The Last Track Meet of the Season

The kids had their last track meet yesterday. I am really proud of both of them. For their first year in track, they both competed very hard, were not afraid to try new events, learned a few things, made a few friends and had fun. Oh yeah, and both qualified for the competitive team.

Sarah competed in the 100m sprint, 4x100 and long jump. Unfortunately, she missed a few events she wanted to try, like shot put, due to conflicting event times. Oh well, there is always next year.

Nick competed in the high jump and long jump. He was competing against some very good kids, and some older ones too. Due to the long time it took to complete the high jump, he missed several other events. He was not complaining though. Even though the track meet started at 830am, it was still pretty hot by the time we left about 1130am. It was hot enough that I was sweating just watching them and taking pictures.

Oh, did I mention pictures.

There was a photo-finish in the 100m. Well not exactly, but my photo does show it was a very close race. Sarah finished third. The girl on the right drifted in and out of Sarah's lane and may have slowed Sarah down, but anyone who can run that fast with sunglasses on top of their head is pretty fast.

Here is the girl drifting into Sarah's lane. Actually, I think she came from two lanes over as you can see another girl behind her in that lane too. Oh, the girls are supposed to stay in their lanes in this race.





Early on, Nick's form in the high jump was not too impressive and I did not give him much of a chance at winning. However, the guy running the event gave all of the kids advice after each jump. Nick listened carefully, made adjustments and really improved his form.

An early attempt at a low height is cleared, despite the lack of form or technique.


The form gets better.


And better.And very nice.



The thrill of success.


And congratulations from the coach/judge after winning the event!

The Scar --- PG Rated

Not for those who are squeamish or otherwise adverse to large, stitched wounds.

Turn back now...

Feeling brave? Scroll down.
















































and another from a reader as comparison.

Washington DC

OK you Nikon fans. I know you are out there. But, here is your challenge: Grab one camera. Go out and shoot 21mp images and then without missing a moment, start capturing full 1080p HD video. I realize I am not the next Speilberg, but this 5dmkII tool is a so much fun I have a hard time calling it a tool with a straight face when I really want to type "toy."

Busy Summer

I've been pretty busy lately and not much time to post.



Nick qualifies for the Knoxville Youth Track Competitive Team with a great high jump. He and Sarah have both qualified now and both are happy. We don't really have the time and schedule to allow them to participate on that team, but they are happy and content in the knowledge that they made it. And so am I.




Sarah still can burn up the track in the 100m sprint. Her easy-going personality sure changes when she gets to the start line. She does not like to lose. Look closely at the first image in the series and the look on her face.

In the next series, she is running the anchor leg on her 4x100 team. She takes a second to glance over at her competition. She is not happy that she is not in front.




In the image above, you can see that she is running against some older girls, but still not happy with losing to them.

She finds consolation in the long jump where she is still the reigning champ.

And this is the form that gets the job done.


But, Summer is not all work. There is plenty of play time.

Track Video

Track video 1

Track video 2

Track Video 3

Hurdles from tim gangloff on Vimeo.

Testing the quality of two different hosting sites. Please bear with me




So, what video looks the best on your computer? What works the fastest and provides the best image quality. What plays without any hiccups or hesitations? I need some feedback. So, let 'er rip. Thanks.

One Quick One

I am too tired from a day at the lake to go through all of my images right now, but here is one that shows the fun. Nick, Sarah, cousin Conner and his friend.


Oh, found one, make that two more that I want to put up.






Yeah, that is 3, but who's counting.

The Track Meet

Nick and Sarah had their first real track meet this morning. They did great. Sarah had a spectacular day, winning two events and qualifying for Knoxville's Youth Competitive Track Team with her long jump. I don't think she will be able to join the team as it looks like it will interfere with her soccer schedule, but she is still happy about it. We are too.

Here she is holding her Blue Ribbon and her qualifying red ticket given to the kids who qualified for the team.


I'll be posting more later today.

Here are a few more.

The rest are here: Track Meet or rather will be later tonight.