RUNNING. Something different??

I've been shooting endurance sports for a few years now and the question I ask myself, how can I shoot running differently? I mean it's just a person running or go for scale and packs of runners. Racing? Training?

Rather than just post up photos and say come look at me, I wanted to brainstorm with others to see and hear a different way of looking at it.

Add more scenic? Tight cropping? View from the back?

This is more of a discussion on composition and creative opposed to settings on the camera even though how you want to shoot it you'll need to know how to do it.

Here are a few from 2011 that I liked and that I had permission to post.

****, it's a rainy Friday other than running to the post office, why not talk photography?

3&4 don't do much for me but the others are cool!!Nice to see someone think outside the box.Thanks for sharing.

1&2 I'm not a real fan of, 3 is unreal and screws with my mind nicely But it doesn't make me think it's a shot of running.

4 is probably my favourite as it just seems so remote.

I like 5 as well since it's such a different perspective.

I really like the wide shot with the green shoes. It's very nicely framed and it's not a perspective you get a lot.

The last one I'm not a fan of, though -- the post on it is I'm assuming a lot of fill light and recovery? There's pretty weird-looking haloing on the trees and the colors are just off.

Once you're out of the 'sports photo' mindset I think it' perfectly fine to shoot from the back. To me, that's a great way to show the scenery, and you get a feeling that the runners are running into or through that scene rather than just showing a blurred suggestion of where they came from. #1 is a great example, even though it's more of a side shot: it's more about the scenery than the runners. I try to look for opportunities for that every time I shoot runners (which I really only do recreationally).

Just for reference my impression of those particular photos is:
1: love it for the reasons listed above
2: nice idea but too busy. No central theme
3: very cool but it's hard to tell they're runners
4 & 5 look like ads, which could be good or bad.
6 looks like excessive HDR.

5 is Mirinda Carfrae, where did you take that one?

love 5, 6 and 7 with 5 and 6 being my favorites.

I love them all. Creative stuff with different techniques, perspectives, and a good sense of place. Well done.

A gallery with that kind of variety is an enjoyable gallery to view. Next time add a panning shot to really round out the presentation.

Thumbs up!