Manchester half marathon.

This was my first time covering the event, with over 10,000 runners it was going to be fast paced all day. I had two locations for this event, the first was 2k after the start along with 3 other photographers to try and make sure we captured as many of the runners as possible. Being experienced in covering many extreme events over the years I am always well prepared for the unexpected and the other photographers in our group were jumping in my kit bag for all sorts of bits to tie their kit bags to railings, cover bags, tape and anything else they needed. It was a good feeling to be able to help colleagues out especially on this wet and windy day.

My second location was to prove a lot easier as it was 2k before the finish and most of the runners had spread out by this point. I have done many marathons over the years and have mastered the art of looking through the camera with one eye and watching what other people are doing with the other as invariably you get people running at you waving, jumping and all manner of other things to get your attention and I really hate missing people when they clearly want the photos.

For more wet & windswept images head over to our Facebook page…

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RatRace Hell Runner (Up North)

This event was to be a long one. I got up at 4am as I had a 3 hour drive ahead to get there on time.

The event is a half marathon with the option of doing two laps to make a full marathon and is set in the Delamere Forest, Cheshire where the terrain is unforgiving, peppered with water features and is extremely rough underfoot.

My location was in the Hills of Hell, having had a good look around I decided on a section which had the runners coming through a shallow stream, over a log and back out up the bank. This proved to be a great spot as I did a test dip with a stick and found the ground went down just enough to cause a problem for them as they stepped over the log, and it didn’t disappoint.

The problem for me was that I had to be on a boggy island which had me almost knee deep in mud for the whole day, but it was absolutely worth it. Reminded me of the old Major Series that I used to really enjoy photographing.

As the runners came towards me many of them saw the opportunity to get a nice posed shot with the woods, logs and water which was great for me as I knew what would happen next. Yep, almost all of them stepped/jumped over the log and down they went, water and bodies everywhere! 

This was such a fun event and I am thrilled to be covering the other Hell Runners later this year so if you see me on course just remember I am in that spot for a reason and tread carefully…

To see more great images from this event head over to our Facebook page…

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RatRace Survival of the Fittest (Nottingham)

This was an emotional day for me.

This event, 6 years ago, was the first OCR event I photographed and over the years has given me some of my favourite photos. This year was to be the last event and, for the first time at this event, I was photographing the finish line. End of an era...

It wasn’t the best weather with it drizzling all day, but the competitors really seemed to go the extra mile and enjoy themselves.

As the runners came towards the finish they all forgot how tired they were and really gave it their all to make the last photos the best, with star jumps, cartwheels and even blowing kisses to the camera they all gave a little extra, their was even a random RatRace space hopper that found its way over the finish line which gave them endless fun.

It really is a shame that this great event is to finally end but it has given a lot of fun to everyone including the photographers.  Thanks for the memories.

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