Toronto hosts two international marathons every year. I have photographed one or both on my own since 2017. This year, for the first time, I was an accredited photographer at the Toronto Marathon — one of a team of about 20 photographers.
I was stationed at the finish line, which was also roughly a 100 m dash from the starting line for the 5k and 10k courses. My job was to photograph the racers getting prepared for these shorter distances, and as many runners as possible picking up their medals after crossing the finish line (everyone gets one unless they decline it during registration).
In many respects, photographing the starting and finish lines is typical event photography. It is about both quantity (capture as many people on camera as possible) and quality (settings, light, emotions, etc.). I was delighted to find that the vast majority of the runners, including those staggering across the finish line, were receptive to and even enthusiastic about being photographed. My camera opened and closed its shutter for roughly 1000 people, mostly smiling and and even posing. Perhaps a total of 20 runners declined, all politely.
Here are some runners waiting for the start of their 5k or 10k races:
And here are some tired finishers displaying their medals and pride:
