Saturday, September 17, 2022
HomeRunningOpinion: races ought to hand out ribbons, not medals

Opinion: races ought to hand out ribbons, not medals


For brand new runners, a race finisher medal is a big image of private improvement; you educated, you raced, and also you completed. And that medal is a reminder of your accomplishment. I like the thought of placing a souvenir round your neck for one thing you’ve achieved. However after some time, as you run extra races, you accumulate so many finisher’s medals that they begin to look like meaningless muddle.

Picture: Canada Working Collection

After I started racing 20 years in the past, I keep in mind receiving race ribbons for ending my small native 5K and in addition at elementary faculty monitor and area meets.

Ribbons are light-weight and simple to retailer. However there’s additionally a lot extra that you are able to do with them. You may create a scrapbook of all of your race ribbons. You may sew them right into a blanket. Or just pin them to a corkboard.

I perceive runners wanting to maintain or body their finisher’s medal from their first race, first marathon or the Boston Marathon. However more often than not, after asking your self a yr later, “Do I really want this factor?” finisher medals find yourself being thrown out or donated to charity. Granted, you could possibly at all times purchase a type of garish finisher medal racks to show them to your admirers.

New York City Marathon Medals
An upscale medal rack on the New York Metropolis Marathon. Picture: Canadian Working

In line with PinProPlus, a U.S. provider of customized promotional merchandise and finisher medals, the price of one finisher medal will depend on the amount ordered. Costs can vary from one greenback to 4 {dollars}, relying on the detailing and the dimensions of the order.

Ribbons are a fraction of the associated fee. To purchase 500 customized medals, you’re taking a look at spending round $400 to $800; based on the web site Ribbons Galore, the identical variety of ribbons can be $150 to $200. 

Ribbons are cheap and sensible, and smaller races have to cease handing out finisher medals that folks don’t know what to do with.



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