Writing about the real and perceived risks of long-distance running for old people, we were reminded of the triumphs of Marco Olmo, the 60-year-old Italian excavator operator who won the grueling, 166-km (with 9,400 meters of climbing) Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc. Actually, he won it twice, in 2006 and 2007. He’s well known in Europe but a bit of a cipher in the United States. (A cipher and zephyr!)

The following clips are trailers for the 2010 movie The Runner, which chronicled his successes and the rough life leading up to them: “In life I’m a loser, I was born poor, as I am still poor now. I run to revenge myself. I run for vengeance.”