What does it take to become an international marathon runner? In 1985, 102 British male runners ran under the elite time of 2 hours 20 minutes for the marathon, only 5 managed this same feat 20 years later. British male distance running had all but disappeared but why?
16 stone, obese, heavy drinking filmmaker Alex Vero goes on a journey to find out firsthand what it takes to become an international marathon runner and to explain the recent decline of British male marathon running.
Alex's story takes many twists and turns before becoming intertwined with former Ethiopian goat herder Mengsitu Abebe, and closer to home, recent Oxford graduate Ben Moreau - one of Britain's brightest hopes for 2012 marathon success.
It's taken a long time but marathon running documentary 'Running to the Limits' will get its first Channel 4 screening on Wednesday the 16th December at 00:35 (in the morning) so if you have Sky + you can record it and watch it at a more convenient time. It's going to be shown on 4OD (on demand on the Channel 4 website) for 30 days after the initial broadcast (click on the link above for that).
