Michigan Men’s Cross Country Coach Kevin Sullivan hugs Ben Flanagan after the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by James Brosher)
Michigan’s Madeline Trevisan competes at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2017, at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by James Brosher)
Michigan’s Ben Flanagan, center, celebrates with teammates and fans at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017. (Photo by James Brosher)
Michigan runners lead the pack at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017. (Photo by James Brosher)
Michigan’s Gina Sereno (296) competes at the Sam Bell Invitational at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. (Photo by James Brosher)
Michigan runners including Gina Sereno, center, compete at the Sam Bell Invitational at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana on Saturday, Sept. 30, 2017. (Photo by James Brosher)
The fifth-ranked Michigan women’s cross country team finished second at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Led by a second-place overall finish from Erin Flynn, Michigan narrowly missed a national championship by a single point to Oregon.
Michigan’s Erin Finn (260) competes at the NCAA Division I Cross County Championships on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. (Photo by James Brosher)
Michigan runners including Erin Finn, center, sing “Hail to the Victors” after a second-place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross County Championships on Saturday, Nov. 19, 2016, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. (Photo by James Brosher)
Colorado’s Ammar Moussa (87) is lifted onto the shoulders of teammates after he finished fifth, helping secure the team’s second-straight NCAA Division I Men’s Cross Country National Title in Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014. (James Brosher, Special to the Denver Post)
Minnesota’s Kate Bucknam (312) and Baylor’s Madison Zimmerman help Zimmerman’s teammate, Anna Dunlap Marie (31), across the final few meters of the women’s race during the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014. (James Brosher, Special to the Denver Post)
Competitors including Mishawaka’s Camilla Holt (229) launch off the starting line to start a high school cross country sectional on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2013, at Erskine Park Golf Course in South Bend. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
At left: Adams’ Andy Timmons reacts after winning the boy’s race. At right: Penn’s Danielle Frank (245) makes a turn around a flag as she runs to a decisive win in the girl’s race. (James Brosher/South Bend Tribune)
Eureka's Kalla Gold runs with the pack at the start of a race at the girl's Class 1A regional on Saturday, Oct. 23, 2010, in Eureka. Gold finished second in the race.
My second assignment of the evening was to photograph a local cross country runner for an upcoming feature. I’ve shot a few sportraits in my day, but never one of a runner. One of the main challenges was location. I met her and the reporter at the high school and while she was doing a short interview, I scouted a few shots within walking distance of the main entrance of the school. If this had been a track runner, I would have been automatically drawn to the school’s track, but cross country presents a bigger challenge for the background. The school is near a busy highway so I settled on a running shot next to the school’s brick exterior for the sake of a clean background. Ideally, I would have liked to have an open field or a forest to shoot in, but this was the best background I could find on the fly. I had her run towards a Nikon SB-800 (1/8 power, zoomed to 24 mm) while I added a bit of fill with a Nikon SB-600 at a 45 degree behind her (1/4 power, zoomed to 24 mm). I had a sort of sweet spot between the lights, and it took a few passes for me to catch her in the lights.
Peoria Notre Dame senior Molly Dahlquist looks to make a run at the state cross country title this year following setbacks in past years.
A runner in the Class 1A race struggles as she tries to pick up the pace approaching the finish line during the Woodruff Cross Country on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, in Detweiller Park.
Freeburg's Kristen Busch breaks away from the pack as she runs in a Class 1A race during the Woodruff Cross Country on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, in Detweiller Park.