The film documents the challenges of crossing Alaska on the Iditarod Trail on foot and fat bike in the 2019 Iditarod Trail Invitational. Steve Cannon, an Iowa adventurer tackled the 1000 mile trail on his fat bike, carrying all of what he needed between checkpoints and villages, capturing life on the trail with his GoPro and iPhone along the way.

Dave Mable, an avid cyclist and nascent filmmaker followed along in a small airplane, catching up with Cannon and other racers at several spots along the 1000 mile journey. "The logistics of documenting a 1000 mile event, with both cyclists and on-foot racers, through a roadless wilderness was daunting to say the least," said Mable of his own 30-day journey. "With the exception of a host-home at the finish line in Nome, I didn't know where I was going to sleep each night after exiting the airplane.”

In addition to Cannon’s self-filming, Mable wove together the stories of several of the participants along the way, each of whom had a GoPro and documented their own challenges along the trail; Grant Maughn, who has summited Mount Everest via the north route, Petr Ineman, a Denali summiteer, and Jeff Rock, a winter ultra veteran.

While the film is well known in Iowa, Cannon and Mable have been working hard to spread the news of their film across the nation, entering film festivals and promoting the film during Cannon’s current Year on the Road Tour. “We don’t want the reason someone doesn’t watch the film, to be they simply haven’t heard of it,” said Cannon.

Cannon has recently left the security of four walls and a roof behind, trading a street address for four wheels in his repurposed blue bus he calls The Blue Beast. His Year on the Road Tour is motivated by the documentary Free Solo, which chronicled rock climber Alex Honnold’s ropeless ascent of 3,000-foot El Capitan. “I realized I hadn’t gone deep enough,” said Cannon after seeing Honnold’s van life commitment. “I knew I had to dive in feet first.”

The Blue Beast is adorned with graphics promoting 1000 Miles to Nome, as well as Mable’s first film Reach for the Stars, and Cannon’s two books; 40 Days and Upside Down in the Yukon. Cannon’s original plan was to travel the country visiting bike shops, running stores, book stores and other establishments promoting the movies and books; but he’s currently keeping to himself, in rural New Mexico during the COVID-19 emergency. Find out more and subscribe to follow Cannon’s adventures during A Year on the Road at ExpandYourpossible.com.

1000 Miles to Nome will be shown during the Saint Grove Main Street International Film Festival October 16th through the 19th in Spring Grove, Minnesota.

“It’s definitely an honor to be selected to these film festivals,” said Mable. “While I’ve been shooting athletic events for more than a decade, I would never have imagined that I’d be able to display the laurels of a film festival or include the words ‘award winning filmmaker’ in my tag-line.”