1st Santa Fe to Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon report
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1st Santa Fe to Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon report
Max M Fri Sep 23, 2011 3:00 pm
No, I didn’t run it. This is rather a volunteer’s point of view of the event.
I sometimes volunteer to take pictures for some local running event, mostly for the ones where my running club is involved. From the race directors, I know previous years pictures have some impact on occasional runners to register. I’ve never taken a photography class (I should), but as a runner I know what most people like to see or not. I personally hate the race pictures taken at the very moment where my foot strikes the floor and the cheeks go down and I love those where people “fly”.
Anyways, this past spring, while taking pictures at my children' s school 5K race event, I saw Antonio, a running friend, distributing flyers for a new half marathon he was putting in place. I told him that I could come take pictures at his race. 2 weeks ago, I dropped him an email, to check if he still needed me. After I reassured him that I wouldn’t charge anything, he said they would like me to come, as it would help next year’s advertisement. Santa Fe is a small city: typically the races I covered had a field from 20 to 120 runners. Four days before the race I saw Antonio in the street. I hadn’t read yet the docs he emailed me and I hadn’t returned my volunteer registrations form (that’s the first time I’ve been asked to send something like that) so I just told him not to worry, that I would be there and I would “figure out” where to take pictures. I am the one who started to worry when he told me he had already 480 registered runners. When I went home that day, I opened the docs he sent and I discovered that the organizers had invited some elite runners…I started to stress a bit.
I showed up at the expo last Saturday and took some pictures of the race directors. I told them my plan to take some pictures at the start, follow the runners and take some other pictures mid course and then rush to the finish line. Joseph interrupted me and said that the police would not allow me to follow the runners, that only lane open would be the one going in the opposite direction. Abraham offered me to stay in the leading vehicle but this wouldn’t allow me to take pictures of most of the runners. He said I could also ride a bike... I declined this too; even on a bike, I doubted I would catch up with the elites (some had a 1:02 PR). I eventually followed Joseph’s advice to take another route to Tesuque Market (at about 5 miles from the start), then drive on the opened lane a mile to take the highway and rush to the finish.
I took some pictures at the start, followed the plan and rushed to Tesuque Market where I could take some other pictures of the fastest runners. When it came time for me to leave, I realized that runners were running on both lanes, mostly the officially open right lane. So I drove carefully on the left lane for half a mile, before a State Police officer on a motorcycle angrily asked me to pull over and wait for all runners to go. My plan was falling apart…I waived to another police officer and explained that I had to be at the finish as soon as possible. He allowed me to go ahead. I made it on time to The Buffalo Thunder Casino Resort, the finish line. It was really cool to see the elite finishing. Next race: the Big Tesuque in a week that I covered the last 3 years and that requires me to run the ascent of this difficult mountain race with a camera…time to train…I am going to finish last again!
Pictures:https://picasaweb.google.com/114690683444132142317/2011BTBuffaloThunder1#
(more albums on: https://picasaweb.google.com/114690683444132142317 )
I sometimes volunteer to take pictures for some local running event, mostly for the ones where my running club is involved. From the race directors, I know previous years pictures have some impact on occasional runners to register. I’ve never taken a photography class (I should), but as a runner I know what most people like to see or not. I personally hate the race pictures taken at the very moment where my foot strikes the floor and the cheeks go down and I love those where people “fly”.
Anyways, this past spring, while taking pictures at my children' s school 5K race event, I saw Antonio, a running friend, distributing flyers for a new half marathon he was putting in place. I told him that I could come take pictures at his race. 2 weeks ago, I dropped him an email, to check if he still needed me. After I reassured him that I wouldn’t charge anything, he said they would like me to come, as it would help next year’s advertisement. Santa Fe is a small city: typically the races I covered had a field from 20 to 120 runners. Four days before the race I saw Antonio in the street. I hadn’t read yet the docs he emailed me and I hadn’t returned my volunteer registrations form (that’s the first time I’ve been asked to send something like that) so I just told him not to worry, that I would be there and I would “figure out” where to take pictures. I am the one who started to worry when he told me he had already 480 registered runners. When I went home that day, I opened the docs he sent and I discovered that the organizers had invited some elite runners…I started to stress a bit.
I showed up at the expo last Saturday and took some pictures of the race directors. I told them my plan to take some pictures at the start, follow the runners and take some other pictures mid course and then rush to the finish line. Joseph interrupted me and said that the police would not allow me to follow the runners, that only lane open would be the one going in the opposite direction. Abraham offered me to stay in the leading vehicle but this wouldn’t allow me to take pictures of most of the runners. He said I could also ride a bike... I declined this too; even on a bike, I doubted I would catch up with the elites (some had a 1:02 PR). I eventually followed Joseph’s advice to take another route to Tesuque Market (at about 5 miles from the start), then drive on the opened lane a mile to take the highway and rush to the finish.
I took some pictures at the start, followed the plan and rushed to Tesuque Market where I could take some other pictures of the fastest runners. When it came time for me to leave, I realized that runners were running on both lanes, mostly the officially open right lane. So I drove carefully on the left lane for half a mile, before a State Police officer on a motorcycle angrily asked me to pull over and wait for all runners to go. My plan was falling apart…I waived to another police officer and explained that I had to be at the finish as soon as possible. He allowed me to go ahead. I made it on time to The Buffalo Thunder Casino Resort, the finish line. It was really cool to see the elite finishing. Next race: the Big Tesuque in a week that I covered the last 3 years and that requires me to run the ascent of this difficult mountain race with a camera…time to train…I am going to finish last again!
Pictures:https://picasaweb.google.com/114690683444132142317/2011BTBuffaloThunder1#
(more albums on: https://picasaweb.google.com/114690683444132142317 )
Max M- Newbie
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Re: 1st Santa Fe to Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon report
Jerry Fri Sep 23, 2011 3:22 pm
How can you just watch, Max? 
Jerry- Explaining To Spouse
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Re: 1st Santa Fe to Buffalo Thunder Half Marathon report
Max M Fri Sep 23, 2011 3:28 pm
Jerry wrote:How can you just watch, Max?
Oh I can just watch...I am not in a shape for racing and absolutely no hope to even get my 40-45 age group (to win that group, you should have run faster than 1:08)
Max M- Newbie
- Posts : 23
Points : 4729
Join date : 2011-06-15
Location : Santa Fe, NM -
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