When Sport Outruns the Weather: Rainy Run Report

Today I found myself on Yelagin Island — at the usual Saturday “5 Versts.”
At first glance, just a regular 5K run where everyone goes at their own pace. But yesterday’s SMS alert from the Ministry of Emergency Situations warning of heavy rain and thunderstorms hinted: today would be anything but ordinary.

And sure enough — while everyone was warming up, the sky opened up. A proper downpour, the kind that feels like someone turned over a bucket.

Shooting in these conditions is a sport of its own. An umbrella in one hand, a 70–200 in the other — not exactly lightweight. Rain drummed on hoods, streamed down faces… and people kept smiling.

That’s what I love about sports events: no weather can ruin the participants’ mood. Quite the opposite — the rain added dynamism to the shots and a rare kind of sincerity.

In the end, I got portraits where raindrops cut through the air, while runners kept going, laughing as if the storm only made them stronger.

For me, these runs are great training not just for the athletes, but for the photographer too. Reportage shooting in tough conditions always tests both technique and patience. But it’s exactly from such moments that the kind of photos are born — the ones you want to come back to again and again.