Grief is inevitable and universal, but it can still be something we struggle to talk about.
A new documentary coming to Tyneside Cinema on September 30 doesn’t shy away from that difficult conversation.
Marathon Man follows North Shields runner Leodhais Macpherson as he takes on an extraordinary challenge in memory of his brother Conor, who took his own life in 2018 and whose body was never found.
Over 128 days, Leodhais ran 128 marathons – 3,332 miles, the equivalent of the distance from Newcastle to New York, where Conor had dreamed of living.
As well as pushing himself physically and raising money for suicide prevention charity If U Care Share and the RNLI, the challenge forced Leodhais and his family to confront a grief they had struggled to talk about.
“I’d always called it the ‘Elephant in the Room,’ the fact that neither me or my parents could talk about Conor,” he said. “There were photos of him all over the house, but sometimes, it felt almost as if he’d never even existed.
“Doing the challenge meant talking about Conor publicly for the first time and though that was difficult for me and especially my parents, it forced us to face up to feelings and thoughts we’d not dealt with.”
Leodhais filmed each day of the challenge for social media, while Newcastle filmmaker Andy Smythe of Left Side Films followed his journey for the resulting film.
For Andy, what began as a film about an extraordinary feat of endurance increasingly became a story about grief and the conversations Leodhais’s challenge was opening up.
“The more I spoke with Leodhais, the more it became apparent that something remarkable was happening – as his challenge was becoming world news, he was starting to heal wounds for not only his family but people thousands of miles away who’d been affected by suicide,” Andy said.
“Leodhais’ bravery in opening up the conversation took away the sense of shame he saw in the eyes of his parents and inspired them to begin to be able to talk about Conor once again.”
The documentary also hears from Leodhais’ mum Louise and his girlfriend Jaimie Walker, who was a major source of support throughout the extraordinary challenge.
Made by Andy and Leodhais with support from local organisations, friends and family, Marathon Man was completed after raising £3,000 through crowdfunding.
The September 30 screening at Tyneside Cinema sold out in just over two days - prompting an extra showing on October 6. Andy is hoping this will be the first of many opportunities for audiences to see the film.
“We’re really proud of what we’ve managed to achieve between us and we truly believe this film can save lives,” said Leodhais.