It’s all about the bling for many runners, which lead me to wonder who really has the best race medals?
Who puts the zip in your zip-a-de-do-dah? Who puts the cha-ching in your race bling?
Since I don’t race for the bling {though I do have some medals I love!}, I had to reach out to the RTTF community to find out what makes your eyes bulge and your wallets leap from your hands to sign up. 
It turns out there are a few common denominators in race medals that get you very excited:
- Size Matters (you dirty birds)
- Uniqueness – After a few we seem to be drawn to the medals that are completely out of the ordinary. Looks like an alien, whoop sign us up!
- It spins! – I know the founders of the Miami marathon and they were actually some of the first to ever do spinning medals. While they are more common now, they still have some of the best.
- Emotions – Many of your favorite medals aren’t just about the shape or size, it’s about how that particular race made you feel or the memories.
Where possible below I have linked to someone’s actual race report, so you can find out more about the race to see if it’s about more than the bling, though you may not care!
Gasparilla Half/Marathon (bottom right) – Tampa, FL
Marine Corps Marathon (bottom middle) – Washington, DC – I would actually lump NYC into this one as well because it seems to resonate due to the same kind of emotion around running such a well known race with thousands of others and lots of spectators.
Mississippi Blues Half Marathon (middle bottom) – Jackson, Mississippi
Bird in Hand Half Marathon (bottom middle) – Amish County, PA
Beach Cities Challenge Medal (top) – Really this is a quadruple threat if you consider the 3 race medals alone, plus the challenge medal. They are all pretty awesome. {just another reason I need to live in Cali}
New Year’s Double (middle left) – Allen, TX – It’s multiple medals that combine to form one.
ING Miami Marathon (bottom left) – Miami, FL
Garmin Half Marathon (middle right top) – Land of OZ – Olathe, KS
Little Rock Marathon – Little Rock, AR – Couldn’t accurately talk about this medal without giving you some perspective of size! Here is Too Tall Fritz post race.
Nike Women’s Half Marathon DC – Washington DC – It might not be the biggest or craziest, but it’s Tiffany’s and it’s hand delivered by a handsome man in a tux…so yes it makes the list! The necklace changes each year and learned the hard way {myself} don’t wear while running it tarnishes.
Wahhhhh so many sad runners because Nike no longer does this race. I haven’t found another race doing anything quite like this yet…but come on someone will pick it up.
Top Gun Run – Virtual – If you aren’t up for traveling, I have to admit I’m uber impressed with a lot of the virtual runs out there and the bling they provide!
Fort Lauderdale A1A – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Hmmm I wonder if those charms could be taken off and put on a bracelet, that would be a super cool way to remember the race!!
I also LOVE that you can now do a ton of Virtual Runs and get race medals that are incredible! In fact, checkout the one’s from the Garfield Character run.
Next we need to talk about how you creatively display all your bling!!
Ready to go? Checkout my list of Half Marathons worth traveling for as well!
Do you have a favorite medal that isn’t listed?
Do you race for the bling?
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