at aid stations all over the course.
Back at the starting line, runners make their first lap around the course as the sun goes down, and then they go back out into the night.
Lead runners finish the race late at night the same day. The fastest runners complete the full 100 mile course in under 17 hours. The rest of the finishers come in throughout the night and into the morning.
At North Cal Ultras, we have a passion for the trails, a commitment to community and a desire for excellence.
North Cal Ultras partners with race beneficiaries, Wings for Life, California Conservation of Trails and Running School.
Visit our website at Rio100mile.com.
Sign up for next year's event through Ultra SignUp.
About This Video
I probably covered close to a half marathon on foot myself over the course of filming this one.
The Rio Del Lago 100 Mile Endurance Run, produced by NorCal Ultras, is not the kind of event you can capture by dropping into a few locations and calling it done. It unfolds across an entire day and night, and from a production standpoint that changes everything. The challenge is not just getting footage. It is staying mobile, adapting as the race changes, and being in the right place when the experience shifts.
The course begins at Beal’s Point on Folsom Lake and follows the American River through very different phases of the race: early-morning anticipation, the steadier rhythm of the day, and the much harder overnight stretch. Each part has its own feel, and the goal with this video was to reflect that progression rather than treat the race like one long blur of running footage.
To do that, I stayed close to the action and covered a significant amount of ground on foot. Some of the most important moments were not the obvious ones. They were the quieter stretches, the late-night miles, the aid station interactions, and the points where the effort really starts to show. This video is built to represent that full experience, not just what the race looks like, but what it feels like to be in it over time.
How physically demanding is it to film a 100-mile race?
Filming a race like this is physically demanding in its own right. You are covering distance on foot, moving between locations, and staying close enough to the runners to capture meaningful moments as the race develops. Over the course of a full day and night, the effort adds up quickly, especially when the goal is to stay embedded in the event rather than observe it from a distance.
How do you stay close to the action on a 100-mile course?
It comes down to mobility, planning, and knowing what actually matters. On a course this large, you cannot cover everything. I focus on the parts of the race where the experience changes, like the early miles, aid stations, night sections, and late-race fatigue. From there, it is about staying mobile and adjusting in real time so the final video feels complete even though the course itself is far bigger than any one camera can fully cover.
How do you film an endurance race at night?
Filming at night changes both the technical approach and the way the story is told. There is less light, fewer people around, and a very different energy than during the day. The focus shifts away from broad scenic coverage and toward more controlled moments: runners moving through darkness, aid station interactions, and the quieter stretches where fatigue becomes much more visible. Capturing that well adds a level of honesty and realism that daylight footage alone cannot provide.
What makes a 100-mile race video feel complete?
A race like this feels complete on screen when the video shows progression, not just highlights. It has to reflect how the event changes over time: the buildup before the start, the steadier middle miles, the transition into darkness, and the finishers coming in late at night and into the morning. That sense of movement through time is what makes the story feel true to the race.
Did you actually sleep while filming this?
Briefly. At one point in the middle of the night, I pulled over somewhere along the course and slept in my car for about an hour and a half before heading back out. That was just enough to reset and keep going. Filming a race like this means managing your own energy too, because the production lasts almost as long as the event itself.
Would you film a race like this again?
Yes, absolutely. This one I filmed entirely on my own, which made it a different kind of challenge. There is something valuable about being fully immersed in the event like that, but with a crew you could cover more ground, work in shifts, and capture even more of the race as it unfolds across such a long stretch of time.
