Can you believe I've written more than 1,000 posts and I've never written about race medals?? The reason for this is that I don't care about race medals that much. However, here it is, my race medal post! I'll write about it again in another 1,000 posts...
Over the weekend, I cleaned out my closet. It was very cathartic! There is a random hook on the side of my closet where I hung my belts and all of my race medals. That's right. My medals have never been displayed. Not only that, they had to share the hook with my belts!
When I cleaned out my closet, I decided I should find a more proper place for my medals. Now they are divided between two hooks and they don't have to share the hooks with belts. They hang behind my clothes because there is nowhere else for me to hang them.
If we had a room in our house where my medals would look right, I would definitely hang them up. But they don't "go" with any of my decor. Obviously a home gym or nice finished basement would be a good place for them, but our basement is Paul's man cave. There is no way I would hang my medals down there!
It was really fun to look through the medals. I will tell you in complete honesty that after a race, I'll hang the medal in our breakfast nook for a couple days and then hang it on the hook... never to look at it again.
It was neat to see the races I have run and how the medals have gotten significantly bigger over the years. Example....
The first two medals are from half marathons run in 2006 & 2008. The second two are from 2015. Wow, what a difference 8 years makes!
Even Boston medals got bigger from 2009 to 2014!
This is probably the coolest medal I have earned because it's hand crafted and wooden!
Here are some cool ones... Baltimore, Flying Pig, and Philly
Okay, not sure what else to say about medals! Those are some of mine!
Do you display your medals?Okay, not sure what else to say about medals! Those are some of mine!
Do you notice that race medals are getting bigger and bigger?
What is your favorite medal?
Wow that's so interesting that even the Boston medal has gotten bigger.
ReplyDeleteI have definitely noticed a trend in medals getting bigger even though I've only been in the game for about three years. It seems like a marketing tactic to get people to sign up for races since I often see the size of the medal mentioned in promotional materials! My favorite medal is one of my smallest, from the Portland Marathon. Sentimental value means so much more than size, although I like big medals too since I display them at work and they seem to impress non-runners! :D
Haha! I should hang mine at work too. Maybe the kids would be impressed???
DeleteYeah I think a lot of people do like to have big medals. Those huge badonkadonks we got at BDR got me pulled out of line by TSA and my bags searched!
Oh, man, YES the kids would definitely be impressed!
DeleteAt least bring them in for a show and tell day!
I don't know why, but I was wondering if you had ever done a post on all your medals... and you must have heard me thinking, because here it is!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like an awesome collection of medals! You could do a shadow box of the Boston ones, with the bib!
How many do you have? Because I'm sure you have more!
I don't display my medals, as soon a I see my kid, I give them to him. He wears them for the day, then dumps them and they go in a drawer in my dresser. Except for the marathon one, he wanted to keep that in his room, because it had a spinning wheel.
I really don't race a lot, so I don't have a TON of medals. Then I went to the dark side and was a trail runner for awhile and a lot of those races you don't get a medal for. Like all the ultras I did there was no medal. My guess is I have maybe around 25 medals??
DeleteThat is cute your son likes them!
Delete25 medals sound pretty awesome! Plus I'm assuming AG awards! What is the weirdest AG award you have received? I see that some races give medals, other give trophies, I would me mad if I got a trophy, but completely ok with a cup or a mug.
DeleteThe Dark side? I didn't realize trail running was the dark side! Have you done the Pine Grove Trail run? I saw pictures of their handmade AG award medals, and almost signed up for it.
Hmmm AG is either another medal (that is why I have two Best Damn Race medals), once I got a little trophy for the mile, and recently I got a coffee mug which I actually really like getting mugs! Ooh I have gotten gift cards too! OKay this is starting to sound like a like but seriously, this is over the span of like 10 years of running. I don't race a lot and I don't win a lot.
DeleteWhat? Okay that's crazy about the size changes. Now that I think about it though, it makes sense. I remember them being a lot smaller than they are now. I don't keep my medals, only the one from Boston.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you do with your medals?
DeleteMore bling for the racing dollar! That is funny how big everything has gotten. I still think it's kind of silly when I get a medal for a 5K. I have a couple of those too. Don't you think they should be sized according to distance?? Big plate size for a an ultra!! ;)
ReplyDeleteHaha well it is actually the OPPOSITE as I'm sure your hubby can attest. I never got a medal for an ultra!
DeleteIt's so true how medals have gotten bigger!! I love my Flying Pig medal, too. I think it's my favorite half marathon race to date. Not even close to my fastest but I didn't even care. It was SOOO much fun!!
ReplyDeleteFlying Pig WAS great! Did they have the "Finish Swine" with ladies in pig costumes jumping up and down???
DeleteBest medal ever? Big Sur, hands down. It's handmade ceramic. Plus it was my dream race. I don't display my medals, but I'm in the market for a medal rack as we speak. It's time.
ReplyDeleteYes Wendy, I think it is time for you! I would do it if I had a room to display them in.
DeleteWhen I first started running I had my medals in my closet too. I didn't want to display them until I had three. In my mind, three was an acceptable number to have as a "collection" and could be properly be displayed..haha. Well, as you know I far surpassed three medals.
ReplyDeleteMy sister gifted me with one of those shadow box things from Fond Memories after my first Disney Challenge. Since the box came with the medals, I now had 2 sets of them so I brought the Shadow box to school and hung it beside my desk. The kids ask me if I was in the Olympics! It's a great conversation starter! You should definitely get a display even if you just hang it in the corner of your bedroom.
No I don't think I would ever hang them in my bedroom but hanging them at work could be a good convo starter! Like I could see the little kids asking about a certain medal and I could tell them a cute story about the race!
DeleteI bet you have A LOT of medals!! How many do you have?
I think I got into running JUST as it started to get really popular, and I know that by the medals. At first, 5ks didn't have medals. Now they do. Now medals are HUGE and seem to try to top themselves every year. Some of my favorites are actually the least ostentatious because of the race I associate them with. I'm surprised even Boston is increasing their medal size! Qualifying and running it in and of itself is such a brag-worthy thing, I feel it doesn't need a big medal!
ReplyDeleteHaha yeah the "bigger" Boston medal isn't even that big. It is one of the smaller/medium medals that is for sure. BDR was INSANE!! I got pulled over by TSA for them buggers!
DeleteI only ever ran one 5k and there were no medals, but it was a small 5k. Maybe the bigger ones have them but not the smaller ones?
I love the Baltimore medals! I have a medal display that I haven't hung up yet. So they are all just sitting on the floor in our office!
ReplyDeleteAn office would be a great place to display them! Haven't you been in your house a year... they should be up by now!! ;)
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