Michigan memories: Sunday relayists fought ‘hurricane’ headwind

Wind was about to smack these gents in the face.

Wind was about to smack these gents in the face.

The only relay leg you’d enjoy Sunday at Michigan nationals was anchor of the 4×100. Others had to contend with the strongest headwinds I’ve experienced in any of my dozen-plus nationals. Weather data for that area said winds were at mid-30s mph with gusts in the low 40s. The second leg of the 4×1 was run into a “hurricane,” said one sprinter. If you ran the 4×800, you had to navigate the horrific backstretch twice. An M40 world record attempt in the 4×8 was doomed from the start, but the team of Christian Blondin, 43, Peter Brady, 44, Mark Williams, 43, and Randy Wasinger, 41, clocked a creditable 8:19.25. (The listed nonclub record of 7:58.61 included Christian and Peter.) I experimented with panned shots, and here are 135 raw images from Grand Valley State University. “Complete” results are here.

Julie Sands signals pleasre with her SoCal TC team. She ran both the 4x4 and 4x8.

Julie Sands signals delight with her SoCal TC team. She ran the 4Г—4 and 4Г—8.

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July 19, 2016

4 Responses

  1. Sue Deppe, MD - July 20, 2016

    Thanks for the gorgeous photos, Ken!

    Look at 462-465. USUALLY our hair blows backwards when we run! First time I’ve seen this in photos!

  2. Daphne Sluys - July 20, 2016

    Thanks so much for these lovely action shots Ken…much appreciated since so often we miss seeing friends while we warm up for our races. Plus we get to see honest shots of our own form (yikes).

  3. Susan Cooke - July 21, 2016

    Thank you for your fantastic coverage
    of the event. You captured so much action and emotion in these photos. It’s wonderful to re-live the moments and see others enjoy the benefits of all their hard work.

  4. Ruth Thelen - September 14, 2016

    Ken – Do you have more photos from the Michigan nationals? (Women’s 800m and 1500m)

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