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Public Service Announcement: Race Medals

October 27, 2010 by Heather Hart, ACSM EP, CSCS 25 Comments

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Last Updated on September 29, 2019 by Heather Hart, ACSM EP, CSCS

It’s no secret, I love my race medals. I won’t say it’s the ENTIRE reason I race (I genuinely love to run and compete, against myself and others), but I really really enjoy that finishers medal at a finish line. And I love to display and collect them. Reminders of my accomplishments, and how far I’ve come as a runner. Laugh if you want, some people collect purses or salt and pepper shakers (I swear, I’ve seen that before)…I collect race medals.

So as a medal lover and self-proclaimed ambassador of all things race-bling…I feel it is my job to bring some light to this important issue at hand. And that is the proper care and display of our prized finishers medals.

After posting the contest to win an Allied Running Medal Hanger, my inbox was flooded with pictures of your current medal displays. And let me say, kids, you should be ashamed of yourselves! These poor, poor race medals. If I could put this blog to a sappy sad Sarah McLachlan song like those sad ASPCA commercials that I can’t watch without crying, I would . OK, I’m exaggerating slightly, but still. You get the idea. Check these out…names withheld to protect the guilty parties involved.

First lets start with the medals that are shunned from the light of day.

We have them hung in the closet

Hidden under a Christmas tree. In September (I’m just saying…)

Suffocating stuffed into a plastic bag

Buried below jackets and handbags

Shoved in desk drawers….

Shoved in shoe boxes…

And…is that an underwear drawer??

Then, there are those of you who, well, you are trying. Curtain rods…

Car key/mail holder

Doorknobs…

Trophies…


Uhhh not sure what this is, but at least they aren’t in a drawer…

Then, we have the “A for AWESOME effort” group. Medals displayed proudly for the world to see!

And these two…”A for ADORABLE” !! Say it with me now, awwww 🙂 The future of running right here!



Please, if you or someone you know has medals suffering the same plight of a lonely life in a shoe box under the bed, visit Allied Running Medal Hangers TODAY.

Or, if you genuinely do not care for your race bling (I can not fathom it), or just want to do a good deed (yaay!)…consider sending them off to Medals 4 Mettle, a non profit organization who will pass your medal onto someone suffering from disease, handicap, or other challenge. Your medals could put a smile on someone else’s face !

And without further ado….the winners of the Allied Running Medal Hanger giveaway are….

drum roll please….
The pink hanger goes to entry #252, Stacie at “Impossible is Nothing“

and the marathon hanger goes to entry #4, Christine at “Rockey Roads”

Random.org did well on this one!! Both have offending medal misconduct in the above pictures, so these ladies deserve the hangers!

Congratulations and thanks to everyone for entering! And thank you for letting me share your medal pictures with the world!

And if you didn’t win, it’s not too late to put a medal hanger on your Christmas list! Tell your loved ones! They are even having a SALE on select hangers right now.

So remember friends, happy running…and take care of your medals!
Heather Hart, ACSM EP, CSCS
Website |  + postsBio

Heather Hart is an ACSM certified Exercise Physiologist, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), UESCA certified Ultrarunning Coach, RRCA certified Running Coach, co-founder of Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching, and creator of this site, Relentless Forward Commotion.   She is a mom of two teen boys, and has been running and racing distances of 5K to 100+ miles for over a decade.  Heather has been writing and encouraging others to find a love for fitness and movement since 2009.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Allied Running Medal Hanger

About Heather Hart, ACSM EP, CSCS

Heather Hart is an ACSM certified Exercise Physiologist, NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), UESCA certified Ultrarunning Coach, RRCA certified Running Coach, co-founder of Hart Strength and Endurance Coaching, and creator of this site, Relentless Forward Commotion.   She is a mom of two teen boys, and has been running and racing distances of 5K to 100+ miles for over a decade.  Heather has been writing and encouraging others to find a love for fitness and movement since 2009.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bethany

    October 27, 2010 at 3:33 pm

    I recognize the Vancouver Half medal in the second photo 🙂 And is that Miss Chloe? Definitely A for Adorable!!
    I should have sent a pic, mine are shoved into the storage container with all my non-pregnancy work clothes LOL I really need to get them out and put them up, I just can’t think where/how to display them!!
    Congrats to the winners!!

    Reply
  2. Big Daddy Diesel

    October 27, 2010 at 3:35 pm

    I admit, I am a medal – a – holic, I wont do an race if there isnt a medal, I love race bling

    Reply
  3. HEATHER @ runfastermommy!

    October 27, 2010 at 3:36 pm

    Yes Bethany, that is Ms. Choloe, future 100 mile ultra runner right there !! 🙂

    Reply
  4. HEATHER @ runfastermommy!

    October 27, 2010 at 3:36 pm

    Big Daddy…I too tend to shy away from a bigger race if there are no medals. Or boring medals, LOL

    Reply
  5. Christa

    October 27, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    I ran a half marathon (basically for the medal) and we got a sticker. What??? So disappointing. Of course, that has to be the race with my current PR. A sticker really??

    Reply
  6. JenniferLeah

    October 27, 2010 at 3:41 pm

    Aww what a great post!!
    Congrats to the winners 🙂

    It is so sad to see multiple BOSTON medals in a box…tsk tsk tsk! I think I would walk around with those on ALL THE TIME!

    Alright…Im off to Allied now to get mine since I did not win. The only problem-WHICH ONE??

    Reply
  7. HEATHER @ runfastermommy!

    October 27, 2010 at 3:50 pm

    Jenn….I think I’d incorporate a Boston medal into my every day attire for atleast a few months, LOL!

    Reply
  8. tara

    October 27, 2010 at 4:04 pm

    Boy there are some great ideas in this post, bahahahaha. But, since I have Chloe will just keep forcing hte kid to wear my medals around especially when we have guests, lol. Ok a gorgeous display rack might be more practical :). Oh and to the girl that got a sticker at the end of her race, what the heck??? Whoever heard of that. Oh Heather there was an entire podcast on Endurance Planet on the races with the best bling. Thought of you the entire time.

    Reply
  9. Fuzzbee

    October 27, 2010 at 4:25 pm

    Hopefully I’ll be getting my first medal (half marathon) on Nov 7 in Manchester NH and I plan on wearing that puppy around for a week or two. After that, it will go where I can see it, no shoe box for me.

    Reply
  10. christinerockey

    October 27, 2010 at 4:45 pm

    Was that really random? I am so excited I could scream. Now…where in the house should I hang it?

    Reply
  11. Emz

    October 27, 2010 at 5:09 pm

    HOLY CRAP woman! That’s a whole LOTTA 😉 medals.

    Awesome!

    YAY to Stacie & Christine!!

    Reply
  12. Bethany

    October 27, 2010 at 5:12 pm

    This is the coolest company ever–I emailed them to see if they would consider doing a Running Mom or Running Mama hanger and they’re putting it up on the site! I’m buying one as an early Christmas present to myself 🙂

    Reply
  13. HEATHER @ runfastermommy!

    October 27, 2010 at 5:14 pm

    100% random Christine! I just about jumped out of my chair when I realized you won one, LOL! I was excited for you, haha!

    Reply
  14. Go Mommy

    October 27, 2010 at 5:40 pm

    Ha, I didn’t send a picture, my hubs likes that mine are hanging on our wedding photo in the bed room…

    Reply
  15. Katie A.

    October 27, 2010 at 5:50 pm

    I recognize a few of those peeps medals! Hahaha!
    Congrats ladies! I’m jealous!

    Reply
  16. FruitFly

    October 27, 2010 at 6:08 pm

    Oh my gosh – you deserve a medal for having the most medals EVER!

    Reply
  17. Julie @ "Hotlegs Runner"

    October 27, 2010 at 6:16 pm

    hahaha! I like the ones that were on the lamp. The lamp looked bedazzled =)

    Reply
  18. lindsay

    October 27, 2010 at 7:57 pm

    Dang! I really wanted to win this one. I meant to send in a pic of my medals but they are just in a heap anyway, nothing fancy!

    Reply
  19. Stacie

    October 27, 2010 at 7:58 pm

    I’m so excited!!! What’s sad is I keep finding more medals to add to my collection. Thankfully, I’ll have a new home for them. Thanks for the great giveaway!!! I loved all the pics.

    Reply
  20. Melissa C

    October 27, 2010 at 8:07 pm

    I am not sure if I should be happy or embarrassed that 2 of the photos were mine!!!Congrats to the winners. I too was surprised to see that there were multiple Boston medals in the shoebox…Then again, my first full marathon medal is in the shoebox pic above it. My subsequent full marathon medal is displayed on top of a bookcase, with the ribbon nicely folded underneath next to my first tri medals. I was seriously bummed that my first olympic tri didn’t have a medal. I think a sticker is lame, but would at least liked to have something for my first olympic tri. I loved the lamp. That is awesome!

    Reply
  21. bookwormruns

    October 27, 2010 at 8:07 pm

    Awww is right!! So cute! I love these medal holders…definitely adding it to my Christmas list :o)

    Reply
  22. Leah @ Chasing Atalanta

    October 27, 2010 at 11:44 pm

    How fun! What great pictures. I enjoyed picking out which medals I recognized and which ones I have. I was especially excited to see a Brooksie Way medal (hanging next to some paper plates) as that’s a great local race here in Michigan.

    Oh, and I am also very much a medal whore. I opted not to do a 30K this year because last year’s medals were totally cheap and I’m now considering the full at Flying Pig in May instead of the half partly because I really like the pink ribbon on the full’s medal (the half is brown).

    Reply
  23. Zaneta

    October 28, 2010 at 5:35 am

    yay for the winners!

    haha… i am so ashamed that everyone saw me suffocating my medals in the plastic bag lol… my bad!

    I’m working on someplace to put them tho! lol

    Reply
  24. Forward Foot Strides

    November 2, 2010 at 10:46 pm

    Bwahaaa this is hysterical! Alanna directed me over here to check out her medal under the Christmas tree pic. I don’t know how I missed this awesome post.

    Reply
  25. canyoncairns

    November 9, 2010 at 8:46 pm

    At least it was a Mizuno shoe box!

    Reply

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Welcome to Relentless Forward Commotion. My name is Heather Hart, I'm an ACSM certified Exercise Physiologist, UESCA & RRCA certified coach, ultrarunner, adventure racer, mom to two teenagers, and cofounder of Hart Strength & Endurance Coaching. It is my passion to help every day athletes better understand exercise science, and to learn how to balance training for big athletic goals with “real life”.

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