Finn Hill

Well, it was the last cross country meet of the season for us today.  The Finn Hill Challenge, not far from the Venersborg School that I photographed a few weeks ago.  I thought this area was a historic Swedish community, but now I'm thinking it's Finnish.  The name Finn Hill could have given it away, but it didn't occur to me until I read the Finnish quote on the runners' tags: SISU- Finnish word for "not only great insurance, but the determination not to stop."  One thing I love about cross country meets is they're always at a beautiful outdoor location. Today was no exception; we were at a very pretty park and the fall weather was perfect.  The park had a pond with a gentle ripple, so of course I gravitated to the reflection and photographed the race from this more abstract perspective.  I'm sorry to see the season end, but have to admit I'm happy for the change in schedule too.

Cross Country Season

Day 21 in black and white.  Now that cross country season has started all my Saturday mornings are filled for the next few months.  That means setting the alarm clock for something in the 5 o'clock hour.  But on the bright side, I get to take sunrise photos, and we're always at a nice park. 

September 3

So I'm officially a cross country mom!  Today was the first meet at Lagoon Valley.  One thing I can tell I'm going to like about cross country is the pretty locations where they race!  This photo was taken near the start.  After this the course wound through two hills, like the ones in the background.  f/5.6 at 1/1600, ISO400, 105mm.