Frisco Fridays: A Glorious San Francisco Shot

It was a great moment.

When I approached the finish line of the 2010 San Francisco Marathon, I felt proud. I felt kind of grown up.

I'd run one marathon before, but this one, the San Francisco Marathon was different. My first marathon - Surf City earlier in the year - was special, so special, and nothing could have taken away from that. But this one was me proving that Surf City was no fluke.

I'd trained for San Francisco by myself, had chosen to run the race, had devised a training plan and executed it by myself. This was my coming-out party. This was me proving that I was indeed a marathoner.

And so when I got close to the finish line, I had to express myself.

I struck what is perhaps my favorite pose of any race picture I've had taken of me.

It was epic.

Glory.

Me saying "I did it!"

Or me saying "Look at me now!"

If you don't know, I plan my poses. I think one of the best things to do in a marathon is to pose at the finish, so you can have a great picture of a great moment. What better moment to show yourself off a little than when you are crossing the finish line (!) of a marathon? So, I plan my poses, before and during the race. At some point, it helps me kind of hang on, keeps me mentally engaged. And then before I know it, the finish line is fastly.... well, maybe not that fast... but it is coming up. Then, time for a pose.

I'd played around with this arms-extended pose, so when I came upon the finish I made sure there wasn't anyone around me (can't have people photobombing my glory), thrust my arms out to the side and... well, there you go.

I just happened to look up at the camera. I remember that vividly. I scanned the ground, off to the side and then just as I was about to step over the finish line I looked up and there was the camera, and it had caught me.

So, ultimately this picture was a series of events that led to a great moment for me. This is it. This pose is it. I haven't repeated it in a finish line shot yet. I mean, I'd be kind of ripping myself off a little bit. So I've left the extended-arms pose alone.

In some ways, that's appropriate. Surf City 2010 was my first marathon, but San Francisco 2010 was my moment to show that I was indeed a bona fide marathoner.