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IAAF Half Marathon (long post)
Last week I had the opportunity to see the fastest runners in the world competing in the IAAF 1/2 Marathon World Championships . There was $140K US in prize money up for grabs, and only one top male failed to show because of injury.
The weather had been very nice in the days before the race, but on race day, it dropped to 3 - 4 degrees celcius and was raining/drizzling pretty much steady!
My wife (who usually helps carry some of my extra stuff) said No Way! So I dressed up warm, protected the camera and lens, and headed out.
I arrived a few minutes before the start of the men's race and tried to find a good place to shoot. The finish line just wasn't possible. There was a media area with perfect site lines, but I couldn't get anywhere near there. So plan B, I saw one of the TV camera crew's setting up with a good view as the racer's would enter Hawrelak Park heading for their next lap/finish line. I actually shot most of my photos over the shoulder of the TV cameraman.
Anything along the edge of the course, I had to contend with other spectators. There was a race official keeping the site lines very clear for the camera and they didn't seem to mind that I was there. I guess I had enough gear that I they thought I was media for the longest while. It wasn't until much later that they found out I was just a spectator.
It was a very challenging day to photograph a race. Although I was dry, the camera was dry, it was almost impossible for me to keep the front of the lens dry, even with a large lens hood on my 70-200. I thought that 4 lens cleaning clothes and a dozen or so tissues would be enough ... I was wrong!
Although I took several hundred shots, here a few from the day.
This is the first lap of the mens race. As was expected, the Ethiopians are always right up there.
They men stayed grouped together for a very long while. Not only were prizes for individual performance, but also team performance, so you would often see many from the same country running in step.
As you can see, the men are dressed for warm weather! On this day, the Ethiopians couldn't hold the lead ... A young phenom from Tanzania and some runners from Quatar were the leaders for the long haul ... The runner first from the left and 4th from the left were together coming to the finish ...
As you can see, the droplets on the lens indicated how wet it was that day!
The two leaders approached the finish line at just over 1 hour (world record pace is just under 1 hour). The telephoto compresses the distance, but the Quatar runner is about 5 meters in front of the Tanzanian runner.
What transpired a few hundred meters later made sports news all over the world! The Quatar runner thought he had won, and raised his arms at the finish line, only to have the Tanzanian runner lean forward and beat him by a couple of inches! It cost the runner $15000 US for that mistake!
As I mentioned, it was a bit above freezing, and to try and stay dry, I would hunker under a nearby tree for a bit of relief!
Fortunately, the women's race started only minutes after the end of the men's race. The women were much more practical about the conditions, wearing toques, gloves, arm protectors, etc.
This was the lead womens pack on the first lap. #65 from Romania was a machine that day, in the lead from start to finish. You could see the determination on her face throughout the race.
As you can see, not a lot of body fat on these atheletes!
These were probably the most challenging conditions that I have ever encountered for a photo shoot. If I were to do it again, I would probably have a "real" rain cover for the camera instead of my juryrigged effort. Although everything stayed dry, I was always worried that it wasn't going to do the job! My most valuable lesson was that you can NEVER have enough towels, lens clothes, etc. The TC cameraman had an assistant wiping the lens every 1/2 minute and they went through almost 100 lens clothes. Not that I would take 100, but I sure would have taken more. Leaving them at home did me absolutely no good!
Although the rain spots aren't that hard to fix in post, there are just so many of them! I've done one for the local organizing committee, but unless I have nothing else to do, the rain spots will be a reminder of the difficult conditions of the day!
Brad
The weather had been very nice in the days before the race, but on race day, it dropped to 3 - 4 degrees celcius and was raining/drizzling pretty much steady!
My wife (who usually helps carry some of my extra stuff) said No Way! So I dressed up warm, protected the camera and lens, and headed out.
I arrived a few minutes before the start of the men's race and tried to find a good place to shoot. The finish line just wasn't possible. There was a media area with perfect site lines, but I couldn't get anywhere near there. So plan B, I saw one of the TV camera crew's setting up with a good view as the racer's would enter Hawrelak Park heading for their next lap/finish line. I actually shot most of my photos over the shoulder of the TV cameraman.
Anything along the edge of the course, I had to contend with other spectators. There was a race official keeping the site lines very clear for the camera and they didn't seem to mind that I was there. I guess I had enough gear that I they thought I was media for the longest while. It wasn't until much later that they found out I was just a spectator.
It was a very challenging day to photograph a race. Although I was dry, the camera was dry, it was almost impossible for me to keep the front of the lens dry, even with a large lens hood on my 70-200. I thought that 4 lens cleaning clothes and a dozen or so tissues would be enough ... I was wrong!
Although I took several hundred shots, here a few from the day.
This is the first lap of the mens race. As was expected, the Ethiopians are always right up there.
They men stayed grouped together for a very long while. Not only were prizes for individual performance, but also team performance, so you would often see many from the same country running in step.
As you can see, the men are dressed for warm weather! On this day, the Ethiopians couldn't hold the lead ... A young phenom from Tanzania and some runners from Quatar were the leaders for the long haul ... The runner first from the left and 4th from the left were together coming to the finish ...
As you can see, the droplets on the lens indicated how wet it was that day!
The two leaders approached the finish line at just over 1 hour (world record pace is just under 1 hour). The telephoto compresses the distance, but the Quatar runner is about 5 meters in front of the Tanzanian runner.
What transpired a few hundred meters later made sports news all over the world! The Quatar runner thought he had won, and raised his arms at the finish line, only to have the Tanzanian runner lean forward and beat him by a couple of inches! It cost the runner $15000 US for that mistake!
As I mentioned, it was a bit above freezing, and to try and stay dry, I would hunker under a nearby tree for a bit of relief!
Fortunately, the women's race started only minutes after the end of the men's race. The women were much more practical about the conditions, wearing toques, gloves, arm protectors, etc.
This was the lead womens pack on the first lap. #65 from Romania was a machine that day, in the lead from start to finish. You could see the determination on her face throughout the race.
As you can see, not a lot of body fat on these atheletes!
These were probably the most challenging conditions that I have ever encountered for a photo shoot. If I were to do it again, I would probably have a "real" rain cover for the camera instead of my juryrigged effort. Although everything stayed dry, I was always worried that it wasn't going to do the job! My most valuable lesson was that you can NEVER have enough towels, lens clothes, etc. The TC cameraman had an assistant wiping the lens every 1/2 minute and they went through almost 100 lens clothes. Not that I would take 100, but I sure would have taken more. Leaving them at home did me absolutely no good!
Although the rain spots aren't that hard to fix in post, there are just so many of them! I've done one for the local organizing committee, but unless I have nothing else to do, the rain spots will be a reminder of the difficult conditions of the day!
Brad
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I used to play Vball with a few olympians and they were rock solid. One gal played Volleyball most the day and then swam in the ocean for 2 miles, and rode her bike uphill for 18 miles, always preparing for Ironmans. Amazing, inspiring people.