AzulOx Visuals

Bold and dramatic photographs telling stories of people’s lives

Main navigation

swim

Robert Hillery – Ultraman, Marine

by

Raise your hand if you have ever wanted to run a marathon? Large group of you I am sure.
How about a double marathon? Smaller group, but I know of a lot of you who race 50 and 100 milers.
Keep your hand up if you want to run a double marathon at the end of a three day race featuring 6.2 miles of swimming, 261 miles of biking, and 52.4 miles of running? Not too many of you left, less than 500 people in the world have completed such a race.

Now add a large 20 lb. American flag to the run portion to honor your fellow Marines by raising money for the Wounded Warrior Project. The only person left raising his hand to do that adventrure? Meet Robert Hillery. Ironman, Ultraman, Marine, American Hero.

These are the photos of Robert during the run portion of the course to demonstrate the courage and conditions:

Start of Day One

Few miles into the Run
About the 10K mark of the run
Through the first Marathon
Burst of Emotion at the Finish Line!
Getting Hugs from his crew while mother Mary Ann looks on
Speaking to the crowd after the Race at the Awards Dinner
Team Pain Junkies

I am left in shock and wonder at the spirit, courage and determination of Robert and all of the Ultraman Participants.

–JB

Ultraman 2010 – Men’s Winner Mike Le Roux

by

Quick Photo Post of 2010 Ultraman Championship Men’s Winner – Mike Le Roux

6:31 Double Marathon Finish to Come back from Third Place for the win
Day One Bike - 85 miles into the ride near Volcano National Park
Top of the Second Day Climb
Day Three Run around mile 30

See more at UltramanLive.com

Thanksgiving Breakfast in Kona – Ultraman

by

Another morning in Kailua starting at Lava Java, the bread there is great and the green tea keeps me going. After seeing Jason and Scott again for the third morning in a row, we headed over to the Outrigger Hotel for a Thanksgiving Breakfast and Race talk.

We grabbed the group photos, and did what we could to get team shots as well. For those of you who don’t know, each competitor has a minimum of 2 crew members present at all times during the race. Crews are the foundation of success for each participant.

Here are the photos, hope it illustrates the uniqueness of this race in terms of spirit and friendship.

Steve King Speaking
Shanna Armstrong in a Stetson
Cory in a Stetson from Lubbock
Race Director Jane and Competitor Jason
Competitor Group Shot
Peeps from Canada

Hawaii Day 2 – Ultraman

by

Day Two started with a walk on the pier and a phone call with the wife. Then over to Lava Java for the needed caffeine and camaraderie. Athlete registration at the Outrigger Hotel, a mini-road trip with John, portraits back at the hotel, a screening of Bicycle Dreams (about RAAM), and then dinner at Kona Brew Pub for the third night in a row. Endurance athletes like their routines.

And now for the pictures

Sunrise at the Pier on Day Two

The Pier in Kailua on Day Two
Not a Tree that you would find in Texas. Alii Drive in Kailua
Mike De Roux going for his morning swim
Brazillian Competitor showing me his game face
Leslie Z. one of the crew members. Here at the Outrigger Hotel
A pound of Coffee from Lions Gate Farm. Shown here with the owner Suzanne at the Outrigger Hotel

Again, here are the athlete bio’s for the 2010 Ultraman Championship

Be sure to check out the Lions Gate Farms coffee page too

And we are off, Happy Thanksgiving!

Nino Cokan and Crew – Ultraman

by

Met Nino at Lava Java in the morning along with many other competitors, got a chance to catch up with him again and his crew at the bike clinic on Tuesday evening.

Nino Cokan at the Bike Clinic
Nino's Crew - Kerri
Nino's Crew - Tina

Kona – Day One-ish – Travel

by

It’s Day One although we technically got to the island the night before. Day it is then. Woke up way early, excited to get some sunrise shots on a day when I could. They need more processing than I have time for right now. But I will throw up some teasers.

Breakfast at Lava Java, errands during the day, phone call with the wifey, and now off to the Bike Clinic.

A couple of images to chew on:

About 20 minutes after waking up, and first shot of the day

Palm Trees at Sunrise
Allii Road and the Ocean Wall
Lava Java, the meetup place for Ultraman Crew and Competitors
Competitors Jason Sissel and Slater Fletcher

To learn more about these individuals, visit the Ultraman Website

Tenille Hoogland – Endurance Athlete – Austin, Texas

by

My Friend and bad-ass triathlete Tenille Hoogland requested a few pictures so that she could send them to Sponsors to show them just how cool and awesome she is. We met up at Lake Bastrop after the Rogue Fat Ass Trail Race to get a few snaps on the bike and run. Knowing we didn’t have time to get swim photos, I wanted to start off with a few running photos with water in the background.

Running with a Smile

Used my AlienBee 800 into a 47inch ocotbox in real close, (had to crop it out of most of these photos), at full power. These were done at noonish. I was at iso100, f11ish, and 1/250th.

And open your eyes on 3!

For the bike, Just a couple quick circles for Tenille in the parking lot while I snapped away with the AlienBee bare at full power to get f13.

Aero Lean with Retro Coloring

Finally, for variety, we grabbed a couple of panning shots. I love panning shots!

Panning!

Tenille will be guest starring in a personal project of mine soon, along with other awesome endurance athletes who live and train in Austin.

And this is where the Canadian Rides Away....

Thanks Tenille!