Monday 31 January 2011

Runners Need G3 - free downloads



The Runners Need G3 race gallery is now live and ready for you to collect your free downloads:
Click here for the gallery: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=2khzget



The first race of a Five race series (three in winter and two in June) - the G3 courses have been established for five years providing a testing off road hilly course - covering sand, pathways, fields, mud and gravel. These are not for the fainthearted - a good 40minute 10k runner can expect to add 25% to their normal race time - and that's on a good day.

More information on the G3 events can be found here:
http://www.allabouttriathlons.co.uk/events_g3-run.html


Saturday morning 8.30am. Race starts. Technically - its' very dark - ISO 1250 f3.2 1/320th, physically, it's cold - about -1degC.  The race route, round and then a gradual down the hill and up another one, then along a path towards St.Martha's Mount.(here's a course map: http://connect.garmin.com/player/22589911 ) 1.5 miles in and this is what it looks like:

Solid pathways at 1.5miles

Newlands Corner and the start in the distance behind you

A string of runners following behind into the distance

The next stage of the course is - up St.Martha's - Zola Budd used to train up this hill track - it's that hard.
You can see the course winding away down the sandy slope behind
The wide angle shot doesn't do the slope justice.It's hard.
Having too much fun

Eventual winner of the Female Race, hot-toeing it up the hills

off the ground and flying up the hill

Looking good in aat fashion technical tops
This is the highest point in the course at 2miles. Then follows another 1.6miles of gradual downhill, in pretty woodland paths and then another 1.6miles of gradual uphill to be up at the church once again. At this point you're probably wide-eyed with oxygen deprivation.Or you're taking in the lovely view, if you can take your eyes off the tree roots.
Steely eyed determination helps with these hills

There's St.Martha's Church in the background

Race numbers help us to catalogue the images so you can find them easily
Once you have run down from this - you think it's all over. It's not. Whilst it's half a mile downhill - which is rugged and hard and tough on the quads, and then it's another half mile uphill - just as steep. By which point you should be near dead.
Finally you get a 200m run in on the flat back to the finish at the end of the car park - where you can look good and all together much more with it. And warm up a bit.
Flying along on the flat at last

This chap won, see - nobody in sight behind him. Awesome. I think the magicians' gloves help.

More flying in to the finish - with a runners need tshirt too.
Just remember - there are only two faces you should have when you have your running photo taken - happy elation and smiling (ref 177 above) or grim hard work and concentrated pain (ref all the others).

I often get comments from people saying "but I don't look my best." of course you don't if it's a beauty contest. You didn't spend an hour in makeup in front of a mirror and you didn't shave and you're running your heart out in a race. If you looked your most beautiful - then you're a freak of nature, or you have different tastes, or you just aren't trying.
You did however look your best (i.e. not necessarily beautiful) - you looked exactly how someone striving to be all that they can be should look like - and someone striving for that is - looking their best.

So when you look at your pictures of the G3, remember this. You are there doing your thing. This is great. Download them for free, and share them with the world. You looked your best !

Click here for the gallery: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=2khzget
and collect your free downloads now.

Until next time - train safe, and keep warm.
Anthony


Click here for our race finding link page on the blog
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Monday 24 January 2011

F3 events Duathlon, 5k and 10k


The race galleries for the F3  events are now live and online.

The First F3 Maxifuel Duathlon Gallery: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=533zges
The 10k and 5k race galleries are here: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=1pmzger

The first of the F3 Maxifuel winter duathlon series took place at Dorney Lake under looming dark grey skies that threatened to make the races harder at any moment. Fortunately it held off and every now and then even showed a bit of sunlight through - which helped for taking the odd photo or two.
Added to that we had a Varisty (Cambridge v's Oxford) Duathlon race too, which added to the overall races on the day and gave a nice extra bit of competitve racing to watch.


Start of the Maxifuel duathlon #1 2011

The whole point is to have a good time

Riding the horse into the finsh at the 10k

Strong early season performances were put in
Some serious kit was on display
    
Head down and adopt the position to get some speed going
"anyone overtaking ?"
For some - transition was more of a recovery between stages, but enjoyable all the same.
Very well done to everyone who took part on the day and completed their races - be it first timers or seasoned pros. The cold northerly winds made it tough going on some of the race legs and a real challenge for everyone. 


Next up for us is the first race in the G3 race at Guildford  organised by allabouttriathlons which includes free race photo downloads - as many as you like - seriously - how cool is that ?
(This first race in the series is sold out, but the rest are filling up fast - so get in there)

Other stuff
Otherwise we have a few studio shoots booked in, one corporate, one family, and then it's a bit of a Kent flavour for a few weeks with the Ashford and District 10k on the 6th of February and then the Deal Half Marathon (formaly the Dover half marathon) on the 13th of February.

And if you're that way inclined - it's the Tri show at Kempton Park on the 12th 13th Feb too. I must blag a ticket off someone for that...

And finally - we got to do the press and marketing images for Human Race last Saturday at their IceMan event (short notice cover for their regular chap). It's nice to be able to get out and be creative and not worry about getting everyone for a change - Here's the gallery they put on facebook. Need a bit more practice with the off camera remote flash on the pocketwizard, but the remote camera trigger for the start photos up a pole seemed to work ok !

Until next time, train hard, stay safe.
Anthony


Click here for our race finding link page on the blog
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Who ?
Just click on the Logo
Fetch Everyone: Race finder
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Monday 17 January 2011

Epsom Perch - Gallery live






Pictures from the Epsom Perch are now available here: http://gallery.sussexsportphotography.com/a.tlx?k=1dhzgeq

The race results and website is here: http://www.epsomoddballs.org/perch.php

After 10 years of running about on the Downs, the Perch swum upstream to Nonsuch park to a new venue and new course.
Being a 2 lap 5k park course made for a lot of good spectator points as the runners crossed and ran about the route on the day.
Three different views of the start down Fir Tree lane
Aerial view of the start

Low down wideangle - get out of the way quickly

Long range distance view of the start
  On the course the sun was quite bright to start off, but clouded over, and then even rained - quite a heavy shower.
Womens race winner at the 4k mark

BA Speedbird 316


Look - Clean hands !!

Look - Muddy Hands !! (time for a Bath ?)

Mens winner going strong at just after 5k


Womens First Prize with Martin the Race Director

Mens First Prize
Sponsors of the Race prizes - www.runtolive.co.uk

Quentin Tarrantino modelled his last film on this Hero shot
Another day in the outside office completed, now off to the inside office for eight hours or so of image cataloguing and editing...
The gallery was made live at about 1am last night, and we had our first order at 4:30am. This has to be some kind of night time record !

Sharing links to galleries on the website
For a while now I've been trying to put the share link in an obvious place for people to be able to send a link to friends or use on facebook, or twitter.
The key thing to remember (unfortunately) is that the web address bar link that you see - won't work.
I've now put a yellow rectangle with the correct link code to use - so just highlight it with the mouse (hold the left button down when you sweep over the text) and then use Ctrl+C to copy the link.

Hey presto - you can just paste it wherever you want and share with whoever you like and it will work !

Also (unfortunately) I can't get the Facebook open graph protocol to work effectively with the web content generating code which the gallery software uses (smarty templates), so whilst the quick share links work - the automatic facebook one will only go to the gallery frontpage. Use the link shown in the yellow box and paste that into facebook if you want it to work properly.

Running
Right - I'm off to go for a run - I'm so desperately unfit at the moment it's laughable (otherwise I start crying). I'm usually working when you're racing so I have to do it sometimes. I managed a parkrun at Hove last Saturday, and the aim is back to sub-20 for 5k this year, but now I'm a vet-40 might not be realistic. So for now - it's getting back a base level of fitness after 3 years off (being self-employed has it's downside).

Until next time - which is Sunday at http://f3events.co.uk/ for their duathlon and 10k at Dorney Lake, Windsor (very flat and fast).

Anthony

Click here for our race finding link page on the blog
Race Finding links
Who ?
Just click on the Logo
Fetch Everyone: Race finder
Fetch Logo
The Sussex Race Planner
Active Network
Active Global Logo
Run 247
Runners World
Runners World Logo
Running Diary

Running Diary Logo