RUN

Idea

The opening shot of the trailer to ‘Run’ – an epic and emotionally charged documentary feature – symbolically shows how millions of refugees start to run: with the sound of a gun, not a starter pistol. This 90-minute documentary feature tells a story of displacement, disappointment, sheer determination and hope following the journey of the Athlete Refugee Team, led by Kenyan athlete and matriarch Tegla Loroupe, on a gruelling, yet inspiring three year journey.

The documentary is a co-production between On, the Swiss sportswear company, the Tegla Loroupe Foundation and Hungry Man Productions, and is sensitively directed by Richard Bullock.

The film can be seen as a unique piece of purpose-driven marketing – underpinning On’s brand mission: ‘When switched On, the human spirit knows no limits’. It’s also an example of a brand taking a stand and using its power and influence to shine a light on a cause that’s arguably been sidelined in recent months due to other crises, bringing attention and compassion to the global refugee crisis – a symbol of hope.

Watch the trailer here RUN documents one of sport’s most courageous stories in recent memory. Tegla Loroupe, a long-distance world record holder born on the western border of Kenya, watched waves of refugees arriving to her country from Rwanda and Sudan, and has made it her lifelong mission to send a refugee team to the Olympic Games. At Tegla’s Peace Foundation training camp in Kenya’s Ngong Hills near Nairobi, 31 she trains athletes from six different countries who have been running from tribal gangs and civil war since they were children. On supported the production of the film and has used the momentum and awareness around it to raise $85 000 US Dollars from sales of running shoes via its e-commerce platform. These funds will be used to purchase land adjacent to their basecamp and build the team its own running track. At the moment they have to walk or run 5 km to get to the nearest training track. As half the athletes are women, it’s dangerous for them to walk.

Olivier Bernhard, co-founder of On, says of RUN: “This story embodies the very essence of transcending sport and championing the human spirit. Isolated from their families, these refugee athletes are not just hopefuls for the Olympics, but for refugees worldwide. We are pleased their story, talent and spirit is being introduced and celebrated with our longest ever feature film, ‘RUN’. We consider this our gift to the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation and Athlete Refugee Team, paying homage to this special day. The human spirit knows no limits.” Director Richard Bullock felt strongly that refugees’ stories were mostly told through the news and media, rather than by the people themselves. Bullock placed the refugee athletes’ own voices and stories front and centre – and ensured the protagonists were in charge of their own narrative.

“Refugees get a lot of people talking for them so I made a conscious effort to allow the audience to listen to the characters. They are all in their early 20s but they are incredibly wise and thoughtful.

From very early on I tried to find out how they were able to remain so hopeful and positive about the world when the world had given them little reason to believe it was anything but violence and horror. I mean these were six and seven year old kids who saw their parents and siblings murdered in front of them and then ran away to avoid the same fate. How do you reconcile that as a human being? And somehow they do.

I think that’s the biggest plus for someone watching the film. It’s not about running at all. It’s about resilience and overcoming hardship.” ‘‘RUN’ is now officially released on athleterefugeeteam.com and additionally, the documentary will reach a global audience of 200 million households, by being broadcast on ESPN, Globo, Eurosport, ZDF, beIN SPORTS and more.

Results

Sports brand On raises $85k USD from e-com to build new running track for the Athlete Refugee Team Funds raised through the launch of ‘RUN’ – a full-length feature film portraying refugee athletes’ journey to representing the 79.5 million displaced people worldwide Documentary film reaches 200 million households globally - while underlining On’s brand brand purpose