While I was cleaning out my inbox a while ago, something jumped out at me while I was zipping through the messages. Is that?? My shot? Sure looked familiar. Colorado Runner Magazine had used one of my images from the USATF Cross Country National Championships in Boulder this February as the cover shot for the most recent issue. Cool! That was an unexpected and pleasant surprise.

That event was my first official work as Colorado Photo Company. I was keen to get out and break in a new camera body and lens combo, and looked to the championships as a great way to do that. There were multiple races due to the different age groups, and with the course being packed into a tight area I knew there would be plenty of shooting opportunities.

I secured a media credential with the backing of Colorado Runner Magazine and was set for a great day.

I worked my butt off running all over the course to catch the action multiple times per lap. I ended up covering almost 7 miles on the day and took over 2,200 images with the new rig. Definitely a worthwhile break-in.

The funny thing is I only took about a dozen shots with my old beater camera body. Guess which one produced the cover? It just goes to show that nice gear helps, but doesn’t guarantee anything.

I think my friend Jason put it best when he said if I didn’t have the new camera, I never would have gotten the shot with the old one. He’s right because I would have had my long lens on the body then, instead of leaving the wide angle attached which allowed me to grab this shot.

Can’t wait to do it again!