Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Heavy (Racing) Medal


I have a lot of favorite medals in my collection.

I'm not even sure of my total count (70?), but there are some beauties hanging on that refurbished coffee mug peg rack. There's a lot of miles behind the medals, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears as well.

Most have significant sentimental value...
...like the one from my first marathon, the Quad Cities Marathon in 2013 (recap HERE )
My first-ever marathon....I almost wore this piece of bling to bed
....or from my first-ever distance race, Dam to Dam in 2008 (recap HERE). This race has so much sentimental value to me, I have gone gone back and run it every year since that first race in 2008. I'll be running my 9th Dam race in June and am just as excited as I was nine years ago.

My first-ever distance race was Dam to Dam, it was a 20K back then (now it's a half marathon). I crossed the finish line and knew it wouldn't be the last time.
...and some are from a significant accomplishment, like a 6-hour endurance ultra. The Christmas in July (recap HERE ) event began at midnight, and we not only had significant heat and humidity, but also lightning and a couple of hours of rain. But I also had six fellow runner gal pals there with me, and we persevered and finished (and we all vowed to return in 2016 and take on the 12-hour event instead!).
 
Christmas In July 6-hour endurance Ultra....the toughest race I have ever done, but definitely one of the best experiences
Some medals represent much more than just a finish line. I have done the Fight for Air Climb four times, three times in Des Moines and once in Chicago. Let me tell you, I definitely was fighting for air in Chicago (recap HERE ). That venue had us climbing the four Presidential Towers, for a total of 180 flights of stairs, raising funds to support the American Lung Association. 

I have four of these babies from the Fight for Air Climb...this one is from the 2014 Chicago venue...180 flights of climbing!
Some are from placing in my age group.Having spent most of my life as an athlete-wannabe, running finally gave me a glimpse of setting goals, training, and finish lines. Being awarded a first place medal was a pretty cool moment!
 Jingle Jog 2010...my first-ever Age Group award, and I got 1st place!
 A lot of them are finisher medals.

My second marathon was the IMT Des Moines Marathon...it was a challenging course on a windy day...and the beautiful medal made it all worthwhile

And some are just absolutely beautiful.
The IMT Des Moines Marathon knows a thing or two about hardware. In 2015, the medals came with magnets, so if you took part in either of the 2-part challenges (I did the Half Marathon and 5K Combo), your two medals would hold together

Rock'n Roll Chicago Half Marathon....it's got the Bean and the skyline, what's not to love about it?


Do you have a favorite medal from an event? Have you ever gone back and done the same event more than once? Do you keep your medals displayed? Have you any medals like the ones featured above?
 
I'm linking up with Marcia's Healthly SliceMCM Mama Runs , and My No-Guilt Life   for Tuesdays on the Run, and we're talking  Medals today. Head over and get some inspiration!


33 comments:

  1. Since there are so many half marathons, I haven't repeated yet. I have the important ones on a wall hanger.My ag awards just in a basket.

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    1. I definitely have done more half marathons than anything else....but several of those are "repeats" because I love the events so much

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  2. My favorite medal is my half ironman. Its small and not impressive to look at but represents so much! I had serious doubt about that race and trained so hard! My first marathon would also fall in to this category.

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    1. I cannot comprehend a half ironman. UGH. Unless I'd get permission to use a paddle board LOL Congrats to you!!

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  3. Love all of your medals, especially the RrR Chicago and the Dam to Dam! I've run the ALA Stair Climb in Philly, but we don't get a finisher's medal. I've been able to do 100 flights, but 180? Phew!

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    1. Well, don't be too impressed...the 180 flights were done over the span of four buildings (45 flights each...with an elevator ride down between buildings). But still...by the 20th floor or so, the legs & lungs are feeling angry! I have always wondered how much longer the climbing would take if it was one continuous climb (with no downtime between the different buildings)?

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  4. awesome collection! the RnR Chicago one is super cool and so is the christmas in july! ;)

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    1. Thanks! They both have a lot of sentimental value to me ;-)

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  5. Love this!! You have unique medals that i've never seen before!

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    1. It's been so much fun seeing everyone's different medals today! #medalenvy

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  6. Fun medals! Congrats on your AG awards! You've done some great races (and events) that I need to add to my radar.

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    1. I should probably (someday) separate the AG awards out from the finisher medals...but they kind of are one big happy family ;-)

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  7. You do have a fun collection of medals.
    I do display mine, but only my marathon and a few first place finisher ones. The rest are in boxes. I don't really have a favorite, they all hold a special meaning. But if I had to pick one, I think it would be the first marathon finisher medal I earned just for sentimental value:)

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    1. Yes...my first marathon medal (pictured above) certainly is my favorite ;-) It has so much value in terms of not only the great experience of running those 26.2 miles, but it symbolizes all the time and effort it took to get there.

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  8. Great collection! I love how those two nest together. The trend these days seems to be putting races in a series so I bet we'll see more creativity like that. Thanks for linking up!

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    1. I'd love to do more racing series....I like the challenge of doing different distances on consecutive days. There's just not too many options like that where I'm located. I wish I was closer to Chi-Town ;-)

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  9. I don't know if I have a favorite but if I did it would be my Chicago marathon medals. Those are such a challenge, and earned.

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    1. Absolutely! I have Chicago on my bucket list, but no time soon. I've done the R'n'R half, so I'm good for now ;-)

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  10. You have some amazing medals. I love the Chicago one and the Fight for Air one. I had never heard of that before but there are several of you to mention it in the link up today. It hasn't come here yet.

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    1. Just read your marathon recap. Loved it ! It made me cry!

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    2. Awwwe....YOU just made me cry ;-) I'm so excited to hear how your marathon goes!!!!

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  11. One of the downsides of trying to do a half in every state, when you're 50 when you start and only do a few each year, means no repeating & having to be sooooo choosy about the one you choose to do.

    Love the Santa & Chicago medals!

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    1. ha ha...I'm not 50 yet, but I'm also on a quest for a race in every state (and I'm not choosy if they're all 13.1's at this point). Onward!!

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  12. I don't have quite as many medals as you, but I do have a few favorites- my Princess half medal most recently and my Spartan Race medals because they represented me pushing myself to the limit. I also love my Tough Mudder headbands because that was my first "big" OCR and the one that got me hooked! I've done the Central Florida event every year since my first year. So yes, I definitely do repeat events!

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    1. I have never done an OCR event....yet. I'm a horrible klutz, so I'm a little fearful of injury LOL #comfortzone ;-)

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  13. Wow Kim you've run that Dam race 9 times, it must be a good one! Lol! I do love the Christmas In July one it is very neat and the story behind it, with friends we can do anything right?!? Another favorite of mine is your RnR Chicago, that is sweet bling for sure!!! Congratulations on all of them Kim!

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    1. Actually my 9th Dam race is happening on June 4th ;-) Care to join me? It'll be nice and warm...all of our snow should be gone by then ;-)

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  14. You have quite the collection. I like that Dam medal! (Sorry, just had to!) Your Christmas is July is very cute. HoHo needs a Ho Ho Ho medal. I think the experience of the race makes the medal more special, regardless of what it looks like.

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    1. Absolutely, the experience makes the medal. Some are prettier than others, but they all represent a finish line ;-)

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  15. Beautiful! I have mine hanging on a medal hanger on a wall- I love them all, like you said lots of blood, sweat and tears behind them :) I haven't repeated a half- there are so many to run!

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    1. I'm trying to find more half marathons to do, so I don't have to keep repeating the sames over and over (though I do love all the ones I have done....)

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  16. A coffee mug rack is a great idea for hanging medals! Mine just hang on the closet rail in a closet we converted to an office. No one but me sees them, but it always makes me smile to see them and remember those runs. :)

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    1. I don't know how I thought of the coffee mug rack idea...it's something I bought many years ago at a garage sale and had never used LOL

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