Category Archives: run
Photo Shoot: 2014 St. Patrick’s Day 5K
Race #1 in the Highlands Ranch Race Series is a wrap.
It was so much work, but I really enjoyed it. Trying to juggle shooting the event as well as managing a booth with prints for sale, and a raffle was a big challenge. It would have been a complete fail without the help of my wife and kids, who without even being asked stepped up to the plate to help out the old man.
The booth needs some fine tuning, but it was a great experience to mingle with so many people. It was a great first effort. Selling wildlife and landscape prints to a bunch of runners who are just finishing a 5K is an almost laughable uphill battle, but we managed a few sales (two bluebird and one rattlesnake) despite the odds. Having a regular presence at all of the races going forward will be a big help.
I placed this ad in the race packet (it was electronically delivered – very slick):
We got a lot of great exposure, including the company logo on 900 shirts. That was very cool to see!
Tons of people took business cards and really enjoyed looking through everything we had on display. In the past I have not had much of an appetite for the business side of the equation, but I am enjoying this process. It’s a fun challenge in a problem-solving kind of way to try and figure out what resonates with folks and how to overcome certain hurdles.
Of course the main reason I was there was to take photos of the runners. I set up early and stayed late to capture as much of the action surrounding the event that I could.
We announced the winner of our drawing for the lightning photo at the awards ceremony. The guy that won seemed genuinely thrilled and in disbelief. He let me snap this quick shot with my cell phone. That whole process was very satisfying, I’m looking forward to doing it again!
The next race is the Saturday before Mother’s Day, so we’ll come up with something good for that drawing.
A few more images can be seen here, and a large batch of low-res unedited jpegs can be found here. They are ideal for blogs and Facebook. They are more of the ‘snapshot’ variety, and not really reflective of my style – but I wasn’t using them for my needs, so I figured I would make them available to the runners for sharing, etc.
Photo Shoot: 2014 USATF Cross Country National Championships
I got out for some much needed practice with the new camera gear yesterday. XC Nats up in Boulder proved to be the perfect venue for me. There were 6 races taking place over half a day on a 2k loop. This gave me ample opportunity to get things dialed in. It was like doing 6 weeks of shooting all in one day!
I ended up with 2,300 images. Here are a few that I’ve edited so far. Links to a few more are below.
It was a great day. I got some good experience, got really cold, got to see lots of friends, and witnessed some exciting action up close. Big thanks to Colorado Runner Magazine for backing my request for a media pass. The year is off to a great start!
2014 USATF Cross Country National Championships
2014 USATF Cross Country National Championships – Team Pearl Izumi
Race Report: 2014 Pikes Peak Ponderous Posterior 50K
There are a lot of things wrong with the title for this post, but I’m a creature of habit so I’m sticking with it. Speaking of habit, January means getting up before 5:00 in the morning to make the trek down to JT’s place to run a bunch of awesome miles with a great group of people.
Those CRUD guys can’t keep a course together to save their lives, having lost big chunks of the original due to fire and the second-string due to floods. No matter. You just have to start running with the compass pointed NW, W, or SW and you are sure to find some amazing terrain. Kudos on another great tour of the area.
What they lack in course luck is more than made up for in weather luck. Outstanding. Every single time. I love being able to pop down there and run in shorts and a T-shirt on real trails!
I started in the 07:00 group with what seemed to be at least a couple dozen runners. It was fun to renew old friendships and make new ones as the miles went by.
The sunrise was incredible and we all knew a great day was in store. The warm light on the rocks in Garden of the Gods combined with the moon setting over Pikes Peak were too much for me to resist and I had to keep stopping and snapping pics, then burning a small match or two in order to catch back up. It was worth it.
The early morning light was fantastic.
The fun and games were over once we hit the Incline. A cruel jumble of old railroad ties pasted onto the side of a cliff, so it seemed. That took a toll on the legs as I fought to keep from falling over backwards while grinding my way up the 2,000′ ascent in a mile. Patrick, Jaime, Nick, and the rest all make it look so easy!
I was in no-mans land now, and stopped several times to take more pictures before meeting up with JT, Ryan, Brad, and Paul at the summit of Rocky Mountain.
I took a final shot of Pikes Peak and then left the camera stashed for the rest of the day. We all ran together for a good while, and stopped to refuel at a great little aid station they had set up. I don’t know who it was giving up the morning to take care of us, but if you’re out there – thank you!
I left the aid station a little before the others and was on my own after that. I missed a key turn and chopped off a couple of miles, but it all worked out for the best. I made it home at just the right time.
I ended up with 21.9 miles. I think the official course this year was 25.9.
Strava details here. I never stopped the watch, probably accumulated at least an hour of standing around.
Thanks to JT for hosting and Team CRUD for putting on another great event!
The Scene Begins 