MiracleFeet Launches ‘Miles to Miracle,’ World’s First Animated Film Drawn by Runners’ Real Footsteps

NYC production turns 597 Strava routes into short film about girl born with clubfoot for nonprofit helping more children get treatment

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MiracleFeet, the global nonprofit working to eliminate untreated clubfoot (a common birth defect, affecting an estimated 200,000 newborns each year, that causes the feet to twist inward) is announcing the wide release of ‘Miles to Miracle,’ the first animated short film drawn entirely by real footsteps.

Inspired by a real girl named Miracle, ‘Miles to Miracle’ tells the generational story of a child born with clubfoot and how access to treatment transformed her life. The film uses 597 lower Manhattan running routes – each illustrating a single film frame. The outlines of their routes form birds, legs, a young girl and her family, and even the name of the film’s title character: “Miracle.”

Participants recorded runs, jogs, and walks using the GPS-tracking app Strava across 2,792 miles to animate the stop-motion film. The runners’ movement also shaped the film’s sound. Authentic instrumentation was layered with percussion captured from real strides.

“‘Miles to Miracle’ shows what mobility makes possible: the chance to walk, run, play, go to school, and thrive,” said Daphne de Souza Lima Sorensen, CEO of MiracleFeet. “By inviting the running community to help create this film, our goal is to draw attention to the fact that clubfoot is highly treatable, yet too many children still grow up without care simply because of where they are born. A simple treatment is all that stands between a life of disability, stigma, and exclusion and one of mobility, independence, and opportunity.”

Animation and Sound Powered by NYC Run Club

“As runners, we never take for granted the ability to move,” said Nicholas Synan, Chief Running Officer of Upper East Side Run Club, who helped bring runners into the project. “Being able to have every step go toward a greater impact is really special to us.”

“Movement had to drive every part of this film,” said Dan Macena, Associate Creative Director at Klick Health, the health marketing agency that created ‘Miles to Miracle.’ “By turning Strava art into a stop-motion animated story – and turning real footsteps into part of the score – a community of runners helped tell a story powered by their own steps.” Added Associate Creative Director, Kate Maldjian, “Because the routes remain available on Strava, anyone can run or walk in the filmmakers’ footsteps and connect with the film in a personal way.”

Routes Anyone Can Run

The global nonprofit also announced today that it has released nine of the film’s most iconic frames in a featured collection called the MiracleFeet Circuit. While all 597 completed routes remain available on Strava, the MiracleFeet Circuit invites runners of every pace and ambition to retrace select routes, including The Leaf (a 3-mile fun run), The Bird (a classic 10K), and even The Stride (a 7.72-mile challenge) to help raise awareness and funds for clubfoot treatment.

Film Shines Spotlight On Treating Clubfoot Without Surgery

In low- and middle-income countries, 80 percent of children born with clubfoot lack access to care, even though treatment is low-cost and nonsurgical.

“Those numbers are devastating because clubfoot is treatable without surgery,” said Dr. Joshua E. Hyman, MD, Orthopedic Surgery at CUIMC/New York-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital. “With early diagnosis and proper Ponseti treatment, children born with clubfoot can achieve functional, pain-free mobility. The tragedy is not that treatment does not exist. It is that too many children still cannot access it.”

To watch ‘Miles to Miracle,’ donate to help change the future for children with clubfoot, and explore the routes that powered the film – including the MiracleFeet Circuit – visit milestomiracle.com.

About MiracleFeet

MiracleFeet is a global nonprofit working to eliminate untreated clubfoot. Founded in 2010, MiracleFeet is on a mission to ensure that every child born with clubfoot has access to the care they need to live an active and healthy life. Working in partnership with local healthcare providers, MiracleFeet brings the same proven standard of care used in countries with advanced health systems to high-need settings around the world. To date, MiracleFeet has supported treatment for more than 130,000 children in 39 countries through a growing network of over 560 clinics.