Race Pictures - To Smile or Not?

Do you ever look at photos of yourself during a race and think "how could I look so bad?"

Or, are you surprised at how good you look?

I went through a phase early when I started running where I didn't look at the camera people.  I thought they were rather annoying, and as a result I had very few good race pictures.

Then, before I ran the Chicago Marathon last year, I decided I was going to smile through the entire race because I knew I was going to order a picture.  Doesn't everyone order a picture for their first marathon?  I thought if I had a smile on my face the entire time, at least one picture would turn out.

And when I looked at my pictures from that race, I realized that they were the best ones I've ever taken because I was smiling.  From that moment on, I wanted to smile for every camera at every race.  And, for the most part, I have succeeded.  I love running, and a smile is a simple way to express that.  

There was a race photographer at Ice Breaker this past weekend, yet I failed to spot him every time I ran.  My teammates told me every time before I ran where he was located, and I couldn't see him.  Perhaps I was too focused on running my 4 laps, or just trying to not run into another person, but I missed him.  And, unfortunately, it shows.  The race pictures were posted to a website yesterday and all of the ones that he took of my teammates and I are pretty bad.  Yet, incredibly funny.  It looks as though one of my teammates is whistling in one of her pictures and another has a rather disgusted look on her face.

Do you have any really good, or really funny race pictures?

When I ran the Illinois Marathon last year, they took 3 pictures of me eating GU, which was pretty funny.  My favorite race picture is from a duathlon I did in September.  Although I am not smiling in the picture, but rather look serious and focused, I like everything else about it.