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500 miles in just over seven and a half days - 7 days, 13 hours, 16 minutes and 15 seconds to be exact. That’s what ultrarunner Mike McKnight was able to do on September 20, 2020, on the Colorado Trail. His efforts were good enough to earn him a fastest known time (FKT) on the trail, which is what he was after. With the pandemic derailing his racing goals for the year, setting and reaching a goal like this, was exactly what McKnight needed. But his story is not just about completing a distance in a time that is unattainable for most in the human species. His story is by all means, a story.
Like each and every one of us, there is a story behind the story. It is a story of why we do what we do, and how we get where we are. For some, it is glamorous, and for others, there is tragedy involved. There is learning and growing amidst the moments when everything feels irreparable.
Michael McKnight has a story. It is a story of feeling broken and irreparable, and eventually getting to a point where he was no longer broken, but breaking through it all - and breaking records. His story was recently immortalized in a feature length film that is fittingly titled, “From Broken to Breaking.” The film was created single handedly by McKnight’s friend, fellow ultrarunner, and filmmaker Matthew Van Horn. According to McKnight, it was important to have his time out on the Colorado Trail documented, and not for the usual reasons some might think. According to McKnight, filming it wasn’t in an attempt to be the face of another accomplished athlete, to inspire others to be like him, or even to have the world see him and know his name. Documenting his story was for his family. “I wanted my FKT documented mainly for my children and future grandchildren,” he said. “I'm not a big journal keeper, and I felt there would be no better way for them to learn about me than an emotional film of me on a 7 day FKT attempt.”
The original plan was to have Van Horn come along, take some footage, and compile it into a 20-30 minute video. According to Van Horn, (who has only recently discovered a talent and love of filmmaking) when he reviewed all the footage, the story began coming to life. But it wasn’t just any story; it was a story that needed to be shared.“This film was really a labor of love,” Van Horn said. “As I started going through all of the footage, I knew I couldn’t do just a 20-30 minute film. The thing about running this far, is that there are so many characters involved. You have crew and family, and then you have the runner and his story. I felt like in order to do Mike’s story justice, I needed to involve the other characters. I found myself not only being a filmmaker and editor, but a journalist and writer. I’m really pleased with how the film turned out.”
If you do a Google search of Mike McKnight, you will learn his story. You will find out that he spent a lot of his life physically unhealthy. You may come across articles that talk about his ski accident that broke his back, and how he worked hard to rehabilitate his body through running. You will most likely see his name tied to great ultra running feats, namely winning and breaking the record for the prestigious Triple Crown of 200’s. What you won’t likely see is the journey and the behind the scenes characters. What you won’t find in a Google or even Instagram follow, is the emotion that goes into completing 500 consecutive miles. What you won’t see or experience is what it’s like to grow up with such little self confidence, that you feel like you’re broken. Try as you may, there will be no article or post that will allow you to understand what it was like to overcome those insecurities, and to find love and acceptance in a community, and most importantly, family.
The film, “From Broken to Breaking” gives the viewers an insider perspective like no other ultrarunning film. And according to Van Horn, that was his goal from the beginning.
“When Mike asked me to make this film, I said yes immediately, but I didn’t know what I was getting myself into,” Van Horn said. Van Horn isn’t a classically trained filmmaker. In fact he spent 13 years as an insurance salesman. An insurance salesman! During those years of calculating rates for homeowners day in and day out, Van Horn turned to trail running to bring a little bit of joy into the monotony. He found success in 100-mile distances — even finishing second at the Wasatch 100, and outright winning the Pony Express and Buffalo 100-mile races.
When he wasn’t at work or running, he devoted his time to his family. Van Horn is the youngest of nine children, and he has a wife and two teenage sons. But work got to be too much, and he took a chance at developing his creative side that he had long suppressed. So he picked up a camera. First it was pictures, and then video. He began taking on small jobs for local races. In fact, one of his first jobs filming was creating a promotional film for Matt Gunn of Ultra Adventures, who recently lost his life to suicide. “Matt Gunn was the first who really believed in me,” Van Horn said. “He let me learn and be creative. The film, 'From Broken to Breaking' is about Mike, but it is through my eyes.”
And if you watch the film, you will be able to see what Van Horn saw. You will see what it takes to prepare for a 500-mile journey, and you will see that things don’t always go as planned. You will see highs and lows, and the journey on the Colorado Trail. Through the eyes of Matt Van Horn, (who himself ran 70 miles of the journey with camera in tow) you will not only experience the journey on to the FKT, but you will understand why a person would subject himself to such an arduous task, and the support system behind him. Through his eyes, you will see Mike McKnight “From Broken to Breaking.”
Article author Arianne Brown is a mom of nine and a lifelong runner competing in anything from 5K to 50-mile races. She loves the written word, and using it to share stories the world needs to hear. For more of he writings, follow A Mother's Write on Facebook, and @ariannebrown on Instagram.
Mike this is absolutely amazing what you accomplished. The weight loss and the life style changes you made were life changing. Now you have your young son to set the best example for. I can’t even imagine hiking in that elevation, let alone running the trail. Way to go! Congrats, Signed Backpacking Great Grandma
This film was amazing! My fave part was a combination of the scenery and his love of the donut! I agreed it prolly led to his knee/quad pain! He is an exceptional athlete who surrounded himself with a great crew! I’m now intrigued with ultra running more than I was and look forward to his next FKT attempt!
Great accomplishment! Thank you for sharing your story.
Wow, what a great accomplishment and a great story!
Awesome film and so inspiration. I really enjoyed how the film.
Awesome film! So inspiring. I really enjoyed the film.
I love stories like these, they motivate me to become better then I am, even when it feels impossible.
You are an animal
Wow! Great job Matt!
I’m 66 years old. I live in San Antonio, Tx. I had both of my hips replaced in 2018. In 2020, I worked the US Census as a Census taker. After completing San Antonio, I was invited to join a team to Census Colorado. For almost 3 weeks, I spent EVERY day tromping around Colorado above 10’000 feet. The region is truly inspirational and I can understand how Mike can regain his health for the chance to visit this region.
Way to go Mike!
WOW!
2 thumbs up!
My favorite scene and most inspirational to me is when he gets off the phone and mentions someone he coaches who is running his first 100. It was me! He inspired me in that moment to keep fighting for the 100, and I can’t believe the moment was captured, let alone made the film! Always inspired by Mike and congrats to MVH on the film. Great article, too!
Outstanding performance .
Mike and his background/injury/achievement are a wonderful story all made possible by giving, dedicated people who are willing to support epic things. Great job everyone!
What an amazing feat!
Wow, sounds and looks amazing! Thank you!
Michael is an amazing athlete.
#MikeTheMetranom
Just WOW!!
Matt you did a FANTASTIC job!!!
And I was so touched to see the that the film was dedicated to our friend Matt Gunn 💗
500 miles! That’s definitely a world record for sure.
This is what Ultrarunners do – they go out and get the job done and make time for their family.
The scenery! What an awesome treat.
Congratulations on capturing the great achievement on film for viewers to appreciate.
Wow!
Such an amazing journey! I loved how well everyone worked together and when things didn’t go as planned, such as the loss of his shoes, you improvised! My favorite part was the surprise at the end with his wife running with him. Now that’s true love ❤️
Pretty impressive run. I’ve only been able to complete a half marathon. Ultra runners amaze me.
I’m always amazed how people can just lay down in the dirt and sleep during these efforts. What seems even more daunting is just getting up after a few short minutes.
Awesome film! So inspiring!
Totally awesome
Film was captivating. Michael’s accomplishment phenomenal. The filming in such a beautiful setting was astounding. I can’t wait to share this with my family.
Great effort!
Keep up the extraordinary journey! I’m paralyzed in my left arm, but I’m doing more pushups than your average man every day. Do what others aren’t doing!
Great film. Incredible ability to push through the darkness inside and out.
Such a great documentary! Tells the true grit of ultrarunning!
It is astonishing what these people are able to accomplish.
These are the kinds of stories that I will run through my head when it gets really freaking gard out there and I want to say screw it and quit…the amount of mental strength thst took…unreal.
I am amazed at the human body and the extreme effort placed by all those involved in this project. Totally inspirational!
What an inspiration beating the odds! Awesome…
Great film about dedication and mind over miles. I found it fascinating what Mike said about déjà vu and his with it in interview prior to the release of this film. Well done!!
what an inspiration! i feel motivated to keep pushing myself outside my comfort zone!
Inspirational!
Wow….the total number of miles in that timeframe and number of miles (continuously) per day and hour is plain amazing!
Inspiring! What an effort! Pushing through the exhaustion is incredible.
Love it all!
Inspirational with a capital “I”. Beautiful determination perfectly displayed.
I am always just silt amazed by the feats of the outstanding human beings!! The mental & physical game must be at their peak! Bravo!!!
Awesome. Excited for the next FKT attempt!
Great film! I really enjoyed how the film was broken up with the interview excerpts with Courtney Dauwalter. Overall my favorite scene was when Mike got his first visit with his family at the aid stop. There were a lot of emotional points, but that was one of the stand outs for me.
One of the best cinematic portrayals of ultra running I’ve ever seen. Great story and amazingly told and filmed.
I loved seeing the behind the scenes of the organization needed for the whole thing to take place. I also liked seeing the teamwork needed to keep Mike motivated, nourished and physically able to keep going. Great film!
Incredible film! Best moment was eating the donut and blaming the knee issue on the gluten!
love this very interesting, its ,my dream to go on adventure but this busy mama has so many responsibilities, may be one day !!!
Just loved it when he took a call from one of his athletes he coaches while in the middle of this adventure ! Thanks for the motivation!!
Awesome movie! The whole thing is inspirational! To push through that exhaustion is amazing!
Truly inspirational, congrats Michael and crew. Brought me to tears.
I loved the surprise scene when Sara joins him for a 16 mile section. Great film and super inspiring g to know that even with the pain and struggle of his knee, he kept at it!
That he was non-athletic gives me motivation to keep going. It’s just incredible to watch someone rn so far.
Wow. Mike is a beast!!
Amaaaaaaaaazing!!!!!!!!!!
Amazing film – I enjoyed the entire run but what really impressed is his fitness to run so far so fast over 10,000 ft elevation!
It’s amazing just what the human body (his at least) is capable of. I was in awe seeing him persevere on the last leg, simply a zombie from lack of sleep, but still going. Props to his team for the support and encouragement.
Inspiring to see you kept going after the first night at Molas Pass
Such amazing dedication & determination very inspirational stay safe and well
It was definitely the donut! Hahaha! Excellent documentary on an extraordinary accomplishment. Kudos Mike!
Wonderful filming and incredible story! I love the inclusion of his family and crew since they play such a big role in supporting him.
It’s amazing that he came from such a non-athletic background and recovered from a massive ski injury to become an FKT record breaker. My favorite part that made me literally laugh out loud was when he thought/decided to sprint to trick his quad muscle 😂
I can’t wait to tell my son and daughter about this film! What a great motivational and inspirational movie!
Such an inspiration to just go for it. Goals set and achieved.
Incredible!
This is definitely a spectacular story for anyone who is a typical outdoorsman. Definitely entertaining.
To watch someone who had hatred for anything athletic when younger accomplish his goal is awesome. From having hallucinations of monkeys on a 4 wheeler from sleep deprivation. To relentless pushing forward. But to me, the most inspiring was the ending with him talking about being broken from feeling sad and out of place for not being able to perform athletically when younger and now achieving records. That inspires me to move as an overweight person I understand that feeling too well. Great video.
i totally understand the feeling of being broken, especially with the lack of sel confidence. what an inspiration
Looks like a great film!
Impressive!!
Fantastic read and incredible story, looking forward to checking out the film now!
truly inspirational! excuse me while i get up to get a run in.
How inspiring! It makes me look at how we all simply waste time doing meaningless drivel rather than doing what we desire.
Amazing work to ALL involved!! Loved it!
Love it, a lot!! I want to win!!
My favorite part was when Mike was at his breaking point and thought he could go no further because of his knee , but got up and started to run . The monkey hallucination was also pretty funny.
I’ve been broken for the past decade and then I burned out 36 months ago and then I burned my whole sales career and then tragically my marriage to the ground in Jan ‘20. This film meant a lot to me. Thanks for suffering on film in this grueling accomplishment. I hope this is the start of me losing 100 pounds and beating my own food addiction. Hopefully someone else too.
Favorite scene was when he found out his wife was joining him. Most inspirational was after looking the back X-rays. Great Doc!
Inspirational. A must see for everyone.
Watched it last night. So inspiring!
I caught the live premiere on his YT channel and now watching it again. I cried four times during the premiere. Sure, maybe I’m emotional and get caught up in running docs, but man, this one was so raw and relatable. I love how he lit up every time he got to see his wife and son. My favorite part was when she surprised him and ran the last leg with him…all the feels! It means so much when our loved ones support us.
Dedication and determination…
Around 55:00 through 57:00 where he was saying that he couldn’t keep going on barely no sleep — i can feel his pain and was starting to worry for him…..
Min 18:00 – “I think things are going to work out, I think this is going to be EPIC”
Wow. Just wow. Mile is so inspiring and kudos to the crew and whole team.
so inspirational!
Freakin incredible. Seeing how tired he was and kept pushing through was spectacular. Love seeing inside the gritty details of such an effort. Oh, and hope he found his shoes 😬
Makes me want to get outdoors more often
Inspiring. I got to get out there now. You guys did a fantastic job
Keeps getting better every time I watch it.
Impressive on every level!
Amazing
Nice!
Wow! Inspiring, and beautifully-shot! A joy to watch!
Maybe 0ne day I can do a 500 mile hike
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Ryan M.
June 14, 2021
Inspiring