Sometimes I sign up for a race that claims to have photos on the course, but then it turns out that these photos are taking by a "roving photographer." This is a lone individual who trots about the course and takes pictures of several different obstacles, or trails, or intersections, or whatever the hell they end up taking pictures of. Because you guys, they NEVER end up taking pictures of me. Never.
I have gotten screwed over by roving photographers at every single race that has "boasted" them this year. Gladiator Assault Challenge. Conquer the Gauntlet. The Runner's Flat Fall Endurance Festival. Not one photo at any of these joints. And it is because the concept is flawed. A roving photographer will see maybe 10% of the participants with all that bouncing around. They'll get a variety of pictures, but those pictures are not useful to anyone except the lucky few who end up in them. Normally if you are in an early heat, you are far more likely to get pictures. The road race equivalent of this is, if you are winning the race or close to it, you will get pictures, and if you aren't, you're screwed. Even when I SEE a roving photographer, the odds of them taking a picture of me and/or posting it on the internet are demonstrably zero.
This blog post is not so much advice for anyone who is racing at an event with a roving photographer (I have no clue how to get a photo out of them). I guess if you happen to see one, specifically ASK them to take your picture. Because it's not intuitive for some of these folks, bless their hearts. (At Conquer the Gauntlet I ran right past a photographer who said "great job!" but didn't lift his camera up. AYFKM?) My advice is for race directors who are thinking about going this route: don't. If you can only afford one photographer, plant them somewhere specific (like one fun obstacle, or the finish line) and have them freakin' stay there and take everybody's picture.
And while I'm at it, offer the pictures for free. The fact that Spartan has free pictures is not only a nice customer perk, it is brilliant marketing. Their customers post the photos and other potential customers will see them and think "wow, that looks fun! I should do that!" Meanwhile lots of smaller OCRs and every single road race I've ever done charges a ludicrous sum of money for event photos. Talk about a missed opportunity.
On a related but slightly different note, Terrain Race Oshkosh promised photographers and I did not see a single one on the course, and I ran that thing three times and started in an early heat. The official Terrain Race Facebook page has barely responded to my inquiry about whether they even HAD a photographer on the course. Terrain Race: get your shit together.
Now that I have ranted about course photography, I promise to get back to regularly scheduled programming soon. I'm finally on the mend from my collarbone-area injury and have been running great 6-mile training runs. The only "race" remaining this fall is a digital half marathon Beat The Blerch that I can run any time I want. Maybe on Thanksgiving. Gobble gobble.
No comments:
Post a Comment