Critique these photos?

I have 2 shots of mine that I want critiqued. Give me feedback on anything that I need to improve on. (These two pictures are completely unrelated. The first link is a sports photograph of a runner, and the second a photo for a "light and shadow" photography class assignment). Both were taken with a Nikon d3200, 18-55mm kit lens.

The runner is OK. You have him placed well in the frame and the background pan is nice, but the moment of capture is not great, with his mouth hanging open.

The pitcher might be OK, the concept is fine, but the execution is very sloppy. The handle of the pitcher interrupts the flow of the lines and there are water droplets inside the pitcher which are also disruptive. You needed a longer exposure, and some color in the background lighting through the blinds might have been nice.