A story about the beauty of trying.
“I’d spent the morning following the runners of Rome’s Half Marathon around the city on a Lime bike; weaving through the course and grabbing shots wherever I could, tracking where the sun might hit them, framing them where I could against ancient Roman backdrops.
Happy with what I got, I decided to plant myself still at one particular corner, maybe inspired by the monuments surrounding me. It was the final turn before the runners head down the long straight that opens up to the Colosseum. I was within sight of the finish line as I eagerly awaited my partner and her father, who were both running in the race.
I stood there for a while, watching the runners, half keeping an eye on my partner’s location on Find My Friends. Families, loved ones, and friends were doing the same; waiting, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. As the runners came around that corner, sunlight hit them. You could see the joy, exhaustion, relief, and determination as they caught sight of the finish line framed by the Colosseum. Some smiled; others looked like they were hanging on by a thread."
Most of them weren’t elite athletes, just regular people old and young attempting to do something extraordinary. Seeing all that emotion, the mix of pain, pride, and sheer will was quite moving.
"I shot probably a hundred runners as they turned that corner. What touched me was the simplicity of it: everyone was just trying. Not trying to break a world record or beat the person in front of them; just humans doing their best. I like that.”
