Nicolas Heller shows what really moves New York

Titled 26.2, this absorbing documentary was co-produced by m ss ng p eces, New York Road Runners’ (NYRR) and studio East 89th St Productions, and directed by Nicolas Heller. 

Full of sentiment without being mawkish, the film profiles four tenacious New Yorkers in the lead-up to the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon. 

In 2023, NYRR, the community running nonprofit that produces the TCS New York City Marathon, approached Heller – a longtime fan of the race – to cover the finish line. His candid images and videos amassed more than ten million views across his social channels. 

Moved by the entire experience, Heller proposed a film collaboration for the 2024 race. His documentary homes in on four members of NYRR’s Team Inspire, a group of 26 runners with particularly moving stories: Joel Kaufmann is a maths teacher in his 60s who was initially inspired to join the race after a friend who loved running was diagnosed with leukaemia. He elects to walk the course and holds the distinction of being the final official finisher of the 2023 race. 

Johnny Pye found running saved him from the debilitating dark days he endured following a stroke. Running his first marathon, he aims to bring representation and hope to other stroke survivors. The remarkably brave LaDawn Jefferson (pictured) is a breast cancer survivor, grandmother and Police Administrative Aide for the NYPD, while Shaquille Roberts, an immigrant from St. Kitts, survived a house fire with burns on more than 40 per cent of his body. He’s the founder of the Bronx Burners Run Club.

Heller commented: “I’ve been going [to the New York Marathon] for many years and taking whatever photos and videos I can to document the people of my city. I was inspired to go deeper and create a film that honoured people’s motivations and stories and celebrates the community that the marathon creates.”