We are excited to announce that our screening at Sports Basement Presidio in San Francisco was a smashing success! Nikki Kimball and Finding Traction’s Producer/Director, Jaime Jacobsen, were both at the event to present a special extended trailer (sneak preview of new scenes for our live audience) and field questions from trail runners, race directors and community members in the Bay area, and spread the word about our Indiegogo campaign. The film received a very positive response from the audience (our trailer opened for another wonderful trail running documentary, The Dipsea Movie) and generated a great Q&A and panel discussion afterwards.

Three generations ultra runners – Nikki Kimball, Anna Frost and Emilie Forsburg – shared their insights on health, nutrition and training from a women’s perspective. Great insights all around!

We’d like to thank our fans who were able to come out and show their support for the film at the event. It was great to see you!

We’d also like to recognize our new supporters who have joined our efforts to become part of this project! We loved meeting you. It was very inspiring to learn that the trailer is having such an impact and we really appreciate all the the wonderful feedback we received at the event, via email and in the Indiegogo comments on our campaign page.

We look forward to bringing the full film back to San Francisco in 2013!

Dear Funders and Finding Traction Supporters,

We’ve officially raised over $10,000 on Indiegogo! Three cheers to everyone for your generous support and for helping us hit this big milestone.

Please keep spreading the word to help make Finding Traction happen. We couldn’t do this without you!

Best wishes,
Jaime Jacobsen, Nikki Kimball & the Finding Traction Team

Exciting news: our friends at Trail Runner Nation asked us to come and record a podcast with them while we’re in San Francisco next week! Trail Runner Nation’s host, Don Freeman, and special guest Jimmy Dean be traveling from Sacramento to meet us for the occasion, and Sports Basement Presidio has generously offered to let us set up a mobile recording studio in their meeting rooms.

If you’re not familiar with Trail Runner Nation, check out their website. It’s rich in information for the novice and expert trail runner alike. They have podcasts you can download and subscribe to, which have an amazing following, by the way — 8,000-11,000 downloads per show. They also feature discussions about each podcast, groups you can join or create, and forums to chat with other members.

Start exploring! Check out TRN’s podcasts here, and watch for ours coming in early December.

In 10 days Nikki and Jaime are headed to San Francisco to screen the Finding Traction trailer with a special Q&A at Sports Basement Presidio‘s Movie Night before The North Face Endurance Challenge Series!

The Dipsea Movie is the headliner. Please find the Evite and event info here. Don’t wait until tickets sell out, buy yours today!

Sports Basement Movie Night! (11/29/12, 5:00-9:00PM)

Calling all runners, athletes, film buffs, and those seeking inspiration! Come to Movie Night at Sports Basement Presidio on Thursday, November 29th to celebrate an evening of trail running and race stories with your friends, family and fellow trail and road racers. Enjoy a pasta dinner and the opportunity to network with world class runners competing in the North Face Endurance Challenge before screening The Dipsea Movie, which chronicles the history and drama of America’s oldest trail race. Make sure to come early to see a preview of the upcoming highly anticipated ultra running documentary, Finding Traction, which profiles North Face endurance athlete Nikki Kimball as she takes on her ultimate challenge on Vermont’s 273-mile Long Trail. Enjoy a Q&A with Nikki at the screening party before screening The Dipsea Movie as she shares her own battles and motivation on the trail. Tickets are only $5. All proceeds benefit The Dipsea Race Foundation.

This week Finding Traction’s Producer/Director Jaime Jacobsen spoke with our friends at TrailAndUltraRunning.com about her motivation for making the film, how the film crew captured Nikki’s Long Trail expedition on camera, and her vision for the project. Big thanks to Craig Lloyd for making this interview possible!

Check it out here.

So what does an elite ultra runner do when she’s not out on the trail running races or breaking speed records? Nikki has an awesome new project in the works: leading trail running and yoga adventures at Molte Yoga Retreats!

Molte Yoga Retreats combine active outdoor pursuits with quieting and empowering time on the yoga mat, connecting the power and grace in nature to that within you.

Nikki is leading two new retreats:

1) The Trail Running 406 Retreat.

Like to run and do yoga but not sure how to integrate the two and reap maximum benefits from both? Then join Nikki in the mountains of southwest Montana to run the trails, soak in the cool waters of the Madison or Gallatin River and spend time on the yoga mat to develop strength, flexibility and balance in body, mind and spirit.

2) The Camp Kimball GoR Fundraiser.

This mother-daughter weekend camp with Nikki is a fundraiser for the Montana Chapter of Girls on the Run (GoR). The weekend is packed with fun activities for mothers and daughters of all ages, including yoga sessions, trail running workshops and motivational talks, outdoor fun, games, gourmet meals and free time to explore, photograph, journal and star gaze.

Come run, relax and meet the star of Finding Traction!

We’re a little over a week into our crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo, and we’ve already raised over 25% of our goal! THANK YOU for your support and for spreading the word!

We still need your help to reach our $30,000 goal by December 15th! Help make Finding Traction happen by donating on Indiegogo today.

Many thanks,
Jaime Jacobsen and the Finding Traction Team

Exciting news! Finding Traction’s producing team has been hard at work on a new grant application with the Tribeca Film Institute. We’re applying for funding to wrap up filming and start editing the film.

TFI has announced a new extension of their documentary fund, the TFI/ESPN prize, which will award one annual grant of $30,000 to a feature-length work-in-progress documentary that presents sports, competition and athleticism as a backdrop within a character-driven story.

Projects in consideration for the TFI/ESPN Prize capture the human element of the sports world and bring the dramatic stakes of competitiveness to vivid life. In short, the TFI/ESPN Prize-winning project will strive to change the way people perceive sports.

Sound like us? We thought so too.

We’ll find out in February 2013 if we get the grant. Keep your fingers crossed for us!

Calling all Finding Traction fans! We need your help. We’ve launched a new crowd funding campaign. Join us in making Finding Traction happen on Indiegogo!

After a year and a half of filming we are nearing the end of production. This winter we will start post-production, where we edit the film! In order to finish the film, we need to raise a large amount of money - over $100,000 - and that’s why we’re approaching our biggest fans and the Indiegogo community for support. We are asking for $30,000 to help us pay for initial post-production costs while we continue to apply for grants and foundation funding, and bring additional sponsors on board. With your help we hope to finish the film in Spring 2013.

Nikki is one of the most inspiring women we know. Her endless courage, tenacity and drive to go after her goals is fascinating and awe-inspiring. After learning of the role Nikki plays in empowering women and girls to participate in professional sports, her passion for involving youth in athletics, and her quest to promote physical activity as a way to combat America’s obesity epidemic, we decided this was a film we had to make. This one-hour film will put Nikki’s expedition on the big screen and give viewers an incredible look into the journey of an elite athlete and the little-known world of ultra running.

If you are excited to see the movie, please consider making a small donation to help us finish the film so we can inspire people across the country with Nikki’s story.

Contributions start at just $5! In exchange for your support, we’re offering a number of cool perks: Finding Traction sticks, autographed DVDs and photos, t-shirts and more!

It’s quick and easy. Please find our campaign page to learn more.

The trail is long, but with your help we can make it! Thank you for making this amazing project possible.

Jaime Jacobsen, Finding Traction Producer/Director