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…

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

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…

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

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.

For more images from this great event pop over to our Facebook page…

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

Mudnificent 7

Well what can I say about this one…

This event is fun, fun ,fun. It’s great for everyone involved, nobody takes any part of this seriously, its all about taking part in a fantastic event. I have looked forward to this one all year as I knew what to expect from photographing this event last year.

It did not disappoint!!

I was covering the “Electric Shock Therapy”, now everyone that does OCR knows all to well the Tough Mudder Electroshock Obstacle. This however was a play on that very obstacle complete with wire rope and power cables to a box. This one had NO power at all, which meant that when the competitors came up to it they thought that they would get an electric shock (Mind Games in play here).

I had people trying to avoid the wires, crawl under them and everything in between. I was completely aware of there being no power so when asked I didn’t say it wasn’t powered. I did have a lot of fun with them as when they had completely avoided the wire and got to me I whispered that it wasn’t powered at all, the look on their faces was priceless, but you have to play along with the game. This obstacle gave some fantastic images, some people didn’t fall for the “No Power” but they played along and had fun in the process.

Lot of the competitors dress up for this event as you will see, various inflatable items were carried around as well. Mudnificent 7 give everyone a small yellow duck with their number on to carry round the event and if they get it back to the finish they get money off next year’s event. This year I saw ducks in places that ducks shouldn’t be, down bras, in socks, down pants and everywhere else imaginable.

As a photographer it can be hard at some events to get involved with the spirit of the competitors, which I love to do, but at this event both the competitors and organisers truly embrace the photographers and welcome us shouting encouragement and really do play for the camera.

Head over to our Facebook page for more picture from this fantastic event.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

RatRace – Dirty Weekend

What a difference 12 months makes.

As many of you know, in September last year I made the decision to make Reflective Photography my full-time career.  I had been attending events like this at the weekend alongside my day job and I felt that the time was right to focus on these amazing events.  The pride I feel being able to capture the emotions of people who take part in these events – many of them for the first time with limited preparation – is immense and something I was so excited to be able to commit to fully.

Last year it was raining (ok it was hammering it down!)  and this year we had wonderful sunshine – if that wasn’t a sign that this was where I should be, I don’t know what is.

As usual with this event it was full of fun and laughter for both me and the participants.  I was photographing the racers as they came down “The Big One” and what a show they put on for me. Lots of splashes and funny faces pulled as they hurtled down the massive slide with water going everywhere – and yes, they were aiming for me as usual!  Not a problem saves me going to the gym 😊

There was everyone there from Superman (who not only did the event but also ran 169 miles from Essex and back all for charity), to The OCR Wrongens which i seem to capture everywhere i go, Baywatch Boys, Where’s Wally’s and yes even some friendly Vikings.  This event is a sure-fire winner and puts a smile on my face every time.   You are all crazy and I can’t wait to see what next year brings at Dirty Weekend. 

To See more pics from this weekend head over to our facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

The Major - Bramham Park

The Major - Bramham Park

Travelled up to Bramham Park again for another fantastic event from the major ocr . These are always very wet, muddy and loads of fun.

As always, I was posted to the wettest, muddiest obstacle which was 1.5km from the start, really should start wearing my FitBit to these things – may earn myself an extra slice of cake!  After a little walk I found the swamp/boggy area (home for the next few hours) and scouted for a good location to shoot from. I had to climb down an overgrown bank to the edge of the water just up from the swamp area although this was very soft under foot I figured it may be ok for the day. I got my kit out and camera settings sorted ready for the competitors to come through.

There were two BMF instructors on hand to help (torture) the competitors along the obstacle and after having a chat with them I figured they were going to make photographing this rather fun.  Yes Sir, Sarge!

As I was so close to the beginning of the race when the competitors started coming they came thick and fast. It wasn’t long before one of the BMF guys were in the muddy water with the competitors shouting at them to go under the foam bars. This made my job a lot easier as they were covered from head to toe in thick muddy water and they really made a meal of the whole thing.

As the day went on I was so engrossed with capturing the images that it took me a while to realise that either the water level around me was rising or I was starting to sink.  Looking around I saw that my kit bags where sort of floating. Luckily, I had put them on large plastic sheets which had folded around them so the camera bags were still dry, so up the bank they went. However, it was far too late for me as water/mud was all over me (standard) so back into the swamp I went.

Have a look over on our Facebook page for some of the great images from this event.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/

RatRace - Mens Health Survival Of The Fittest

I covered both Cardiff and Nottingham this year. It was my first time at Cardiff Mens Health and the event and the location didn't disappoint, Both Cardiff and Nottingham are one day events with competitors running around areas of the cities with lots of obstacles thrown in for good measure.  

At both events, by complete chance, I ended up covering what they call the washing machine which is a large wooden structure with four doors on both sides and a machine pumping huge amounts of foam into it.  think back to your student days when you added too much washing powder at the local laundrette and you will get the idea.

This obstacle produced a lot of fun and laughter for the competitors. This for me was just too much to hold back from and I got stuck in with bubbles up to my chest and was soaked to the skin, but this enabled me to get some fantastic photos of the competitor as they tried to find their way through the bubbles and out the other side.  Let's face it if I hadn't jumped in by the end I would have been pushed in.  The photographer is never safe for long...

Some of these fun images will be posted on our Facebook page, so pop over and have a look.

https://www.facebook.com/reflectivephotograph/