Written and PERFORMed by Eileen Tull
A solo show about training for the marathon in a fat body takes off for the Minnesota Fringe!
TOO FAT TO RUN
written and performed by Eileen Tull
at the Minnesota Fringe 2026
Open Eye Theatre
506 E 24th St.
Minneapolis, MN
8/7 at 7PM
8/8 at 10PM
8/14 at 8:30PM
8/15 at 5:30PM
8/16 at 1PM
original direction by Jessica Landis
remount direction by Jules Dreitzer
production assistance by Lou McNaughton
In a culture that often equates fitness with thinness, Too Fat To Run by Eileen Tull delivers a powerful, honest, and empowering message: Movement belongs to everyone. Blending personal experience with sharp insight, Tull confronts the mythology of thin supremacy in the world of long distance running. This autobiographical solo show invites audiences to rethink what health and strength truly look like.
After signing up for the 2022 Chicago Marathon, Tull received mixed messages from people in her life. Some were supportive, but some were “concerned” about her fat body being able to finish all 26.2 miles. In collaboration with directing team Jessica Landis and Jules Dreitzer, Tull created a 60 minute, highly physical play for people who want to reconnect with their bodies on their own terms, free from shame, comparison, or unrealistic expectations.
Workshopped and developed with Fat Theatre Project, Too Fat To Run has been performed at the Central Virginia Fringe Festival, Redtwist Theatre, Elgin Fringe Festival, the Inverse Performance Art Festival in Bentonville, Arkansas, and at Chicago’s Fillet of Solo Festival.
Tull has been performing and teaching solo work in Chicago for over ten years, with shows like “Bad Dates, Or: What Killed That Monkey in Indiana Jones Only Makes Me Stronger” at Abbie Fest; “I’m Not Making Good Art Anymore” at Rhino Fest, “Hi, I’m Eileen” at the Chicago Fringe and Chicago Solo; and “Phone Calls With John Kasich” at Collaboraction and Loyola University, among others. Outside of Chicagoland, her solo work has been featured in New York City, San Francisco, and Cincinnati festivals and The Marsh Theatre in San Francisco. She is the founding artistic director of Fat Theatre Project, which tells stories by/about/for/with fat people.
What audiences are saying about Too Fat To Run:
“A perfect solo show that demands your attention. Tull takes you on a run that engages and electrifies. It’s impossible to listen to this frank and loving conversation of her body and not question your relationship with your own.” – Zack Peercy, playwright of Muffed and Kubrickian at The Factory Theatre
“Eileen Tull shines as we jog through her journey to train for and run the Chicago marathon. She redefines who an athlete is – turns out, it’s all of us.” – Tori Rosin Szerkeres of Serving the Sentence
“Too Fat to Run is exactly what I want out of a solo play: a great story, a protagonist I’m eager to root for, and a blend of moving and comic material that Tull so smoothly delivers.” – Ginna Hoben, Author of the solo plays The Twelve Dates of Christmas and No Spring Chicken
Tickets through the Minnesota Fringe website: https://minnesotafringe.org/shows/2026/too-fat-to-run
Fat Theatre Project 