Medals, or cheaper entries?

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Mushroom
Mushroom
Nov 2023
3:17pm, 28 Nov 2023
2,910 posts
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Mushroom
I'm not bothered by any medals or T-shirts. I'd rather have a discount.

Can you think of any local businesses that might benefit from supplying a memento?

Coniston14 give out slate coasters - slightly more sustainable - and a link to the local slate mines / businesses. Other races have given out bottles of local beer.

These days, I'd actually prefer to support races that did think about sustainability.

Coniston14 even has a policy statement: coniston14.co.uk
Welshpoppy
Welshpoppy
Nov 2023
3:19pm, 28 Nov 2023
3,314 posts
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Welshpoppy
I also
EvilPixie
EvilPixie
Nov 2023
3:20pm, 28 Nov 2023
49,251 posts
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EvilPixie
maybe something like this - useful and gives advertising, generic, no year so can be used whenever and it covers multiple distances!!
Welshpoppy
Welshpoppy
Nov 2023
3:21pm, 28 Nov 2023
3,315 posts
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Welshpoppy
Oops I like buff,mug woolly hat.slate coadte,wooden coaster etc rather than a medal.
Really not bothered with a medal at all they are stuffed in a tin and forgotten about.
tipsku
tipsku
Nov 2023
3:29pm, 28 Nov 2023
3,613 posts
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tipsku
Most of my races this year were league races and they usually don't have medals. 2 or 3 of them have wooden medals which I like as a lighter and sustainable alternative to metal bling.

I don't enter races because of the medal anymore as I have over 100 of them already, most of them in boxes somewhere. At the beginning, I was excited about them but now I prefer coasters, mugs, glasses, buffs, hats, socks or something else, not a medal and/or a t-shirt. I also have about 60 t-shirts and 10 long sleeve shirts from races so I need an entire closet compartment just for them. If I can opt out of the t-shirt option, I do that. If I could opt out of the medal, I probably would do that, too, except for marathons or ultras.
geordiegirl
geordiegirl
Nov 2023
3:34pm, 28 Nov 2023
21,316 posts
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geordiegirl
When I started running I liked a medal / t-shirt / momento of a run but now I've done a few I am really not bothered by any of it. Tshirts rarely fit and medals sit in a box never to see the light of day.

The one medal I was happy to have was The Wall and their wooden replacement (which I understood for sustainability) was absolutely pants.

I would rather another useful momento - mug/waterbottle/buff - but again there is only so many of them you can need also.

I think the best most sustainable and cost effective way would be to have an pre order a t-shirt/medal if wanted at race entry (allowing organisers to order in advance) with maybe an option to order after the event and it will be posted out
fetcheveryone
fetcheveryone
Nov 2023
3:35pm, 28 Nov 2023
29,911 posts
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fetcheveryone
I heard from a Fetchie last week who received a pack of sausages for finishing a 10k.

In medal terms, I have a few that are special to me - but mostly not. Stuff that's useful is more likely to survive being ignored e.g. my BWS hoodie, Fetch Castles coaster, and a mug from a race I did back in 2005.

Optional extras seems like the way to go, and the rest of us can enjoy cheaper prices, or at least more viable races.
Steve NordRunner
Steve NordRunner
Nov 2023
3:46pm, 28 Nov 2023
3,723 posts
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Steve NordRunner
The worst is a cheapskate medal with no date on it. I always write my time and the year on the back if they insist on giving them out.
Nelly
Nelly
Nov 2023
3:47pm, 28 Nov 2023
4,392 posts
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Nelly
If I were you I'd make medals an optional (paid for) extra, and give a cut-off date (e.g. 16-weeks beforehand, based on your quoted lead times) after which medals are not available.
Sharkie
Sharkie
Nov 2023
3:50pm, 28 Nov 2023
22,130 posts
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Sharkie
I reckon now that parkrun has become so popular even new runners have got used to NOT getting a medal every time they race. Yeah, yeah, I KNOW it's not a race.

Also suspect that, apart from diehard collectors, once someone has done a few races they'll be like GG above and not that bothered any more.

About This Thread

Maintained by DeeGee
I've just about recovered from a fantastic weekend organising an event.

Before the pandemic, people were keen to sign up early, by the summer I had plenty of funds in the event account and I could buy medals with impunity.

Since the pandemic, entries appear to come in a lot later. I was listening to one of the guys running this weekend and he was boasting of how he only ever enters events the week before so he gets to keep the money in his account rather than the race organisers.

...

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