The other day I posted a few pics I took at the start of the Kyoto City Half Marathon, but that wasn't my first marathon photo session this month. A week prior, Anthony's preschool had its “Marathon Games” event, where the kids ran around a lot and I took 841 pictures. (No, don't worry, I won't post them all here )

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Kids arriving at the riverside park

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 102mm — ¹/640 sec, f/6.3, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Jogging over to the starting area

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Waiting patiently (and, surprisingly, quietly)

That a group of four-year-olds are sitting quietly is amazing enough, but in Anthony's case, all the more so because he's sitting beside Kana. Anthony and Kana don't play together any more or any less than they play with other kids, but it seems that they really know how to press each other's silly buttons, and as such, they're usually pretty photogenic together, as evidenced in previous posts: Riding a Mini Steam Locomotive and Anthony Staying In Line, With Kana and Anthony Getting Out of Line.

In retrospect, it's probably because he was starting to feel the effects of a cold that he came down with a day or two later. Much of the school was out with the flu the next week, and it took out no small number of moms, too (including Anthony's).

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/8000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
They're off!

The “event” was basically a bunch of running up and down a 40-yard stretch of the park, getting the card around their necks stamped with each round trip.

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 98mm — ¹/5000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking a Bit Tired

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 82mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Rounding the End

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 86mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Comparing Notes (or, in this case, stamps)

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
You've got to love the DOF of a 200mm f/2.8 Lens

At 8.4 meters (28 feet) away, the depth of field in the picture above is just 3.8 inches on either side of focus. I love the visual isolation that this lens (Nikon 70-200/2.8 VR) can provide, especially when it can focus correctly.

Nikon D200 + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Second Wind

After about 10 or 15 minutes of running, they paused for a while, then some went out again, and Anthony seemed to have somewhat of a second wind. I don't remember whether the picture above was when he was running full tilt, or running like a silly monkey. Probably the latter.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 48mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Fruits of his Labors

Actually, the other side of his card had 17 stamps, so if my geoencoded-photo-assisted guess at an 80-yard round trip is correct, his 24 circus yields 1.1 miles. Impressive, indeed! (Although not as impressive as one of Anthony's young friend's run last month.)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 55mm — ¹/320 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — full exif & map
At the end of the day, all the kids got a ball