Having a weekend of no work and no running, because I had my old vulnerable persons flu jab and pneumonia jab too, and frankly - that was enough excitement for one weekend - I thought I'd carry on with some analysis of the weekends action.
For contrast this time last year I had just spent the sunday sat in the undergrowth of the Kings College Cambridge staring up at the Chapels West stained glass window as the Half Marathon rushed by, sending free photos to all the participants during the race - we had over 8.5 million online brand impressions for the race organisers by the end of the week. Good job !
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| Sat with the weeds at Kings College in 2021 |
Some of you might be familiar with earlier blogs and analysis that showed that 2022 races up to early September were on average 28% down based on over 600 race results from 2013. and that was across all race sizes.
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| general selection of Races up to September 2022 |
But I thought with three major half marathons going on over the weekend and having had the London marathon a week ago - I kept thinking - is the tide turning ? has everyone come out of the shadow of covid lockdown ?
The list of races - includes some quite "big" in the scheme of what we know - namely - The Great South Run, Oxford Half Marathon and the Bath Half Marathon. All near on well past the 10,000 participant level.
So - how was this weekend - and what were participant levels like ? Pretty robustly the same at 28% depression for the races this weekend over 1000 runners :
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| The five largest races in the south 16th October 2022 |
And then you thought - well it's ok over the smaller ones surely ? Nopey nope. Also an average of 26% drop.
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| The four more significant races 16th October 2022 in the south |
I mean, this might all seem inconsequential but - if you total the numbers up - there's 11,185 runners missing. That' a lot of missing runners. Not explained for by the london marathon.
There would normally - pre-covid - have been around 40,659 runners, and there were only 29,474 from these races all added up. and yes - that's a drop of 28% across all the races.
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| Comparative sizes for races over 1000 16th October 2022 |
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| Comparative sizes for races under 1000 16th October 2022 |
Nope.
Did they do anything to reduce entry financial anxiety and reassure that entry fees wouldn't be lost and make swaps to other runners easy and smooth ?
Nope.
Did they go for a greener goodybag, reduce their investment in hardware before the race, and reduce their own business financial risk in investing in items that can't be used for another race ?
Not that I can see.
I can tell this strategy of marketing and publicity by the races has worked well - because I can't find any images on social media from them.
Credit where it is due - Marathon Photos covered four of these races (except the Cabbage Patch 10), had the photos up within 24 hours, and now using their AI number reading technology and selfie search - have a relatively good user interface. Interestingly they are still not convinced it works really well - because they have a "are you in these photos ?" section under their main image results to see if it is you.
Their prices for all your photos however has come down from £27 last year for a collection to £19.99 for the half marathon and £14.99 for the Cambridge 10k.
So I thought, as I we used to do the free photos for the Cambridge 10k - let's checkout the quality and locations of the job that Marathon photos have done. What's the harm ? I won't get bitter and upset.
And then I took a much closer look - it was actually as I was putting this blog together - and if you blink you'll miss it (I speak with 20 years of looking at photo websites and I overlooked it)... you actually can get your Cambridge 10k photos for free - but I'll leave it up to you to find out how - because I overlooked it for about 25 different race number searches... I must be getting old.
Whatever price they're paying for this service - it's an absolute rip-off for their customers to be presented with the pay-only option first and with only a small text link for them to be free. RIP OFF. I'd be furious if I'd paid for the free service and it was presented like that as a secondary option.
Their "make you pay for it" tactic instead of getting straight to the free downloads is probably working a bit for them - just Search facebook with the official hashtag and see how many you can find from Marathon Photos. The free ones are the ones with the official branding.
https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/townandgown10k
I saw one post - used by a runner who works for the official sponsors and he's chosen two - of the free ones - that's it. Genius. Took a lot of scrolling and I found more from last years race that we took.
Really good value there. Well done. Hope you got your sponsorship value for money there. ON searching for his photos - it's actually no more that only two of them are any good and he's actually chosen a MASSIVELY OUT OF FOCUS PHOTO as one of the two free downloads. Apparently he has 18 photos online in the search results (assuming they're AI accurate) - but hell if you can find a good one of him - I'd say he only had one up to the professional standards and shot timing required.
There's times I consider just giving up on this industry. Just what sort of service is that supposed to be? 1 out of 18. that's 5.4% success rate. Literally my kids can and do do better than that (and I pay them for it too!)
ON the hashtag search there's also a very nice one of the finish with the photography team huddling about and one of them putting their kit away taken by a participant on their phone. At least they look nice and busy.
So lets see how detailed and good a job Marathon Photos did of this race course and location. As I grew up in Cambridge - I know where is where - which gives me some inside knowledge of where to go, and also having shot over 10 different races there over the years and run in the Cambridge Half in 2012 (yes it was a mid-life crisis half marathon 1:45 If I recall) - I know my way about the place...
So - as a starter for 10 - Here's a search for #404 for this years Cambridge 10k https://marathonphotos.live/Event/Sports%2FCPUK%2F2022%2FCambridge%20Town%20and%20Gown/404
So firstly - five bonus pictures that are really 1404 or 2404... And a fair few where he's so small in the background and you'd never guess he was there.
But mostly - the quality of the photography on kings parade. only two photographers - both standing up, and the one stood on the right getting the shop background - seems to be stuck on a wideangle lens and doesn't know how to frame a picture, or focus on the subject in the middle of the frame - or has a very unhealthy love of the cobbles just by the Varsity shop.
If only the photographer on the left had knelt down - you would have seen the lovely building frontage that is Kings College and the Porters Lodge main college entrance. But to be frank - you just can't tell from their shot where you are. And it's a world famous frontage. Opportunity missed by a mile.
Here by contrast are the shots I took - see if you can see the compositional difference !
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| Cambridge 10k - Oct16th 2021 - Kings College on a handheld portrait shot |
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| Cambridge 10k Oct 16th 2021 - you can see Kings College Porters Lodge entrance - Landscape - Yes I'm kneeling down for this one. Yes I know I should have moved the blue bins. |
The other two locations that they seemed to have covered were the river by Jesus Green, and the finish line.
Firstly - if you're going to get a photo with a river in the background - you have to stand up - not stand below on the bank as they did - because you can't get the context of the river in the background if you're level with it. They did ok for a bit but then appeared to move for some reason.
Have a look at what our photographer did last year by Jesus locks and the famous Jesus Green footbridge.
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| Cambridge 10k Oct 16th 2021 - Jesus Green Lock |
Secondly - finish lines - I know the layout and the paths across Midsummer Common quite well - I cycled across them every day for school for 6 years - and I've been frustrated by such a narrow finish line for such a busy race (they had it in a different location last year for various reasons) - but with 1800 runners - you need at least three photographers (I've some maths that works that out) - and I'd have gone for one each side on the arch and then one on the final approach corner from the Fort St.George pub (where I had my first job). Then you'd have everyone nicely framed - and more importantly - you'd be out of the way. Plus I'd make sure they were running two cameras each - and then they'd definitely get everyone well.
Putting a photographer to stand in the middle of the finish path - which is at best three runners wide - only about 6 meters behind the finish - is simply obstruction of the race. A good race marshal would have you dragged out of that bottleneck as soon as it gets past the first 30 finishers. Dodging about avoiding runners too - that's just pointless - nobody wants those photos.
Also apart from anything else - I learned a long long time ago - all you get at the finish is people looking down at their watches, and covering their race numbers up with their arms as they stop their watches, or they're stopping and looking knackered - not flying and putting in that final burst of speed.
So I know I'm putting in too much effort to critique a rivals work, (some of you might be saying - ooh he's swallowed the bitter pill today - the answer is no not really I had plenty enough to do this weekend thanks) but most of all this is about photographers technique and capability to actually capture photos that runners want to see and provide a real service to participants and the event organisers and sponsors. i.e providing a professional service that has standards.
It's about location, context and focus and framing. (Leaving exposure and contrast to one side!). Also - all these photographers are only running one camera - where's their second camera that could have been used to get the context and wider view ? (or indeed as backup when that shutter finally gives up the ghost) And finally - you can see the photographer at the finish - not using a monopod. I know it's only a 10k - so that's an hour at the finish line from 30mins in to 1hr30 without a break - but not using a monopod at a finish line - and you're asking for wonky photos, a tired arm, and then the quality goes south. Looking at the photos - they had a very wideangle lens - and that just makes things impossibly hard too.
So - did these participants get a service - sort of. Was it good enough - no. not at all. to paraphrase Liz Truss - it.is.a.disgrace. (that is the only thing she's ever said that I agree with, when used out of context).
By my calculations they probably had about 5-6 photographers, none ran two cameras, one was in the way at the finish, the rest struggled with framing, angles, context, technique - literally everything that makes this a professional occupation. To be honest it's probably about the right number of photographers, but they were out by 20 yards on kings parade standing up, and that makes ALL the difference, and as discussed - mucked up the finish. The river shot depends on the autumn leaves - but on one of their locations they sat on the wrong side of the path on midsummer common to get the river in frame and exactly where a tree shadow would have kept ruining their shots.
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| we've been taking race photos for a long time |
So in summary - you definitely get what you pay for.
If your race isn't paying for your races photos - it will cost you more.
and if they are paying for it, but paying cheaper providers - you get what they paid for. one photo from 18 in focus and you're the sponsor ? nope - you got ripped off Phil. BIG TIME. Go and sponsor something else. See - I'm not even mentioning the sponsor here - so that worked !
So - what am I going to do about it eh ? "Cut your bitter whinges boyo." I hear you say !
well, we're going to get back to basics with a photographers standard training manual.
We might even publish it online as an online training course.
We're going to make sure we continue to invest in photographer training and standards.
We're going to keep putting out event photos at the standard we expect and driving value for events and participants and sponsors.
And we're only go to work at events where the events are prepared to pay for a professional service and prepared to walk away from "deals" when they offer us effectively half our quote - because that's frankly insulting and not an offer, it's not "hard negotiating" it's stupid.
Because - the level of service I'm seeing as "professional photography" at the other races - is.a.disgrace. and it needs calling out. and the benefits of good photography need driving home.
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| This one for these two went viral last year from the RBK half - precisely because all the photos were live during the event (yes I cropped in for the blog) - and they could tweet about it on their way home. Her expression said it all ! |
And events are falling for poor service because it's cheaper, they're paying for it, and they're not getting the exposure and promotion they should be getting for it. They never look back and check, they've finished the race and are happy to have closed it all off. And as a result - they certainly are not getting the fundraising and PR benefits that real professional race photography should do for them. And somehow I need to enable them to measure that in hard cash so they realise they're getting ripped off.
And for sure - Marathon photos haven't driven a million brand images for the charity at Cambridge - which is the absolute minimum we would have expected to have achieved with the proven pic2go technology we use for that number of runners at a 10k.
And I can assure you - you'd know if they had even after the most basic of social media searches.
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| This slide explains our core belief around events and driving the discussion around running, sponsorship, fundraising and ongoing business and participant enjoyment of the sport. Most sponsors disengage when the race finishes - but the discussions start when the race finishes. This needs to change. |
And what are you going to do about it as a participant? I say - damn well complain to the event organisers. Don't enter their events if they don't offer professional free photos. IF the photos are rubbish - complain. Don't put up with excuses. Make it part of the event entry conditions - you want your race time (and they pay for that!) and you want to see what you looked like - and you want to tell your story, and share it with your friends and family. It's really that simple.
So on that cheerful note - we're going to be at the fantastic Quicksilver RBK Half Marathon on Sunday 23rd - with full free downloads available from the gallery - and you can go and enter their fantastic race with scenic history past the Hampton Court Palace and along the River Thames - just go here for one of the friendliest and fun half marathons there is:
https://sspimg.com/enter-RBK-Half-2022
and then you can do something about this very large 28% drop off - we all need you to get yourselves out there and having a lovely run - the weather forecast is absolutely wet rain at 13degrees - so perfect autumn start to test your winter training kit out ! What more is there to enjoy ? I'll see you there !
Until next time - enjoying a nice run by the river never gets old.
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| punting on the Cam is jolly fun - said Marillion |
remember - only enter events with professional free photos. Don't put up with bad excuses from bad race directors. They're not going to be around for long with this 28% reduction in headcount if they don't plan for it and don't add the value you're looking for. Shop elsewhere !
Ok, this time I mean it.. Until next time
Anthony
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