From lockdown hobby to capturing 2024's most iconic running moment
David Miller has been taking photos for less than four years, but struck gold in March when he photographed Jasmin Paris’s historic efforts at the Barkley Marathons
A picture tells 1,000 words, right? A good picture can, anyway.
That’s the only type of picture that David Miller wants to deal in. I first happened upon his work when I was immersing myself in Allie Bailey’s wonderful book late last year. He took the wonderfully brash cover photo of Allie sitting in a deckchair on the beach in Dorset while smoking a cigarette, you see.
David tells me that he was inspired after wandering around The Photographers’ Gallery in London. He was inspired to do something new.
“When you think of a running book cover, you think of beautiful mountains, and maybe a silhouette of a runner - something very cliche - but I think with Ali's book it had to be something different because although she's a runner her book isn't necessarily about running.”
“When the chalkboard was there and she was in a deckchair, I suggested she light a cigarette and we write something on that chalkboard. Allie showed quite a lot of faith. During that time, I feel like I was still developing a style, but I knew when I was taking it, it was going to work. It’s a strange feeling.”
That David only picked up photography as a pandemic distraction hobby in 2020, “taking pictures of mates doing triathlons” might explain why getting the perfect shot was an unfamiliar feeling, but he’s made swift progress.
David tells me how he started running 10 years ago when he was “quite unhealthy,” but after completing a 10-miler in Portsmouth, England, he “caught the running bug,” as far as signing up for a 100-mile race. Regardless, he claims to not be “the most natural runner.” When he picked up a camera, however, he found a way to be involved in the running world in a different way. He felt like he could make a difference with his photographs.
Cut back to present day and he’s spent a couple of years working hard (“It's taken a lot of dedication and sacrifice behind the scenes.”), and traveling to ultrarunning events around the world, including being one of just three photographers embedded at the 2023 Barkley Marathons.
If you don’t know what the Barkley Marathons are/is, here are a few fun facts to get you going:
Established in 1986 by Gary “Lazarus Lake” Cantrell and Karl “Raw Dog” Henn in Frozen Head State Park, Tennessee
There is a 60-hour cutoff to run five 20-mile (32 km) laps with two Everests of total elevation gain (an estimated 60,000 feet or 18,000m)
There is a $1.60 application fee, but only 40 runners are accepted, each of whom must pay an entry fees ranging from a packet of Camels to clothing that Laz needs or wants at the time
The race begins when Lazarus Lake lights a ceremonial cigarette
Runners can be disqualified for any number of things, but especially for littering and getting lost
Knowledge of the Barkleys used to be the preserve of massive nerds like me, but times have changed, and I like that
Anyway. After receiving a gift of a new Leica Q2 Monochrom from his partner in November 2023, and armed with the experience of shooting the Barkley Marathons the previous year, David had an idea. He wanted to go to the 2024 Barkley Marathons and tell the race’s story in his own style; in a way the Barkley Marathons hadn’t been shot before.
“The plan was to get up and close to the runners, but also capture Frozen Head itself, and the surrounding area, because when people think of the Barkley, they think of the gate and Rat Jaw, but no one's ever seen Wartburg, the nearest town. No-one's seen the roads leading into Frozen Head.”
“The book's going to literally take you on a journey into Frozen Head, the people in the campsite, and the Barkley family stood around the bonfire, leading to Jasmine’s finish at the gate. It’s capturing everything about Barkley.”
Conscious of not being the first Barkley Marathons book out there, David is keen and purposeful about differentiating his work. Having gained a reputation in his short career for capturing deeply personal, black and white images, his vision for a coffee table book was singular. He wants to tell the story by taking the reader on a visual journey “because I think the minute you add words to the pictures, I think it loses its power.”
Again, this is true mostly for good pictures. That David won People's Choice Sports Photographer at the British Photography Awards late last year suggests that he does know what he’s doing, regardless of his amateur status.
The big shock to me is when he tells me that beyond some slight adjustments of exposure levels, the 200 photos going into his book (from a bank of 6,500) will be completely unedited.
“My newer black and white photos, from November, they're not edited; they don't go through software; they're straight off the camera. That's how this book will be. They'll be as raw as you like, and I think that's really important for the effect I’m trying to give.”
“I took one photo where Jasmine is sat down in her chair at the gate after lap two or three. She’s just got her hand on her head. It was taken through the railings, and I purposefully have the railing showing so I can show the viewer that I was this side of the railings taking it, and this is what I see. It's very much a first-person perspective of being at the Barkley, and I think that sort of thing is really, is really important to be unedited”
With a 772% increase in ultramarathon events in the USA this century, it makes sense that the toughest race of all them made the headlines, but this year really was special.
“I think this year at the Barkley is like the year England won the World Cup. I think this year is going to be immortal. I'm not sure it can ever be beaten. Even though we saw Gary Robbins fail by six seconds, I think Jasmine's overtaken that because what she did was almost impossible.”
Indeed. The previous best was by four women, who had previously completed the three-lap ‘fun run’ of the Barkley Marathons twice each. Jasmin completed all five laps within the 60-hour cutoff. It’s not like she shaved a millisecond off the previous record. It’s a full 66% improvement.
In that context, it seems somewhat more reasonable that Lazarus Lake thought that a woman completing the full course was an impossible feat. He was wrong, of course.
If you’re looking to further the narrative of 2024 being a truly historic year, not only was Jasmin the first female finisher, but she was also the last finisher before Laz retired. It’s documentary-level stuff. Or maybe… coffee table book stuff.
David hopes that Jasmin is recognized for her monumental achievement. There’s a little bit of selfish motivation there, of course. When the story became the most-read article on the BBC website, it included several of David Miller’s photographs. He hopes that his images will become synonymous with the race. He hopes to build a legacy that way.
“I hope in years to come, when people think of the Barkley Marathons, that's the photo they look at. That would be my goal.”
Having captured the entire gamut of one of the cultural moments of the millennium, the book is an exciting enough proposition that it reached its funding goal after just two weeks. This print run will be your only opportunity to get this plush hardcover edition, so look sharp.
David tells me that he loves taking photos (on the side of being a gas engineer), and that he feels completely comfortable with his concepts and with his goals. I suggest that the financial security of his day job gives him a little more mental, creative freedom to express himself.
“You’ve hit the nail on the head. I never feel any pressure. This definitely could become a job, but maybe I can do it just because I love doing it, rather than being under pressure financially.”
At this point - still with under four years of photography experience under his belt - David Miller had better start getting used to that feeling of capturing the perfect photo, because he just keeps on doing it.
While a picture can, indeed, tell a thousand words, I hope these ~1,400 words give you a little more insight into the mind of one of the most exciting cultural archivists to have emerged in the running world in recent years.
All eyes on David Miller.
Pre-order DO NOT BLOCK GATE on Kickstarter while you can.
Links & further reading
Barkley Marathons [WIKI] [Jasmin on BBC]
Ultrarunning growth [IRUNFAR]
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Great piece. Great photos. Gave me goosebumps!
Thank you for the book recommendation and sharing David's photos! And Jasmin's victory!