In 1980 Jay Helgerson shocked the world, becoming the first person to run a marathon a week for a year – each race completed in under three hours. For the last ten years, his daughter, filmmaker Alexandra Helgerson, followed him with a camera in order to understand the eccentric man who raised her. What she gets are his projected anxieties, his struggles with physical age and emotional distress, all while he endlessly trains for the Boston Marathon. But as Jay trains, the film is nearly derailed by Alexandra’s encounter with a life threatening illness. Ultimately, AGE GROUP WINNER is an affirmation of the will to live.
Directed by: Alexandra Helgerson
Length: 83 mins
Filmmaker Lex Helgerson will join us for a discussion
Alexandra Helgerson has worked as a filmmaker, actor, teacher and musician. She earned a degree in Mass Communications from the University of California, Berkeley, where she played basketball her freshman year. After working in publishing at Town&Country Magazine in New York, she began a career in acting. Notable roles include Viola and Rosaline for the American Shakespeare Center, Vivien in VIVIEN, and Brynn in HAPPY ENDING, a horror-comedy to be released for streaming and video on demand by Buffalo 8 on June 27th. AGE GROUP WINNER is her directorial debut. A recent survivor of sarcoma, Helgerson discovered Taylor Swift after chemotherapy, and cites Swift’s songwriting as an influence for her debut album HALCYON DAYS, which will be released in the fall of 2025.
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