The Virgin London Marathon 2019

Every year gets bigger and better. I’ve written about the London marathon before, including a lengthy piece on how I best try to capture it., so i won’t get into all that again. I will share a few thoughts and shots though.

This year I was with the terrific team from Water Aid UK at their cheer point on the Victoria Embankment (about mile 24.5). It felt a bit more crowded among the runners this year than last. Shooting the marathon successfully is all about your view. Spending five hours tight against a railing, body swivelled to the left from the hips up and staring through an eyepiece almost all the time is not the easiest or most comfortable position. But it is the job and you get on with it. For me, the worst bit is having to shout out to fellow cheerers to maybe keep their hands or pom-poms or clackers or whatever their cheering with out of the line of the lens. I really dislike being a bossy boots when people are just cheering on as they should be. But I’d risk losing all chance of decent images if I didn’t make a few “requests”.

With only about 50 or so runners to spot this year the pressure was on not to miss too many, especially those that were not obscured or actually spotted us and waved. Fortunately we did ok. The cheerers were amazing and the runners, obviously, inspirational! I am always amazed and impressed with everyone’s effort on marathon day and this year was no exception.

The London Landmarks Half Marathon

Now in only its second year, the London Landmarks Half Marathon is already a blazing success with participants and supporters alike. Owned and organised by the Tommy’s charity it also provides opportunity for other charities like the brilliant MS Society to get involved and raise money through their own supporters.

This was my second year photographing the half marathon for the MS Society and you can already feel the growth of the event. The crowds were bigger and buzzier this year. The number of runners had increased and the atmosphere was amazing. It didn’t harm that the weather was beautiful and Spring-like. Shooting running events like this is one of my principal skills and a little part of what bonds me to the art of photography. Capturing split-second, frozen moments of joy and determination always brings me pleasure and hopefully does the same for those caught in the frame!

Photographing a Mud Run

Sometimes I get asked to photograph a Mud Run. For the uninitiated a mud run is a lunatic endeavour undertaken by people who enjoy fun, mud, challenges, the outdoors, mud, achievement and more mud. It’s a bonkers event that looks like a lot of fun. I say “looks like” as I, naturally, have never run in mud or dived into mud or even worn particularly muddy clothes that much. I am the poorer for that as it definitely looks like people love their mud runs when I watch them hurtling through water and muck from a safe distance with a fast, long lens.

I love the images you can get at a mud run. There’s a freedom and a fun to all the runners you don’t always see at regular running events. People genuinely having fun, knowing this is nuts and they’ll be washing mud out of every crevice (sorry) for a week. Smiles abound, team spirit and camaraderie is evident all over the course. The action can be spectacular, especially when it all ‘goes wrong’ and runners face plant or slide, fall from monkey bars or grimace up a muddy hill. Lots of opportunity for great muddy face photography. I just need to stay away from the splashes.