What a day!! 4k or more frames in a day, some wild weather, some creepy noises in the bushes and the darkness of the coastline when the sun went down... This day had it all... One of the more cooler assignments I've had!
PT2 2020 Margaret River Ultra (ca)marathon
Well I thought last year was a challenge, flying solo as the man who shoots amazing race and adventure pics Allan Ure was stuck in INZID ( tough place to be stuck...) and i did the lot.
As much as i missed the opportunity sit and watch the sun set, make cool action pics on sunset and eat waaaaay to many lollies and shapes... and have things rustling around the sand dunes way after dark! The opportunity to see and get a feel for, and ultimately try and capture the stories of the entrants, there were 20 million different stories as to why people ran... who they ran for a majority of the time. There were so many amazing stories that would fill any regional paper in the world, but not a single journo to be seen... such a shame... but it's hard to be everywhere in papers, believe me i know that, i almost perfected being everywhere for a few 10 years in regional papers... it broke me...
I guarantee, far physically fitter people that me would have caved in, up and down the rocks was tough, but a great experience, but the finish line was a sea of emotions and I wouldn't allow myself to miss a hug or a look, it was really special for me as a dad to see kids look at their parents with sheer adoration... almost made me feel like going for a run... but then i came to 🤣🤣🤣 For a period of 3 or so hours as the bulk of the finishers came in, i probably wore a track in the grass, there's probably 10m2 of my foot marks haha.
Watching the race, and the emotions of people finishing thick and fast was a bit of a rush, and when in a rhythm felt automatic, 65% of the 11000 odd jpegs were taken on the finish line. I started at 5am probably an hour and half too early, but hey it's good to be prepared... through till the last competitor arrived close to 1:30am... 18hrs they'd been going and stupidly i'd been going for 20! admittedly i ate like a king and was well supplied with water and chairs to sit when it wasn't berko!
Stupidly i decided to sleep in the back of the car, i fit just fine and was comfy curled up when i wasn't aching in places i forgot i had... but oh well, i made my bed literally, and being up for that long was dangerous to even think about driving...
Long story cut short, this was a fantastic experience, and i tip my hats to everyone who ran at all, team or individual... you're awesome in my book!