Welcome to the latest in the long, recurring series of posts sharing photos I took while my wife ran very long distances. This time, as a special treat, my son was also running. Not me – I walked around slowly and looked for flowers and spiders.

This past weekend, Kim and John ran a 50K (31 mile) race as part of the FlatRock 101 Ultramarathon along the Elk River Hiking Trail near Independence, Kansas. This was only John’s second 50K run – his first was on the same trail back in September, 2024. In that first race, he finished well behind Kim. This time, he actually beat Kim by about 5 minutes, something I’m sure Kim is absolutely and totally fine with.

Having Kim and John running at similar paces throughout the day made it easier for me to meet them at aid stations and top off their water, etc. as they came through. Since I didn’t have to wait long for one or other to come through station after the other passed, I had more time in-between those stops to wander around with my camera.

Unfortunately, the day was very bright and sunny and there was a strong breeze. It was a great day for running, but a challenging one for photography. As a result, I spent a couple hours doing some photography in the morning, but found other ways to entertain myself the rest of the day.

It was fun to be considerably south of home and see a lot of spring flowers that aren’t yet blooming further north. I didn’t have time to wander very far, so I didn’t get to see nearly as many as Kim and John saw, but apparently there were spiderworts, columbine, phlox, and many others blooming along the trail. I mostly hung out in a little wooded area where I found some flowers, spiders, and fungi.

As a prairie guy, of course, woodlands are not my favorite ecosystem, but I don’t dislike woodlands, and can enjoy a good walk through the trees as much as anyone. In this case, I headed to the woods mostly because of the light conditions. The sun was incredibly bright from almost the minute it breached the horizon in the morning, so lighting was really harsh out in the open. In addition, all the grassy areas close to the race’s aid stations were pretty encroached by trees and shrubs anyway, so I was going to be around woody plants no matter where I went.

In the trees, I could at least find a few areas where the light was being diffused by distant tree leaves and branches. Most of the woodland was in shade, which isn’t ideal for photography, but there were scattered patches of diffused sun and I walked from one to the next, looking for anything interesting.

There were lots of spiders and webs strung between the trees, which kept me busy for a while. I also found a lot of mushrooms and other fungi. The trick was to find the ones that were also well-lit.

A quick note on the runners, since they were the reason for the trip: Kim has been running ultramarathons for quite a while now, so a 50K has become a fairly typical distance for her to train for. This particular trail was a challenging one because it is rough and rocky in places, has some hills, and it had rained hard the night before, making it muddy as well. We don’t have a lot of rocky, hilly, muddy trails for Kim to train on near our home, so it’s hard for her to prepare for a race like this. She really wanted to run this trail in the spring, though, partly because it’s a good time to see wildflowers. (I like to see spring wildflowers, too, but go about it very differently.)

John was running in only his second ultra. He and Kim now listen to a lot of the same running podcasts, follow some of the same well-known races and runners, and send each other running memes and training tips. It was really cool to see John improve tremendously from his first attempt. I think he enjoyed himself, but immediate post-race conversations aren’t usually the time to get positive reflections from runners. He mostly talked about rocks, his ankles, and his intense dislike for life, running, and pretty much everything else.

Kim is John’s step mom, so he didn’t inherit his stamina or training discipline from her, at least not via genetics. However, they share an ability to push through pain, which is obviously important in this sport. There isn’t, as far as I know, an official slogan for long-distance trail running, but if I was asked to write one, it would probably be something like, “A great way to explore nature while in constant discomfort.” It’s hard to believe the sport doesn’t have more participants, isn’t it?

I’m grateful to Kim (and now John) for all the training they do for these races because it allows me to tag along and see fun places while they do most of the work. After all, I got to lie on the ground in the woods for a couple hours looking at spiders and mushrooms! (It’s hard to believe macro photography doesn’t have more participants, isn’t it?)