A film production team came to San Quentin to do research for a movie about its track club.
San Quentin’s 1000 Mile Club ran its 7th Annual Half-Marathon on the day film director and producer Christine Yoo and television and film writer Derek Draper came to capture the experiences of the runners.
The motion picture is about how Laura Bowen-Salzsieder started the running club.
Yoo said she read an article in GQ magazine and saw a documentary, called Lap, about the 1000 Mile Club.
“I just visualize a structure for a film that would be interesting and take that angle,” Yoo said.
Draper added, “We came to see how the prisoners benefit from the runs. We wanted to learn how the whole process worked, how they prepared for the runs and how it is managed.”
The Aug. 5 event was run under a slight overcast and light drizzle that the 23 members had to endure.
Markelle Taylor, SQ premier runner, did not disappoint the guests. He shattered Ronnie Goodman’s record by 10 minutes with time of 1:17.14.
“I dedicate this run to all my teammates and coaches who help me in accomplishing some of my personal pursuits,” said Taylor. “These runs show that we can work through challenges and complete goals; just because you hit rock bottom doesn’t mean you can’t pick yourself up.”
Eddie Herena came in second.
“I thank Chris and Markelle for pushing me when I need it,” Herena said. “I’m glad of my results; running takes determination and discipline and if you apply that to real work situations you will be successful no matter what place you come in.”
Chris Scull, third place finisher said, “I’m glad to be a part of this. I really appreciate the coaches and volunteers coming out. There are a lot of other things they could be doing.”
Other runners like Barnard “Raheem” Ballard and Bruce “Hanif” Wells Jr. were able to complete the race after struggling with their conditioning throughout the season.
“I dedicate this run to my family,” said Ballard. “If I can do it, I believe they can. A wise man once said, ‘The future of a nation depends upon its health,’ Nelson Mandela.”
Wells stated, “I just turned 54, and I beat the coach’s projection. Whenever you finish a run, you complete a positive thought process, and over time you can transfer that into different areas of your life.”
“You can always feel the spirit of these events,” said Dillon Bowman, volunteer and lap counter. “It’s on another level even with its competitiveness; all the guys hang around until the last guy comes in.”
Draper has a personal connection to crime. His father was murdered in a botched robbery of their family meat market.
“That day removed the veils from my eyes to other realities of life,” he said. “I could no longer live in a bubble; as a victim I was forced to understand life and why the guys did it.”
One of the teenagers was the grandson of a family friend and an employee who was obsessed with wealth.
“I remember the trials,” he said. “I could see how the idea of wealth could create a conflict and an illogical mindset within a person. I call that an eternal storm.”
Draper added that he understood that some of the club members might have suffered from those same storms and use running to clear their minds.
“Running is therapeutic,” he said. “It helps to settle those eternal storms and to cope.
Draper co-wrote the first seasons of “Afro Samurai” staring Samuel L. Jackson on Spike TV and the narrative for a documentary about a prisoner at Pelican Bay called “217 Years” along with Yoo.
Yoo heads the U.S. division of a Korean film company called Bee Twin. She directed “Wedding Palace” staring Brian Tee, the villain from “Tokyo Drift,” Bobby Lee from MAD TV and comedian Margaret Cho.
“It shows us on the outside that these guys are making an effort to do positive and valuable things,” Bowman said.
