Speed Goggles: Alexi Pappas Makes New Running Video Series
Olympic-bound distance runner Alexi Pappas creates releases new five-part video series about the unique lives of runners.
Alexi Pappas has other talents besides running. She’s also a writer, a filmmaker and an actress who frequently sports a messy bun with a personality of its own. Her latest project, “Speed Goggles,” is a five-part video series about runners released on The New York Times website.
The 26-year-old elite runner from Eugene, Ore., created the series with partner Jeremy Teicher who also co-wrote and co-directed Pappas’ most recent film “Tracktown” that debuted at the L.A. Film Festival in June. The first video introduces elite runners Pappas and two-time Olympian Andrew Wheating in a style best described as a parody on old nature documentaries with detailed descriptions of the runners’ day. Two other videos have been released, titled “Nightmares Mean You Care” and “Normal People.”
When asked by The New York Times, what Pappas wants people to gain from these videos, she said, “I hope people identify with these films in some way and also see a world they may not always see. It’s the life of an elite runner outside the track. I think runners will appreciate the elements of it, and hopefully laugh along with us.”
In August, Pappas, a Greek-American, will also be representing Greece at the Rio Olympics in the 10,000-meter event.