The San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon 2012

San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon Wheel Chair Invitational Event

Out of all of the athletes at the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon (3 June 2012) I found the wheel chair invitational athletes to be the most inspirational. (I'm a former athlete and marathon runner who now can't run.) These athletes didn't let their disabilities get in their way, though! Some of these wheel-chair-sporting athletes finished this 26.2-mile race in under three hours by "running" this marathon with their hands on tricycles similar to this one!

This photograph was taken on the final stretch when the finish line, located next to Sea World, came into view. This was a successful year for the Rock and Roll Marathon, raising over a million dollars for cancer research, and the Wheel Chair Invitational was a great addition to the event.

San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon Winners

Russian Alevitina Ivanova finished the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon in 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 44 seconds, making her the fastest woman runner in the marathon. She is pictured below running the final stretch of the Rock and Roll Marathon just before crossing the finish line at Sea World, San Diego.

Kenyan Nixon Machichim, an olympian, finished the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon in a staggeringly-fast 2 hours, 10 minutes, and 3 seconds. He is pictured here crossing the finish line at Sea World.

Fluxx Nightclub, San Diego Emergency Scene and Admission of Minors into Club

As a general rule I expect to get paid for my work, but I am legally authorizing this article AND photo (together only and as they are only) to be used by any San Diego news agencies or the San Diego Police without compensation as long as I receive credit for my work by mention of my name and/or business name.

There was an emergency scene outside Fluxx Nightclub on 4th Street in downtown San Diego while this photojournalist was working on a different project capturing the San Diego night life and homeless population for Jessica Rae Photography's (my business) annual "Photography to Combat Homelessness" charity (https://plus.google.com/u/0/b/109937958870133020246/109937958870133020246/posts). The fire crew were happy to be a part of the photos, and out of courtesy for them, I stayed out of the way and made sure their faces were unidentifiable. I did not photograph the injured girl out of respect for her privacy. The manager of the Fluxx Nightclub came outside to tell me that I was not allowed to take photos outside the club. (Anyone is fully within the law to take photographs of anything visible from a public street.) After calling the cops, the manager stated that the cops were not going to do anything about it (presumably because I was not in the wrong). He then attempted multiple times to fling the camera out of my hands and damage my personal and business property. He shone the flashlight into my lens to ruin every shot afterward, and even followed me down the street doing that for some time.

Upon further pressure toward him, I discovered that the "manager" did not want me photographing there NOT because of the injured girl, whose privacy I respected, but because he did not want any evidence of his letting underage girls into his club. I had another photographer with me who would be willing to verify this statement by the "manager." No wonder the Fluxx Nightclub is the most popular club in San Diego!

Protest Foul

One of the things that makes America a great place is the right of the people to peacefully assemble. HOWEVER.... In my personal opinion it is WRONG to recruit a child to protest with you. Regardless of whether or not the protest supports something that would benefit a child, they cannot make up their own mind and make an educated decision about what the protest stands for, so they should not be recruited into protesting at the rally. There were many people who had their children with them which I do not find questionable, but when you hand the kids a picket sign.... that is something I have a problem with!

This is a protest by the Westin Workers in downtown San Diego - they want free medical care for their families. There were probably about 30 people assembled here, but they made more noise than the #occupy protesters did!