LEARNING TO FLY follows former competitive runner turned photographer Aisha McAdams as she embarks on a journey to document the triumphs and struggles of some of the biggest names in ultra running, such as Jim Walmsley, Eszter Csillag and Vincent Bouillard, as they compete at the Western States Endurance Run in the Mountains of Eastern California and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in the French Alps.
While photographing and interviewing these elite runners, Aisha confronts her own painful and complex past, and the reasons why she had to step away from racing, a pursuit that had once brought her a much-needed sense of freedom, joy and belonging.
“Learning to Fly sits exactly at the intersection of what Wild State was built to champion,” said Wild State’s Joseph. “The film perfectly embodies our belief in documenting what it takes to pursue your passions — whether on the ultra-marathon trail, or just getting outside for a run in your neighborhood.”
Produced by Unreasonable Studios, LEARNING TO FLY follows McAdams as she sets out to document elite competitors — among them Jim Walmsley, Rod Farvard, and Eszter Csillag — at the Western States Endurance Run in the mountains of Eastern California and the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) in the French Alps. Running had given Aisha a sense of freedom, joy, and belonging as a young person — before trauma and mental health challenges forced her to walk away from the sport she loved. Immersed now in the world of these elite athletes, she begins to wonder whether she might find her way back. Her answer is to enter an ultra-marathon of her own.
The film’s emotional throughline is resilience — Aisha’s, and that of her subjects. It is a film about what it takes to believe in yourself again after you’ve been broken, and its answer arrives in a coda that is worth the wait.
