Welcome back to this Weekly Wednesday! In the vein of Giving Tuesday that happened just yesterday we wanted to share a local race that we Jenny and Jason Photography, LLC -namely Jenny- volunteered to photograph. As we’ve mentioned over the past 14+ years, we do not take any volunteer requests from anyone at all for photography or photography products as we already have our set local humane societies, parks departments, charities, and more that we donate to and volunteer with, but after having made a pal a few months prior, Jenny volunteered her services to this unique event (and they have more than returned the favor with gifting her help & merch- official event sweatshirt, winter hat, zipper pulls, and more).
Last month on October 21st Jenny headed out solo to one of our favorite parks- St. Pat’s Park here in South Bend- to capture a very cool event: The 24 Hour Race-! This race started back in 2010 and takes place along the trails of St. Patrick’s Park along the St. Joseph river here in South Bend, Indiana. The race was paused during the Pandemic, but was back this October here in South Bend according to the organizers Jeanne & Sara! The race sounds pretty intense, but serves to introduce the ultra marathoning community to the beautiful trails and county parks of South Bend (/ St. Joseph County).
The race is exactly what it sounds like: A 24 hour race in beautiful October autumn trees/ foliage at the sprawling county park. The race also honors Faye Magneson- a local who passed in 2014 from ALS- for her dedication to her patients and family. Faye was a local doctor (internist) and one of the organizers Sara helped care for Faye’s father as he passed. Organizer Jeanne also has a connection to the disease in that her mother also suffered from ALS. Proceeds of race (The 24 Hour Race- a 501(c)3) via entry fees, donations from the community, & the purchases of the 24 Hour Race clothing swag/ merch (such as shirts, sweatshirts, winter hats, cool/ colorful zipper pulls, and more) go directly to ALS research and support ( https://www.als.net/) . This year (2023) in particular one of the runner’s wives currently suffers from ALS, so the organizers of the race have also set out to see if they can provide them with anything. Let’s get on to the race & Jenny will tell a bit more of the 24 Hour Race’s story below-!
Around 100 racers registered and came out to run/ do this challenging race. Food and warm beverage tents lined the Start Line of the race and folks enjoyed some breakfast inside the Red Barn prior to the race. One of our favorite details inside The Red Barn (an interior where folks could warm up & eat breakfast before or during the race) was that a locally-made quilt outlined the course/ trail for the runners. This quilt hung from the ceiling in the middle of The Red Barn where some of the racers camped out and slept the night prior so that they could wake up for breakfast the early start time in the morning. One of the runners made the quilt map and it was actually raffled off! $2,200 was made for ALS research from just the quilt raffle (as $1,100 was made via raffle sales & the couple who won it voluntarily & amazingly matched the raffle sales amount)-!
We had had a rough couple months leading up to this event that was a very early morning (as compared to our 7 to 11 hour wedding days for clients and evening Engagement Sessions, Family Portrait Sessions, and Non-Profit work with kids), so Jason didn’t make it to photograph that morning, so Jenny covered one section of the 24-hour trail. The following race images aren’t necessarily in order (of which runners/ walkers/ hikers were first), but we think it tells a good introductory story of the unique and impactful race. Jenny had intentions of heading back out to potentially capture the end of the 24 hours and the mud build-up on the trails and runners, but after she left there’d apparently been a fluke odd little snow spurt and then rain (plus more work for our business’ clients), so she took that Sunday off as rest was desperately needed. Regardless, it was a wonderful event with many sweet people (many thanking her as they ran past that morning).
Though Jenny is a former hardcore athlete (having won many a trophy both in organized, competitive sports from Junior Olympics for 8 years, in 5 other sports, and city races) and Jason works out at the gym now often 2 to 5 hours a day, we can’t fathom running & walking for 24 hours straight. Having hiked mountains abroad for days (with rest at night) and run in 5ks and 10ks myself (Jenny) this is something unlike anything I’ve seen or experienced at prior races- even Mud Runs & other unique & physically challenging (Extreme Elimination Challenge-style races/ gauntlets). There was security present at the park entry to keep runners & walkers safe within the park, but the trails become muddy with each lap of the racers and they must wear headlamps through the night to stay safe on the nature trails. The fact that they pair this extreme sport with such a wonderful cause has me wondering if someday it’s something I may try… or maybe inspire you to try…? In this day-and-age of extreme technology and many folks shut off from their local IRL (in-real-life) communities, it was great to see people getting out for 24 hours of low technology usage and so much nature enjoyment/ physical challenge.
What’s one thing you can do this month to connect with your community…? One thing you can do to disconnect from the digital world for one or more full days…?