Mountain Runner Portrait Project #11: Bob Tims

Mountain Runner Portrait Project #11: Bob Tims
2012 Mt Washington Road Race

Bob Tims doesn't have a running resume like many of the athletes in the Mountain Runner Portrait Project. He is a friend who lives in a small town in Maine and runs on his lunch hour. Bob likes cool music, is a good Dad and keeps bees in his spare time. I always enjoy seeing him and his family at the local pub.

A friend who had run the Mt Washington Road Race last year, encouraged him to try for a spot in the race's bib lottery. Bob got in and his friend didn't. He carried on solo to run the eight miles with a relentless 12% grade and 4650 feet of vertical gain, finishing in about 2 hours.

One of the reasons I love to photograph mountain races and started the MRPP was because the elite runners do things that are simply amazing to me. Bob's race is equally inspiring.

See all the images from the Mountain Runner Portrait Project here

Hometown by iPhone

I had occasion to spend several days in my hometown recently. I hadn't done that in a long time. It's funny how quickly it all became so comfortable and familiar again. It was a busy time and I never broke out my DSLR, but I did shoot frequently with my iPhone. Climb aboard for an iPhone tour of Northern New Hampshire.











Berlin,NH
iPhone 4s, SnapSeed

Chocorua Barn

Chocorua, NH

Mountain Runner Portrait Project #10: Dave Dunham

Mountain Runner Portrait Project #10: Dave Dunham
2012 Cranmore Hill Climb

According to his bio at USA Track & Field, "Dave has run over 95,000 miles in 16 countries and 48 states. He has been injured over 500 times. When injured he has been known to train up to 4 hours a day on a stationary bike!"

Dave has been to the World Mountain Running Championships seven times with several top U.S. Team finishes and a 2nd overall in 1993. He's also the first person to run in every town and city in his home state of Massachusetts and he's on a quest to get the highest point in every U.S. state.

How do we know all this? Dave is a meticulous record keeper of his own training and running accomplishments and he frequently crunches results on races and catalogs mountain running exploits across New England. For example, the results of the Mt Washington Road Race. Dave has competed on the mountain many times and has 3 wins on the tallest peak in the Northeast.

Dave had a big day today at the final race in the USATF-NE Mountain Goat series. He had a 2nd overall and top 40+ finish at the Mt Ascutney hill climb in Vermont. He also set a new 40+ PR of 31:04. There's a reason he has an alter ego action hero named Super Dave.

Mountain Runner Portrait Project #9: Jim Johnson

Mountain Runner Portrait Project #9: Jim Johnson
2012 Mt. Washington Road Race

Jim Johnson mentioned my Mountain Runner Portrait series in a facebook post today, so it seemed high time to unveil his MRP.

Jim is a recent transplant to the Mt. Washington Valley aka mountain runner heaven. He's a mild mannered software technical accounts guy by day and the rest of the time he's eating up trails in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Last week Jim was the winner of the Loon Mountain Race in Lincoln, NH.

See all the photos from this project as they're posted here

Mountain Runner Portrait Project #8: Chris Dunn

Mountain Runner Portrait Project #8: Chris Dunn
2012 Loon Mountain Race & US Women's National Mountain Running Championship

I became aware of Chris Dunn early in 2011 at the second race I ever photographed... The mighty Sandwich Sidehiller Snowshoe Race in Sandwich, NH. I kept seeing all of these hats, gloves, shirts... you name it... with the Acidotic logo. The field was thick with the stuff and their slogan "Race Acidotic". I remember asking my friend and Race Director Paul Kirsch, "What's up with all this Acidotic stuff?" He pointed to Chris and said "That's Chris Dunn and he runs this team called Acidotic". It was an impressive display and a strong image.

Chris is an endurance athlete and owner of Acidotic Racing or aR for short. aR is an event management company and a multi-sport endurance racing team. "Normal" people who, as aR's website says, "dare mighty things" like long distance running, biking, snowshoeing, fell racing and other lung pounding pursuits. The gear projects a tough image and I wanted that for Chris' portrait as well, but don't be fooled. Like everyone I've met in the mountain running community, these are great people. aR not only runs great events, but uses them to help others too. At the Loon Mountain Race, you could get $5 off the same-day registration with a food donation for the NH Food Bank. The race also generated a donation to help victims of the recent Colorado wildfires, acknowledging the large contingent of runners in the race from that state.

Chris has always been quick to share my photos on facebook and offer a kind word about my images. I want to thank him for that support. It's great fun to make these images. aR's next event is Saturday in Allenstown, NH... The Bear Brook Marathon & Ultra. The race is 26.7 mile single loop trail race at Bear Brook State Park.

What is the Mountain Runner Portrait Project?
Photographing mountain and trail running races, I've met remarkable, inspiring athletes and fantastic people. I thought it might be fun to capture them standing still for a change. See all the photos from this ongoing project here. More portraits will be posted... stay tuned!

A Coke and a Canoe

Cornish, Maine