Great photos, Lloyd. I particularly like these two:
Lloyd: Thank you!
I'm truly envious of your "once in a lifetime" experience.
Lloyd: Pretty incredible endeavor and experience that you're participating in! This looks like the middle of nowhere. Your photos really convey his singular effort (even with the support and fellow runners). The second photo, above, with the 200-400 sums it up for me. :thumbs:
Also, his shoes look like they have 2" thick soles?
Cheers, Matt
http://mdriscoll.zenfolio.com
Lloyd,
What a endeavour! What a story!
So well told, instructive and nicely illustrated that's it's hard to pick a favorite moment.
Overall, it feels like a sum of intimate moments placed on a nearly infinite perspective... a parable of life?
Thanks for taking us along for that day, from sunrise to sunset.
LLoyd...In ALL Seriousness, This Story & Photo Essay Needs To Be In Nat-Geo & Runner's World & A Slew Of Other Magazines! The Images Are Amazing & The Story Should Be Spread Across The Globe!!! :thumbs::salute:
Hi Lloyd: Seems to be John Ford's season. Grand settings, brilliant photography. The second and third ones are outstanding.:salute:
Lloyd: Outstanding work Lloyd. The shots of Karl deserve a magazine place.
Lovely compositions capturing the landscape and the lone runner. Lovely work.:thumbup::thumbup:
In all seriousness, I'm grateful for your kind responses. This has been quite a journey for me as well. Karl is a friend, and even more than that, he's a good and humble man. He doesn't think what he's doing is special or heroic, and he thinks those on the team are the ones who have it hard. (By the way, there are usually three people on the support team, including a physiologist, who tracks his vitals, tests his blood, and monitors his overall nutrition. This wasn't something he asked for, but his sponsors thought it would be interesting to see how his body responded. Leslie, the scientist, told me that the adaptations he's made so far have "been incredible". She's been genuinely astounded by what she's seeing. It will be very interesting to see her final report.) Of what he's doing, Karl simply says, "I just run."
It was great to be able to document even a small portion of the run. (There are some other photographers, and a film crew (Red Bull's idea, of course) who will be joining the group over the next couple of weeks.) I was watching his progress today on the interactive map, and wishing so much that I could go back for more!
Matt, in answer to your question about his shoes (a keen observation on your part, btw), yes, they do have very large soles. Karl has been very loyal to a different brand of shoes for years, and even had very a substantial sponsorship contract with them for the past two years. However, on a lark, he tried these, in his words, "weird shoes", and was immediately hooked. He called his sponsor and said he needed to be dropped from their support. He decided he'd run in these new ones, even if he was paying for them out-of-pocket! Of course, the company that makes them got wind of it, and he doesn't have to pay. And because of his enthusiasm about them, and given his status in the ultrarunning world, their sales have shot through the roof. The brand is
HOKA. I've tried them, but found the upper hit my ankle in an uncomforable way. However, with a little friendly arm twisting to from Karl, administered while we were running together, and based on his suggestion that I perform a little "surgery" on the shoes, I'll be getting a pair in the very near future. And, they have a road version, which will be available starting in about February. Also, despite the rather substantial look of the shoes, they are amazingly light.
Again, I greatly appreciate the reception given the story and the images. Very much appreciated.