Saturday found me rain-soaked and shooting the Ukrop's Monument Avenue 10K for the Sportsbackers. This year's event was the USATF Men's 10K National Championship. Bigger elite turnout, bigger prize money, and the biggest field to date. Over 24,000 finishers and a limit of 30,000 entrants. In fact, I heard that this has become the 4th largest 10K in the country.And it rained all day. With this kind of massive event, I re-enlisted the help of Rick Barlow. He covered the course in the early stages, as well as the start of the "Dash for Cash" runner Billy Weldon. This 'lucky' guy had a 2.8 mile head start on the elites and had to stay in front until the finish line to get his $2500 prize. Not necessarily a daunting task, assuming you don't get overwhelmed by the fact that all eyes are on you. Billy, against my doubtful nature, prevailed with a substantial lead over the elites, and went home with a big check.
Due to the predicted (and delivered) all-day rain, I purchased AquaTech's Sport Shields for my cameras. I was quite pleased with the lower-end 2-layer version, but the higher-priced 3-layer for wide-angle lenses (including hot-shoe and strap attachment option) was kind of a nuisance. Not that the purpose of stopping rain wasn't achieved, but it was next to impossible to focus and/or zoom with the snug-fitting lens cover portion. And there is no way to adjust the flash compensation on the 580exII with the flash rain cover. It was also hard to accurately judge proper exposure through the vinyl window with condensation and rain drops. I suppose if you are stuck on a sideline in a downpour for 3 hours, adjustments aren't really necessary, but when the sun came out for a few minutes, I was stuck with dozens of over-exposed shots.
Due to the predicted (and delivered) all-day rain, I purchased AquaTech's Sport Shields for my cameras. I was quite pleased with the lower-end 2-layer version, but the higher-priced 3-layer for wide-angle lenses (including hot-shoe and strap attachment option) was kind of a nuisance. Not that the purpose of stopping rain wasn't achieved, but it was next to impossible to focus and/or zoom with the snug-fitting lens cover portion. And there is no way to adjust the flash compensation on the 580exII with the flash rain cover. It was also hard to accurately judge proper exposure through the vinyl window with condensation and rain drops. I suppose if you are stuck on a sideline in a downpour for 3 hours, adjustments aren't really necessary, but when the sun came out for a few minutes, I was stuck with dozens of over-exposed shots.
To sum up the day - it was quite a learning experience, and I have to thank the Sportsbackers for entrusting me with such a prestigious event (along with Dean Hoffmeyer of Richmond Times-Dispatch fame, who I'm sure didn't run around like a chicken without a head like I did). And I have to tip my hat to Rick, who has shown phenomenal improvement since the Duathlon; especially considering he has a real job and no background in photography. If I wasn't hyper-aware of who I photographed, I might think his shots were mine.
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