The Downsview Half and 5K is a new race that has a great concept. It’s run at Downsview Park, Toronto, on the site of the former military base, slowly being converted to other uses though keeping some military presence and private use for the Downsview airfield and runway. The runners of the Downsview Half get to run through parkland trails recently created with great mounds of earth. Then the runners pass through the area of the hangars and run onto the airstrip. On route, they run through a line of military vehicles and past a plane sitting on the tarmac. At the end of the runway they run through some neighbourhood streets and return back down the runway. And add to this, the run was on Remembrance Day, and so marks that day appropriately both with the location, and the challenge of running where one strives with oneself to meet a challenge that tests one's worth. There’s nothing else quite like this run and the participants were thrilled by it. In fact, more than a thousand runners had signed up. It was a great encouragement for the organizer, and I had a great time shooting the event.
My photography attempts to catch the spirit of the event so the organizer could remember, even years later, what the day was like. Some photos are of runners’ backs or from a long distance. I believe these to be creative shots that capture through the gesture of light, a line, a shape, or a colour, something of the spirit of the day and the spirit of running.
Hope you enjoy them.