After living in Boston for 4 years, this was this first time I intentionally sought out to photograph (or even watch) the Marathon - in fact, I usually have tried to avoid it, especially with mile 25 routed directly in front of my school.
However, this year, I chose to seek a different perspective of the race (which has usually been at a distance, looking down on Kenmore Square, or dodging past crowds of spectators, hoping not to collide with them on my bike). I woke up early and headed to the beginning of the race, which starts on Main Street of Hopkinton, a good 45 minutes west down the Mass Pike. It amazes me that 45 minutes by car can be translated by some of the world's greatest runners into 2 to 2-1/2 hours by foot. (To see how the runners did, visit the Results Page.)
When I arrived in Hopkinton, I didn't know what to expect. I wandered around "Athletes' Village," aka Hopkinton Middle- and High- School parking lots and fields, before heading to the start line. I arrived in enough time, where most of the runners were still there either taking naps, huddled in as many layers as possible, or lining up to be photographed in front of the sign "Welcome to Hopkinton: It All Starts Here."
At the start line, it was a battle to find that "perfect spot" to shoot from. For the hand cycle division, I had positioned myself against the fence just a little down the hill from the start line. I thought that I was lucky because I was small enough to squeeze through the crowds and even sneak in front of the other photographers/videographers trying to capture the event. It must have been the best angle, since there were a number of them there - perfect spot, right? Nope. Instead, we were (I was) too low to get a good enough of an angle of the racers, the fence was close to opaque, so there was no low-angle shooting, and the staff and police were blocking the view, so I had no chance to get a good image.
Before the beginning of the Women's Elite start time, I quickly made my way over to the other side of the road. However, the path there was only a sidewalk, already filled with spectators, and bordered on either side by fences. And even though I was lucky to have weaseled my way through the crowd, I was too short to have been able to shoot over there heads, nor did I have a chance to walk up to the edge of the road/fence. Finally, I saw my opening. Directly at the start line, there was a metal frame covered on either side with plastic signs (reaching all the way to the ground) reading "Boston Marathon." I needed to get a shot that morning, and realized that desperate times called for desperate measures. So I snuck under, into the metal frame, hidden by the signs, and was able to sit directly at the start line (thank goodness for being small!). Too bad that I didn't get a shot of my cozy little hiding spot so you could get a sense of how tight it was. I did end up leaning out into the road, shooting between police officers' feet (who were lined right in front of me), but thankfully for those who noticed me didn't mind :)
I also positioned myself at Heart Break Hill, and got a few shots there. But what entertained me the most, however, was not Marathon-related. I was standing for a few minutes in the middle of the hill watching this little toddler running around the grass with some "CUIDADO" tape, that had fallen down, in its hand. After a while going back and forth, getting the tape caught on everything that it passed, I noticed a funny sight (I assumed the feet on the left belonged to its parents!):
For more information about the Boston Athletic Association and the Boston Marathon, visit the Webslte.
Also, to find more photos of the Marathon events, visit the BAA Gallery.
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