Thirty Hours: Story of the Oldest Finisher of Western States 100

At 72, Wally Hesseltine is the oldest finisher of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run. Filmmakers Alex Massey and Lucas Vazquez follow his journey from training to the finish line in this 12 minute documentary.

Running 100 miles is tough, running 100 miles when you’re 72 years old is unimaginable. Unless you're Wally Hesseltine.

Wally, a born and bred Californian ultramarathoner, was a competitor in the Western States 100 in June this year. He was set to be the oldest ever finisher of this most prestigious 100 mile race.

The race, which sees competitors race over Sierra Nevada's Lake Tahoe's snow-capped mountains and through searing desert heat, is one of the world's most prestigious ultramarathons and can take runners years to get in through the lottery system.

His finish was unforgettable, as he stumbled into Placer High School with 400m to run and 2 minutes to do it. He had a stadium full of people in tears.

We followed Wally's journey from training through to the finish in a 12 minute documentary that has just been released.

[vimeo 181118448 w=640 h=267]

About the Filmmakers
Alex Massey and Lucas Vazquez are an Australian documentary-making team with a passion for telling stories of the incredible human spirit and the great outdoors. They met while working together on large commercial projects and realized their shared passion for adventure. Alex and Lucas now have several independent films in the pipeline for 2016.

Alex is an ultrarunner himself, and contacted Wally after noticing his age on the Western States 100 Entrants List. Alex and Wally ran countless times together in the lead up to the race, often with camera gear in hand, and are now great friends and training partners.

Feature Image © Alex Massey (Wally Hesseltine on the finish line)