Running Stories

Coming-of-age sports drama - spec script

Three talented young athletes prepare for the biggest races of their lives, but inner conflict and dysfunctional relationships reveal what’s really important to them: freedom, truth and hope.

Running Stories weaves together the experiences of three teenage athletes as they prepare for the most important races of their lives: qualifiers for the International Junior Athletics Championships – and the finals themselves. While running is very much the glue that binds the trio of stories together, it is the personal journeys and familial relationships that drive an emotional, humorous, uplifting coming-of-age drama.

The main characters are Dylan, a repressed, shy individual who would rather be an ordinary teenager, but is dominated by his overbearing mother, who lives her athletics career dream through him; Marcus, who uses running as his sole release as he struggles living with his closeted homosexuality, and a conservative family he cannot come out to; and Jade, a troubled, mischievous young woman lacking direction and motivation, with her sprinting ability providing her with a platform for positive change.

The three young athletes battle with their families, themselves and their rivals on the track, but each make it through to the championship finals; who will really come out on top?