Rating my Running Medals
I have a whole other blog about my running habit, one that is more neglected than this one in recent years. I considered posting this to that one, but it seems more in the spirit of JoeThings.
There’s a joke in running circles about people being more motivated to collect finisher’s medals than to actually run the races. I’ll admit that after I first started becoming serious about running - only in 2018 or so - getting medals was a non-zero motivator. I’ll also admit that after eight years of serious running, getting medals is still a non-zero motivator. Especially if it’s a cool medal.
Since JoeThings is largely about looking at stuff I have gathered over the years, I thought I’d take some time to look at the running medals I’ve collected. Enjoy!
The First - Mesa-Phoenix Half Marathon:
This was the second half marathon I ever ran, but the first one to hand out medals. (The first one, the Leaf Peepers, did not provide medals when I ran it in 2019, but it does now. Alas, I haven’t run that one since.) I have to admit, this one is pretty sweet: arrowhead shape with a copper tip, a phoenix rising into the desert sun, a hefty weight. It’s a bit more special not just because it was my first, but because I was lucky with the timing. This race was in February 2020, only a month or so before Covid shut everything down.1 Rating: A+
The Foreign Trips - Bermuda and Rome:
In 2023, Katie and I went to Bermuda to run the Bermuda Triangle Challenge, a three-race event with a special medal for those who completed all three. These are nice medals, with great island themes and colors. They also have magnets so you can wear them all at the same time. Slight demerit for not designing them so they can be stuck together in a triangle patter, which they had done the year before. Rating: A-
In 2024, we went to Italy for the inaugural Rome Half Marathon. This turned out to be a huge race, with over 13,000 finishers. The medal is cool, with lots of Rome’s landmarks displayed in the logo. Demerit here for having the sponsor mentioned twice on the medal. Rating A-
The Marathons - Vermont City and Maine Coast:
In 2022 I decided that the next step in my running journey should be to run a marathon. Okay, that’s not entirely how it came about: my friend Brock and I had planned to run the two-person relay in 2020, but that was cancelled due to the pandemic. Then Brock had a serious medical issue, so we deferred 2021. He was still unable to run in 20222, so I decided to do the whole thing for both of us. Since then, I have run as part of a two-person and a four-person team. The medals are basically the same, but smaller for the relays. Decent design that captures Burlington, but the sponsor is again too prominent, and unfortunately the white banner on the full marathon medal dominates the whole thing. Rating: B
In 2024, I decided that the VCM shouldn’t be my only marathon, so I signed up for the Maine Coast Marathon in hopes of improving the experience. It was a little better. The medal itself is okay. It’s got good size and I like colors. There’s also a generic aquatic theme that doesn’t scream “Maine.” Also, one medal for all three lengths of the race, which is a little chintzy for those of us who went the full distance. Rating: C
The 50Ks - Pineland and Vermont 50:
In 2023, having successfully completed a marathon, I decided that the next step in my running journey should be to run a 50K. It’s only a few miles longer than a marathon, after all! We decided on the Pineland Trail Festival, because it’s close to my hometown, and there were a variety of distances to choose from. (Katie ran the 25K.) This medal is pretty decent. It’s got some good heft, and the features are in three-dimensional relief, which you can’t tell from the photo. But it’s pretty generic otherwise. I’m not rating ribbons here, but this one is pretty good. Rating B-
As with the marathon, I thought I could improve upon my 50K experience if I gave it another try. In 2025 I signed up for the Vermont 50, which is both a running and mountain biking race. The logo reflects that, featuring a wheel and a running shoe. And a peace sign. And a cow. It’s very Vermonty, and I kind of love it. Rating A
The Woods - Adamant Half Marathon:
Even though “medal” is different from “metal,” it’s still kind of funny when you get one made of a different material. Particularly if that material is wood. Adamant, Vermont is a quirky little village, home to several members of my local running club, and they decided to put on a race. A few years ago, one of them decided that the race needed medals. So he sawed up a branch, got out his woodburning kit, and made it so. They are perfect. Rating: A+
A couple others - Infinitus and Unplugged:
Infinitus is a crazy series of races put on by the Endurance Society. I ran the eight miler, by far the easiest race in the bunch. The medal is huge and features a skeleton. Unfortunately, it’s generic to the Endurance Society. It’s kind of cool, but I like my medals to mention the race. Rating B
Unplugged is a low-frills half marathon in Burlington. I ran this one twice, in 2020 and 2021, both of which were impacted by the pandemic. The first year the medal was a key chain bottle opener (not pictured). In 2021, the bottle opener was upgraded to a proper medal. Not bad. Rating B
The Virtuals:
Covid was a weird time. Suddenly everything stopped. Into the void came some enterprising companies that offered virtual races - sign up, send a few bucks, and they’d send you a race bib and a medal. Having just earned my first medal, I was FOMOing for more. So I signed up for the Bigfoot Challenge and the Whiskey 5K. The Bigfoot medal has some cool nods to the times: referring to the yeti as the “social distancing champion,” and having it carry a roll of toilet paper. (There were shortages, you see.) The design is okay, but the medal itself is kind of cheap feeling. The Whiskey medal is also rather generic, but the real bonus with this race was the inclusion of a whiskey glass. It was great value. Rating for both C-
After Covid cancelled the Corporate Cup, the state pivoted to a virtual race. This race doesn’t normally feature medals, but they sent them out to participants in 2020. A few co-workers and I got together to run it virually together, then sat on the state house lawn and drank beer, because who was going to tell us no? The medal features a picture of said state house, but otherwise is kind of meh. Rating C+
I’ve also included here the Flight Deck Half Marathon. This is one that I was going to run with my friends Brock and David (they were going to do the 5K), but then I broke my arm and didn’t want to make a four-hour drive to Maine and then run in the rain with a cast on my hand, so I deferred. The next year neither of them were going to be in town, so I ran virtually. It’s a decent medal, but demerit for having a single medal for multiple races. Rating B-
I’ve also included here the medal for the Danville Zombie Run. This was a real in-person event, but not a real race. Instead it was a 5K course featuring zombies who tried to steal your flag football-style flags. If you still had at least one when you returned to the finish, you lived. I stupidly tried to run it like a race. I died. Kind of a cool medal though. Rating B+
The Personal Touch - TNC Thank You:
When I left the Vermont Chapter of The Nature Conservancy in 2023 to work for the global office, my colleagues gifted me with a personalized medal to thank me for my time with the chapter. What other rating can you give a one-of-one medal? Rating A+
I hope you have enjoyed this look at my running medals. If you really care about my running, you can click the link at the top. If you enjoy what I am doing here and want to see more, you can click the subscribe button below. Free for everyone!
It’s possible that the illness I brought back from this trip was actually Covid-19, even though it wasn’t widespread at that time.
Unfortunately he still can’t really run a half marathon, but otherwise he’s doing okay.
You know some races give belt buckles 😜🤔😂really cool 🤯
Did I miss an explanation of the Zombie Run medal? 😆