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Friday, July 16, 2010

Foto Friday

So, Marlene had a great idea to showcase our running medals: She posted pics of where she keeps her race medals and then pointed out a few favorites and then challenged her readers to do the same. I thought it was a fun idea, so I went ahead and took some pics of the bits of bling I've earned from running. To begin with, here is where I keep them: On a hook on the office wall. Jerry and I have talked about, maybe, creating a special place for them or at least buying a shadow box for the special ones, but so far, no action has been taken to draw more attention to them or make them seem more significant.

They look shinier in a jumbled pile, anyway, don't they? There are 12 of them here.
A few favorites are from Miami and A1A. A1A is probably my favorite HM and this year's medal, which opened, was pretty dang cool. And for Miami? Well, who doesn't love the "spinning palm" design?
But, my absolute favorites are those from Disney's series of events: I have the Marathon, Princess HM, Race to the Taste 10K, and Women Run the World 15K.
I think that, ultimately, it'd be fun to earn all of the medals in Disney's endurance series, but I'm a long way from even considering Goofy (but, that does total 3 medals!).

Lastly, there is a significant medal that is missing from this pile: 2007 Chicago Marathon. Which I trained for and DNF'd. For those who recall, the 2007 Chicago Marathon was cancelled in the middle of the race because of dangerous heat and not enough liquids on the course. Afterward, the RDs offered all of us, who had failed to finish, a medal and they called it a medal for the Chicago "Fun Run." Bah. I did not take it. That race was not fun, and I didn't want a medal for something I had failed at.

Runners' race medals symbolize the hard work and dedication it takes to train for and complete a race; to have Chicago offer runners that "fake" medal was insulting. Anyway, its absence is important to me, and I think it deserves noting here since medals are a tangible representation of what we earned, and I believe it's valuable for me as a runner to think about those instances where I have not enjoyed success. In some ways, the missing medals from my wall are just as significant as these beautiful shiny ones.

If you haven't already followed along with Marlene's Medal Mania (that's my wording, not hers, but don't you think I am clever, now?), go ahead and post some pics of your race bling, give some highlights of your favorites, and tell us a little about your Precious!

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

So shiny! How do you keep them away from Norah?

Charbelle said...

Those are so awesome!! I have the Miami medal from the January 10 race, what an amazing experience that was!!! It was my very first HM! I run the 13.1 in Atlanta in October!

teacherwoman said...

great race medals! Love the Disney ones!

Resisting Perfection said...

Hi, new follower here :) I was told by Charbelle you had run the
A1A and was asking suggestions on my blog about it. Come on over!

Anonymous said...

Nice selection!

I can't believe the Chicago debacle was three years ago, gah I remember that as if it were yesterday, where has the time gone?

Lily

Jess said...

Oh man I would love to do the Disney races, but those entry fees are pricey! I looked at the Princess race and omg! $140 for a half marathon if I don't decide until sometime in the fall. Eepps!

Maybe one day when I'm rich! They do have such awesome medals though!

Resisting Perfection said...

I love my Disney marathon medal :) I look forward to adding to my collection after this baby is born. I have no clue where or how to display mine either, but it does bother me they aren't in a prominent place right now...

ajh said...

I didn't know anyone at the time who was in that Chicago marathon but my heart broke for all the runners who trained and couldn't finish!

One Crazy Penguin said...

Your collection of medals is beautiful! I've only got one from Disney so far (the full marathon from January), but I plan on getting the whole collection!

Pahla said...

I feel the same way about "the medal that wasn't" - I DNF'd the Nike Women's last year and I think about it every time I look at the rest of my bling.
Congrats on all of your hard-earned medals - those Disney ones are serious hardware!

Aron said...

i love seeing everyone's medals!!

ihaverun said...

If I wasn't on vacation, I would do this, although your wad of shiny medals make my four measly medals look pretty lonely. I'm working on that. Hopefully I will add a Disney one (or two) in the next few years.

Laura said...

Just wandering into the blogging world and stumbled on yours. I only have a few, but my medals are also on a hook in the office!

Middle Name Marie said...

Beautiful collection. Maybe you should head back to Chicago and give it another go.

Carolina John said...

great pics! The medals serve as a great reminder to us. as we get settled into the new house I'm glad to have them all up on the wall again.

d.a.r. said...

Look at all of your fancy bling!

sRod said...

Very nice bling! A really nice collection (geez, it's like we're talking about baseball cards or jewelry).

Heather said...

I love this idea. I have to play along . . .

I completely agree with you about the Chicago medal thing.

Tanya said...

I finished Chicago after they turned it into a "fun run" (I was at mile 19 and didn't get scooped into a shuttle). I didn't realize until the end that the clock was indeed still running, so I consider it a finish and I got my medal. So much for the 30th running of the Chicago marathon on my 30th birthday. At least this decade is turning out to be a lot better than that day!

Marlene said...

Thanks for playing along! Disney definitely has the best medals. I want more of those bad boys!

I hadn't heard about Chicago offering up that "consoltation medal" - I wouldn't have taken it either!

Tiffany said...

Ugh- the Chicago Marathon "fun run" medal that I got after 10 months of training... my first marathon. Ick!!

At least we have it displayed as a Christmas ornament now.

What a mess that was!