About the October 2016 Cover
Runner’s World produced four covers this month. Here’s a little bit about what went into them.
This month, to highlight our feature on the 50 Best Running Cities in America, Runner’s World published four different covers.
Subscribers received the October issue with Tim McCormick, Kellilyn Fierras and Courtney Carney running down Acorn Street in Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood (top left).
Readers who got their magazine from a newsstand on the East Coast saw a separate cover, with Fierras heading up Acorn Street (top right). Newsstand readers in the center of the country saw Olympian Carrie Tollefson running across the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis (bottom left). And those on the West Coast saw Gilbert Lemieux running in front of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Shooting four covers in three parts of the country posed unique challenges. Here’s some background about the shoots:
Boston: Subscriber and East Coast Newsstand Covers
Both covers were shot by Ian MacLellan. “We started pretty early in the morning, before 6 a.m.,” noted MacLellan, in order to get the best light. “Most people wouldn’t want to get up so early, but I like working with runners, because they’re often used to getting up early.”
The group shot several iconic running locations around Boston, including Boston Common and along the Charles River, bringing lots of changes of clothes for the models. “We weren’t sure Acorn Street would work—it’s quintessential Boston, but it’s also very hard to shoot a good vertical shot there, for a cover,” said MacLellan.
However, the shoot on Acron Street in Beacon Hill ended up being the best.
As is typically the case with each issue, all three cover models are runners. Fierras raced in college, and now works as a nutritionist and coach, as well as keeping a blog on her site, Get Well With Kel.
McCormick, a middle school teacher, is a triathlete who runs between 40 and 70 miles per week. “Tim brought his daughter that morning,” said Maclellan. “Which was really fun. She got to watch him be a star for the day.”
Carney ran track in high school and college, and completed the Boston Marathon this past April.
Minneapolis: Midwest and South Newsstand Cover
The husband-and-wife team of Tim Gruber and Jenn Ackerman shot the cover of Tollefson running across the iconic Stone Arch Bridge in downtown Minneapolis.
As with the Boston shoot, it began early. “The stone arch bridge is pretty popular,” said Gruber. “There’s tons of commuter traffic, so we got there at 4:30 a.m. and started shooting around 5, just as the sun came up.”
Tollefson took the hours in stride, and impressed both Gruber and Ackerman with her energy. “Considering how many times we made her run back and forth—it was probably hundreds of times. But she brought the same energy and smile to her last take as her first,” said Gruber. “It makes your job much easier when the subject is clearly having a good time.”
This wasn’t Tollefson’s first time gracing our cover. The 2004 Olympian (1500 meters) and current host of C Tolle Run was on the January 2007 and October 2008 issues, so she’s had some experience with cover shoots.
It was hot, however. The photographers, who live in Minneapolis and bike frequently, had scouted about four locations, including scenic trails, and spent a couple days shooting with Tollefson.
“We packed a cooler with water, some bananas and watermelon so people could stay hydrated. Heat is tough, but rain is the thing you can’t really work around. Luckily, other than a few passing showers, we got the weather we needed,” said Gruber.
For Tollefson’s fun take on the shoot, watch her video:
San Francisco: West Coast Newsstand Cover
In addition to Lemieux, the West Coast cover featured a well-known S.F. personality: Karl the Fog, who maintains his own Twitter account.
RW Photo Director Clare Lissaman, who was at the shoot with photographer Jordan Siemens, was surprised at just how prevalent the fog was, and also how localized. “It could be thick as soup, but you go a hundred feet in one direction, and it’s all clear.”
That’s Karl.
The fog haunted the team, as they searched for locations that wouldn’t be affected. Lissaman was also surprised by the weather. Despite shooting in the summer, it was cold. On one shoot, a motorcycle police offer lent Lissaman his leather bike jacket, which she used to keep warm. “That jacket was the best. I want one of my own, now.”
Lemieux, a runner with the San Francisco Running Company, has been running since he was 10, and clocks up to 70 miles per week when training for marathons.
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