Spring Time is Track Time....

I shot my first track meet of the season, a college meet. And while I often bitch and moan about how much I hate shooting D2 and D3 baseball, I LOVE D3 track! Why? Well, two events... the hurdles and even better, the steeplechase. I know it sounds pretty sadistic and awful, but the two best things about shooting track, and one of the reasons I love shooting it so much are emotions and chaos. With championship events it's great because there is no shortage of emotions. However, at the meets with very little at stake (other than practice and attempting to qualify for nationals, something that can be done even after the conference meets), the only thing left is chaos. And at the D3 level, while there are some really incredible athletes, lets just say, not all of them are. So, the chance for chaos is always there. In the steeplechase it's almost guaranteed there will be at least one runner doing a faceplant into the water. Now, I didn't get a chance to shoot the steeplechase the day before. But, the 100m or 110m hurdles come very close in the crash factor.

Now, I NEVER hope for an injury to an athlete, that's awful and I never want to see someone end their career in front of me. However, a trip over a hurdle that leaves nothing but bruised pride or a fractured ego always makes for good images. So, any time I see a pair of legs sticking straight up, I've got to say I get a little excited. And, while the top photo may look like a collision was going to happen, it didn't and no one was hurt other than a little road rash or bruises. After that the other two photos were just me looking for something interesting to go along with the crash.