Medals, or cheaper entries?
1 lurker |
16 watchers
Nov 2023
5:46am, 29 Nov 2023
1,765 posts
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Mark J
I love a medal. I love the memories they invoke. And the thought of a shiny medal was enough to get our youngest to enter and complete her first race, last month age 6.
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Nov 2023
5:51am, 29 Nov 2023
1,766 posts
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Mark J
How do you feel about wooden medals, do you feel that they are a less worthy replacement than good solid metal bling? I got a wooden medal for the first time this year. It was large enough to become a coaster and it says as much in the back. Lovely idea. Medals, are a novelty in New Zealand. So when you do get one, it is cherished. By me at least 😁 |
Nov 2023
11:36am, 29 Nov 2023
7,944 posts
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um
I prefer a 'useful' memento to a medal. Whether clothing, drinks mat/coaster, bottle opener or even a pen or something. None of my medals mean much, but t-shirts have been well used (cotton or tech) and I'm disappointed when they finally fall apart. What I'd really like though is some cotton shoulder bag/tote things. I can never get enough of those. |
Nov 2023
11:44am, 29 Nov 2023
80,761 posts
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Gobi
I was never fussed about medals but liked trophies. However when you spend 50 quid plus on an entry I don't want a piece of 20p twig that snaps on the way back to the car. May as well give me a coffee voucher. |
Nov 2023
11:44am, 29 Nov 2023
49,287 posts
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EvilPixie
Oh yes I remember my first XC and finishing freezing cold then being given a mug I was like WTF? then when I got back to race HQ it was filled with cheap packet soup that tasted amazing as it was so cold! Still have and use that mug now 20 years later |
Nov 2023
2:08pm, 29 Nov 2023
10,005 posts
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minardi
I only keep medals from marathons or longer. All my shorter distance medals were sent to a recycling company and I don't bother collecting them at the finish line anymore. Having said that I received a very nice glass from a 10km in September (along with a bottle of beer), and I got upset when a local 5 miler only gave a bottle of water at the end when they used to do mugs. I was looking forward to expanding my collection.
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Nov 2023
3:03pm, 29 Nov 2023
1,105 posts
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BK brighter days ahead
Recently went through boxes in the loft of accumulated medals from the last 14 years, ( about 500 ) we kept a few special ones and took the rest to recycling centre ( ribbons removed and went to material waste ). No longer pick medal up but ‘borrow’ one for a picture. Wooden ones would be more ecological I guess but again taking one would soon create another batch of shoe boxes full of them ( over 50 events scheduled this year already ). Perhaps you could have some medal photo cards created and an area for photo ops with other cards eg ‘l raced with/against the wind blowing in across the raging North Sea’? Preference would be discounted entry or a more substantial post run treat. |
Nov 2023
3:11pm, 29 Nov 2023
3,858 posts
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paulcook
(Side issue, maybe) Photo storage is not ecologically sound either. If the decision is based on carbon footprint etc, are medals less wasteful than a photo area? Though I think your idea sounds a good one. |
Nov 2023
4:27pm, 29 Nov 2023
19,610 posts
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Autumnleaves
For our club organised 10k next year - which is a big deal for us, but unless entries recover to pre-pandemic levels, relies on sponsorship to result in a profit - we are bringing back souvenir towels. We used to give them out years ago, and only switched to medals on the advice of an event organiser. We've had a few years of wooden medals and souvenir buff. The only issue we have with towels and no medals, is that we have nowhere to have sponsors' logos - which we have yet to solve! We can of course use the numbers - but they have traditionally been separately sponsored. It's a problem!
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Nov 2023
4:32pm, 29 Nov 2023
1,313 posts
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Shades
Autumnleaves can you have the sponsors logos put on the towels. Would that be too expensive?
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