Endurance runner Cosmin Pasca premiered on Sunday, at the 'Scala' Cinema in Zalau, the second documentary of his career, 'All the Way Through II - The Pain Cave', a film that retraces how he finished in the top 10 at Croatia's Istria 100 Miles ultramarathon (168 km) despite running almost the entire race ravaged by a virus that shut down his ability to take in any fuel.

The gala screening unfolded before an audience of roughly 200 runners and local community guests, all eager to discover the story behind a performance considered remarkable even by specialists in the sport.

Directed by Claudia Simon, the documentary is a raw, unfiltered production - no staged scenes, no embellishment - capturing the dramatic negotiations between mind and body as they unfold in real time.

The film's main source of tension is unpredictability. Although Pasca had planned the race 'mathematically, down to the last detail', a virus contracted just before the start upended everything, cutting off his ability to eat as early as kilometre 35.

Thrown prematurely into the 'pain cave' - the critical zone of extreme suffering - the leader of Zalau's 'Spartans' had to run more than 130 kilometres with zero caloric intake. Finishing 10th overall in such conditions, in a time of 21:47:47, is regarded by experts as an exceptional feat.

Falls during the race, also linked to the lack of proper fueling, destroyed the screen of his mobile phone - his only means of communication with his support team and with his family back home in Zalau.

The film's launch became a moment of deep reconnection between the athlete and his community.

During the screening, Pasca told the audience that the documentary carries a strong educational message, showing how iron physical preparation can rescue a situation that seems impossible when mental strength alone is no longer enough.

'I experienced a different kind of 'pain cave', one I had never lived before, and I think it needed to happen now. When absolutely nothing works, it's not just about the mind pushing you forward. If the body itself hadn't been prepared to sustain effort for so many hours, no matter how strong my mindset was, I couldn't have finished the race. This 'pain cave' taught me I need more patience,' Pasca said on stage, thanking the audience, his support team and his wife.

His wife also appears in the film, highlighting the emotion she and their two daughters felt throughout the race, and the support the family offered the runner.

The new production continues the series opened by his first film, 'All the Way Through - 100 Miles', which documented his 2025 summer triumph at the Beast 100M race at Bucovina Ultra Rocks, completed in 28 hours, 47 minutes and 3 seconds.

If the first film was about the taste of victory, 'All the Way Through II', which premiered Sunday in Zalau, has become a cinematic lesson in endurance, vulnerability and the breaking of human limits - a portrait of what happens when preparation meets adversity, and the body refuses to quit even when everything else does. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Sebastian Olaru; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)