Covering and Competing

Photo taken by Digital Communications Intern Grace Lee. 

Competing in her own cross country race, Arcadia Unified School District Digital Communications Intern Grace Lee manages to cover other races at the same meet through responsible planning and quick thinking. Although it's impossible to snap photos while she's running, she works around a tight schedule to maximize coverage. Intrigued by how she pulls of such a feat, I asked her about her typical experience and how she prepares. 

Currently, my two biggest priorities, other than my education, are cross country and DCI. Both are generally time-consuming, so it's inevitable that the two will overlap once in a while. Although this has its upsides and downsides, luckily, the pros outweigh the cons.

Cross country is an amazing and interesting sport, and I’m very glad I have the opportunity to spread the word about it. However, it requires lots of work, as is anything worth doing. On a normal race day, I pack two sets of clothes, an extra pair of shoes, a towel to sit on, food and drink, and sometimes, my homework if I happen to have a lot that day. When I have to cover the race as well, I need to add my camera and a couple extra batteries to my packing list.

When the team arrives at the race site, I usually have about thirty minutes to an hour to settle down and prepare for the actual race. By that time, my camera is out, and I’ll already have what kind of pictures I want to take in mind. I'm also actively searching for spots that will allow me to take interesting photos. As soon as I see something worthy of a photo, I'll quickly snap a few shots, knowing that the lighting and other factors may change after I run my own race. After taking an adequate amount of photos, I'll store my camera away. After the race, I try to take some more photos of runners from other races if the lighting and time allows.

Overall, covering a race that I’m competing in isn't too challenging or much of hassle. Giving up some time with my teammates and carrying a camera around is hardly a sacrifice for being able to represent Arcadia’s Cross Country Team as well as its Digital Communications Internship.