Junior Olympic XC

The morning immediately following the Nursing School's graduation, I was out at Pole Green Park in Mechanicsville. It was 25 degrees. I forgot a jacket. Actually the jacket was more for the photography gig than my more immediate plan: to run the 5K course of the 2008 USATF Junior Olympic Cross-Country Championships. Backwards, of course, so I could see the angles that would look best with the kids running towards me.

There were 3 different courses: 3K, 4K, and 5K, so they were a little confusing at the 1K split. Once I figured that out, though, I had to plan how fast I could cover 3 positions and still beat them to the finish. One of the problems I have with the SportsBackers events (when Rick can't help me out) is covering both the 'look' and 'feel' of the race while also getting the winners crossing the line (for the press releases). A lot of the time I let the event photography company have the press release shot. My 'straight-on' finisher stuff has not worked out as interestingly as I would like anyway. I have some Neil Leifer - like ideas that I want to try out with remote cameras...

A lot of this event was back lit with bright sunlight, but I have been trying to learn shooting without the flash so much. I'm finding that I like the flash... it changes the look somewhat, but it also provides a unique look if you bump it up a little more than mere fill. The background looks richer if you under-expose the sky a stop or two. I managed to run much more than any of the kids (counting my course pre-run), and felt pretty wiped out at the end.