Tar Heel 10 Miler 2016

    So, I've been in the Triangle Area (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill) for three years, but I've only been to two corners of that wonderful Triangle -- until this past weekend. About a half-dozen guys in the local Black Men Run chapter  signed up for a race in Chapel Hill called the Tar Heel 10 Miler and the FleetFeet 4 Miler. I did not sign up for this race. But instead of sleeping in on a Saturday morning, I got in the car with my camera  and set my destination for Chapel Hill.
    I haven't really had a reason to visit Chapel Hill until now so it was a nice experience. There was a bit of a bottleneck traffic jam heading into the city -which you can expect with any big race - but once I got past that, it was easy to find parking and a quick 10 minute walk to the start finish zone.

The Organizer for the Race

Toe the Line

       So, the goal was really just to take pictures of my BMR (BlackMen Run) Brothers and BGR (BlackGirls Run) sisters... but I always end up taking a few more pictures that originally intended. It's too much fun.

That was a fast three miles

      The day started off kind of weird. I was running over from the start line to get thte runners near the one mile marker. That when a woman and a man run by me. She's holding a medal from the previous race- the 4 miler. It seems like the motion of the medal in her hand is slowing her down... so she stops and places the medal on a trash can -- right around the neck of a bottle.

        I thought that was a weird place to put a medal... so I ask, "you're going back to get that, right?"
       She says "No, I have enough of those," and adds that maybe some kid will come along and enjoy it or something like that. I was shocked      after the 4 miler -- a runner lefter her medal on a trash can
       I'm all for people doing whatever they want with their medals, but this seemed extreme. Some people hang them in their living rooms, others hang them in a closet while others put them away in a box. There are actually charities that will take earned medals and extra medals from races and give them to children who will never be able to run  marathon. It helps give sick children encouragement to be strong.

     So, my first location was along Franklin street. It's a pretty good location because the runners will pass you twice. Once at about one mile.. then again after hitting three miles. Everyone seemed really happy and excited about the race in this section. Plenty of smiles. I got so carried away here that I almost forgot about the second location on Cameron Avenue. That was just a short walk away... and near mile 5. I set up right in front of the Old Well... It's an iconic location that is depicted on many of UNC Chapel Hill's campus imagery. In fact, there were some students taking their senior pictures at the well.

  Here's where I noticed the Chapel Hill Police officer running in full gear - that's awesome! I think she finished in a pretty respectable time.

     I didn't not get pictures of Laurel Hill -- I'm told that's a grueling 1 mile long hill.  They actually give runners a split for Laurel Hill and give awards for the fastest male and female up the hill.
      My last shooting location was just before the finish line. (The course is laid out nicely. It's perfect for spectators to cheer on runners two and three times. along the course.)

     Unfortunately is was right near a bump in the road that people kept tripping over. I really wasn't trying to catch runners falling... but I did catch a few trips.
      Great course, Great race. Nice City.