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| 2022 English National XC Champs - up that first hill, the Shard in the skyline |
The English National XC champs took place at Parliament Hill in London two weeks ago - in what can only be described as perfect conditions - hard XC mud under foot - but a nice warm(ish) sunny day for the spectators and working marshals, volunteers and staff.
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| It was a bit muddy in parts on the XC course |
The same can be said for the Cambridge Half marathon last Sunday - albeit horribly cold and wet for the days leading up to the race - but actually on race day - a very good mild-ish day for running fast times on a very flat course (except for the slope of a hill out of Grantchester to Trumpington).
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| A nice busy start at Cambridge - on a nice dry road (photographer safe on a traffic island!) |
Over at Steyning for the Stinger - it was dry, but very very cold with the northerly wind ripping across the top of the South Downs. I think everyone managed to survive it - but it should be noted just how much colder it can be 150m up higher in the air ! People often underestimate the risk up the top of the South Downs - at their peril !
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| People approaching peak peril on the run up to the top of Cissbury ring on the Stinger |
| Sat-26/02/2022 | National XC Champs | http://sspimg.com/English-National-XC-Champs-2022-Gallery |
| Sun-06/03/2022 | Steyning Stinger | http://sspimg.com/Steyning-Stinger-2022-Gallery |
| Sun-06/03/2022 | Cambridge Half Marathon | http://sspimg.com/Cambridge-Half-2022-Gallery |
What was more interesting was the fantastic turnout for Cambridge at just under 10,000 runners and the whole spectrum of experience on display - whilst we are seeing at a great many other half marathons - based on the average times of the runners - only the more serious runners taking part, and a very significant drop off in volumes compared to previous non-covid years.
It could be argued this is just part of the covid recovery, or it could be that the move of the London Marathon to September is not compelling the normal increase in non-regular runners to try a local half marathon in March. It's probably a combination of both, with Cambridge successfully bucking that trend. Steyning is always sold out and actually quite a specialist race at this time of year - so it always seems to remain popular - I blame the free breakfast at the end ! (In lockdown in 2020 I decided to ride the half marathon course it was a great way to spend a morning so fully recommend the race!)
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| Can't believe they have made the finish path hard wearing - where's the fun of slipping over right at the finish gone ? |
With the London Ballot places having dropped today - it will be interesting to see what impact those places will have on people deciding to get into their half marathon races once again.
In other news, the flock of doves under my solar panels seems to have suffered about a 50% mortality rate from a mystery virus over the past two weeks, and having now reported it to DEFRA hopefully the ones they take away for analysis will show something - but whatever it is - it's really not nice - so be careful out there !
Right time for a few race photos (not dead Doves you'll be relieved to hear)...
First up Steyning Stinger
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| had not just slipped on the mud |
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| all going ok |
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| made the top of that hill |
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| two surrenders already and not even 4 miles |
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| Burgess hill on a day out |
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| Gallopy gallopy |
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| GOAL ! |
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| Henfield not Joggers |
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| Flying without wings |
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| Surprise ! |
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| Serious Striders |
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| ROCKY |
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| relief that they can all drive back together to Portslade |
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| Time for some folk dancing |
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| The joy of finishing |
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| its a bit of a drag of a hill to be honest |
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| coaching tip - relax the shoulders |
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| like a summer run out |
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| Ouchy knees !!! |
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| need some air traffic control here |
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| good last finishing run in |
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| enjoying that last downhill bit |
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| Yes, Its a good run ! |
And then there was the Cambridge Half Marathon 2022 !
Over 400,000 images delivered live and free to the almost 10,000 participants on the day with Pic2Go Technology - driving over 7M image views and brand touchpoints, linked together through social media platforms to drive the post-race conversation.
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| It's a world of vapour flys |
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| Feeling strong |
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| THERE IS NO SUCH THING |
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| I think I caught the moment ! |
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| Smiling at 12 miles |
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| Those thatched roofs of Grantchester |
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| Up that hill from the Grantchester river to Trumpington |
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| Past the Fitzwilliam museum |
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| Along the backs |
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| It's a mystery |
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| St Catherines and Kings in the background |
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| Om that last finishing straight |
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| Rainbow legging wars - we need these in unisex for men too |
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| Freddie keeping fit for the next concert |
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| brave marshals on the left |
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| they don't hang about when the gun goes at the front |
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| quite a good style at the finish for the winner |
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| Live photos straight to you during the race - That's Pic2Go technology for you ! |
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| Past the Senate Building - where all the degrees are handed out |
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| cyclist probably regretting taking that shortcut |
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| good work from wonder woman and batman |
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| always enjoy the finish |
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| off for a power-up |
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| Our thoughts are with them and what to do to help |
So what about the future
A few days ago I was musing across an old linkedin post about now being 7 years past quitting my old job to make this one full time in 2008. It's now 14 years since I quit my old job in international financial services marketing. That's two seven-year itches that needed scratching. That made me stop and wonder what have I actually achieved with my photography life, instead of languishing about (there's some motivational stuff on languishing about here - https://lauriesantos.bulletin.com/watching-jersey-shore-on-repeat-was-the-sign-that-i-was-languishing/).
Somehow I managed to convince myself that we are actually doing pretty well ...
a) we're delivering world class photography coverage at National Sports events
b) world class levels of engagement for sponsors as a marketing communication channel
c) working with one of the largest national charity campaigns in the country (and driving more donations)
d) getting more images out to runners to enjoy than I could ever have imagined
e) Millions of views of our images after events
If anyone can think of something I've missed - please let me know (I could do with a pick-up to be honest).
Someone asked if we would return to the "take photos and hope to sell them model" - instead of being included in the event package/sponsorship of the race. No is the simple answer, because apart from anything else - it simply doesn't make the majority of people as happy (runners, organisers and sponsors) as the free download model.
On that note of fairness and enjoyment, some of you will have noticed that we have reduced the cost of upgrading the free downloads to a higher resolution or a print by the value of the free download. This is to take into account the amount covered by the event organiser/sponsor for the event - so if there is that favourite image that someone wants at a higher resolution or a nice print to pop in a frame - then that's also cheaper and more accessible too. Enjoy ! This applies to all the free download events we have ever done.
So we have a pretty full calendar of events ahead for the year - and I'd encourage you to get entered into all of them, but if you can't do that, get yourself into at least one in the next few months - it will get you motivated and out there enjoying the spring weather !
Confirmed Races you should enter ASAP - all with free photos to download:
| Sun-20/03/2022 | Brentwood Half and fun run | http://bit.ly/Brentwood-Half |
| Sun-27/03/2022 | RBK Spring Half Marathon | https://www.kingstonraceday.com/ |
| Sat-09/04/2022 | UltraX Spring Trail Series | https://ultra-x.co/ |
| Sun-24/04/2022 | Southampton Marathon | http://bit.ly/southampton-half |
| Sun-24/04/2022 | 7Oaks Tri | http://www.7oakstriclub.co.uk/our-events/triathlon |
| Sun-01/05/2022 | 3Forts Half and Full | http://bit.ly/3-Forts-Challenge |
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