For a small group of athletes, the old 26-mile marathon has lost its charm and challenge. The new test that such runners are dedicating themselves to is the 100-mile ultra-marathon. Why Are You Running? will travel to one of this extreme sport's premiere events where, running under the intense noon sun into the total darkness of the night, an elite band of runners will face pain, dehydration, hypothermia, injuries and exhaustion. Finishing the race, these runners say, is something anyone can do: it's simply mind over matter and an extremely high tolerance for pain. But, considering there is no prize money and only scant corporate sponsorship, why would anyone want to? This documentary will help shed light on the glamour of this 100-mile mission, the allure of the ultra-marathon.

History lives and breathes in the dramatic stories, fascinating places and unique characters that surround us. The National Register of Historic Places recognizes and safeguards these places — from battlefields to shipwrecks, banks to bars, cathedrals in New York to ancient totems in Alaska. American Places is a weekly television series that treks off-road through America’s colorful past and builds entertaining and enlightening bridges to the present. Each half-hour episode will begin at a National Register site and focus on a significant moment in time, a particular cultural theme or a colorful character from the past. Coincidences and juxtapositions will carry the program to different sites on the Register, bringing history to life through the enduring connections between America’s places and the constantly unfolding stories of its people.

The ultimate road show, American Places will take viewers across the continent and across the centuries. By weaving narratives with unexpected themes and connections, American Places will reveal that history is not something relegated to the past; it lives and breathes in the dramatic stories, fascinating sites and unique characters that surround us.