A Journey Of Healing Through Ultra Cycling
‘This is not a story of success against the odds, or a story of triumph in the face of adversity. This is an honest story about failure.
‘Life is not perfect, but it is possible.’ – Jenni Myers
Produced and directed by adventure filmmaker Catherine Dunn, new film Possible premieres today at 7pm to coincide with Mind’s Time To Talk Day. Possible documents ultra-endurance cyclist Jenni Myers’ attempt at the GBDuro, a 2000km off-road race from Land’s End to John O’Groats. The race however, was merely a backdrop to a much more personal story of healing.
You can watch the full film below:
Having suffered from agoraphobia for most of her life, Jenni sought out opportunities to stretch the boundaries of her horizon at every opportunity. She began by going for short runs round her house, always having an escape route if she needed it. But, before long, she was pedalling for hundreds of miles on weekends and began entering ultra-distance races.
Land’s End (the official start of GBDuro) is just about the furthest away from Jenni’s home that she could reach in the UK – a remote location with few escape routes. But, her presence on the start line was already an indicator of how far she’d come in her personal battle against agoraphobia.
With the race unfolding in unfavourable conditions, extreme heat and exposed terrain meant that a number of participants suffered heat stroke. For Jenni, this presented another situation from which escape was almost certainly impossible.
Catherine adopted a unique approach to filming that allowed for Jenni to comfortably tell her story as the race unfolded. ‘Behind the scenes, Possible was a unique filmmaking venture,’ she says. ‘Given the personal nature of the film, it was important that Jenni was left to tell her story to a camera alone. Diarised entries in the build-up to GBDuro were an important element, whilst allowing Jenni time to practice the difficult art of self-filming.
‘During the race, the film crew did not come into direct contact with Jenni, but captured scene-setting shots from afar, whilst she was left to converse with a small camera that was attached to her handlebars. This approach is not often used in adventure filmmaking, but for such a personal story it gave Jenni the breathing room to be open, vulnerable and honest about her experience.’
‘Difficult conversations around mental health are sometimes alluded to in adventure films, but largely shied away from in their entirety,’ Catherine says. ‘Yet so many of us experience these damaging struggles in our lifetime – perhaps Possible can encourage us to talk about these struggles a little more.’
Mind’s Time To Talk Day is an initiative designed to encourage everyone to make time in their day to have conversations about mental health. You can find out more here, and be sure to check out Matt Glenn’s story, Mental Mountains, (first featured in issue 09 of BASE magazine) for another reminder of the importance of opening up challenging conversations about mental health.
Don’t miss a single adventure
Sign up to our free newsletter and get a weekly BASE hit to your inbox
Other posts by this author
Photo Essay • BASE editorial team • Mar 18, 2024
Hunting happiness through adventure in Taiwan
BASE teams up with adventurer Sofia Jin to explore the best of Taiwan's underrated adventure scene.
Story • BASE editorial team • Nov 21, 2023
Five Epic UK Climbs You Should Try This Winter
Craving a snowy mountain adventure? Inspired by the Garmin Instinct 2 watch (into which you can directly plan these routes), we've compiled a list of five of the best for winter 2023-24!
Spotlight • BASE editorial team • Oct 26, 2023
Kit Up, Give Back: How Outdoor Gear Rental Is Opening Up Adventure To Everyone
Gear rental initiative KitUp is on a mission to improve accessibility to the outdoors
You might also like
Story • Katherine Moore • Aug 11, 2023
Testing and tasting the Salzburg gravel scene
What makes the city of Salzburg the ideal jump-off for exploring the Austrian alps?
Story • Mike Tucker • May 26, 2023
Gather: A Cycling Festival With A Difference
Forming meaningful connections with likeminded souls over bikes, local food and a beer or two
Story • Chris Hunt • May 05, 2023
Life-affirming discoveries near Bolivia’s Death Road
Sami Sauri explores the winding gravel tracks of the Yungas surrounding La Paz, Bolivia
