Warrior Dash Arkansas

So I haven't posted anything in a while, and figured I needed to remedy that situation.  Here are two that I shot in Amity Arkansas, two weeks ago, at the Warrior Dash there, and one of me taken by another shooter on the Goliath. Uglyhat Jr is getting some miles on him now that the season is upon us.

Uglyhat and Flag Day

Yesterday was Flag Day, and the Caveman Crawl in Bridgeport.  I took the first shot waiting for the first runners to show up to my obstacle, UglyHat  looks pretty good, all J.J. Abrams/Micheal Bay-ed with the lens flare.  Then while on my way home I saw this and thought, "Only in Texas."  I have been to about 40 out of the 50 states and have never seen the state flag fly with Old Glory on top of a crane. 

Warrior Dash Mississippi

Last Saturday was Warrior Dash Mississippi.  Here are some of my favorites from the day.  Great race venue, if only we could have parked closer than a million miles away that would have been excellent.  The guys on the construction crew wanted to buy #uglyhat but I let them know that my race companion was not for sale under any circumstances.  First race of the season that felt like summer, and I got a little crispy sitting under the sun all day.
(c) Gameface Media

Survival Race Sunday

Sunday was the Texas Survival Race outside of Dallas.  Mother Nature thought she would be funny and add to the mud, by throwing down a thunder/hail storm, just as the first runners where getting to us.  Thankfully #uglyhat saved my head.  I was perched on top of the climbing wall, slipped on a wet 2x4 and fell, didn't drop my camera though, so that was fun. 

After the morning water works it was business as usual though, hung out up there all day and stayed relatively clean, and dried out eventually.  Got done and as I was leaving saw a couple of guys drinking cold ones in the parking lot so I stopped of course.  

Thanks for the beers guys.

600 miles

This weekend was Warrior Dash Texas down in Bastrop on Saturday, and the Dallas Rock N Roll Half Marathon on Sunday.  I dropped down to the hill country on Saturday morning under the cover darkness, after waking up at 2:30 am, for a 7:15 call time, for which I was late.  I shot the finish line, got some muddy hugs, and generally wallowed in a mucky mess. Hence the mud covered footwear.

After the final participants came across what was the finish (they weren't runners and by then they had taken down the finish marker), this was 2.5 hours after the start of the last wave, at 3 pm.  I drove up to Dallas so I could get up and shoot the Rock n Roll half marathon on Sunday. Thanks to interstate 35 I didn't get to the hotel until 10, and then of course I had to have a couple of beers to decompress after the 20 hour day. 

I had been in shorts and a t-shirt on Saturday, got a little cloudy day sunburn, and thanked the creator that I didn't get any rain.  On Sunday though it was a different story.  It was coat and stocking cap, with the temps in the 40s when I left the hotel for my location, and I was still cold in the wind. You've just got to love Texas weather.

Oh the glamorous life of a freelance photographer.

Rugged Maniac Houston

Last weekend was Rugged Maniac Houston, my last race of the year.  It started out partly cloudy and about 60 it ended overcast, windy and about 45 with the windchill, I was having flashbacks to Savage Race Dallas toward the end of the day.  I didn't have to get wet or muddy though so that is always a good thing.  The 3.5 hour drive to get there and get back wasn't the best in the world but I survived.

My first few months in Texas, were eventful, stressful and overall not the best things happened to me or my family.  I am looking forward to a new year and making our new home a better and more positive place; I know that 2014 will be an improvement over 2013 and for that I am grateful.  I would like to thank everyone at Nuvision, Race Pace, and Marathonfoto for letting me hit the ground running after our relocation to East Texas, and I look forward to more in the new year. 

Happy holidays everyone.

Rugged Maniac Dallas

A couple of Saturdays ago was Rugged Maniac Dallas.  I was down and dirty shooting the barbwire crawl (as per usual) and these are some of my favs from the day.  I drove home that afternoon taking a circuitous route out of the "cross timbers" of the Trinity River valley and into the East Texas woods and hills, the trees are on fire and it's good for the soul. 

But I digress,  this weekend is the Savage Race Dallas, no barbwire crawl for me this time, but it's always a good time documenting the memories that people are making when they conquer these OCr's; whether it's just the simple act of finishing, or competing for the best time, I will be there freezing those moments.

Tough Mudder Dallas

Last weekend was the Tough Mudder Dallas race.  Here are a few of my favorite shots from the second day.  As you can imagine I spend a lot of time at these things watching people get super dirty and having a lot of fun.  And then of course there are the outfits... as the final photo here can attest, I love my job.