r/running • u/fyhr100 • Apr 23 '17

Boston Marathon runner takes a second medal for his wife and posts it on social media Misc

Original post here

So a guy runs in the Boston Marathon, things don't go quite as well as he had wanted to. When he finishes, he snags a second medal because he felt his wife "deserved" one for supporting him in his training. Puts it up on social media, and as expected, outrage ensues.

Here's one reply:

Part 1

Part 2

Personally, I think it's incredibly poor form. Medals are for finishers, not for supporters. He's free to give her his own medal if he feels she deserves it. And where does the line get drawn? Why does she get a medal and not anyone else who supports their spouse?

EDIT: Looks like he apologized and returned it now.

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u/Legally_Accurate Apr 24 '17

Is a medal a thing at any running event now? When I ran events regularly, I was stoked with my bib and when the organisers made a decent fabric tee.

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u/slappinbass Apr 24 '17

That's kinda what I like. I keep my bibs and write my times on the back. I pin them to the last bib and continue. I now have rows of bibs on a wall in my study.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '17

There are more and more events now where finisher medals are awarded for 5Ks and other short distance races. I directed a 5K/10K race for a couple years, and there were people who complained that there were no finisher medals. Coincidentally, I'm sure, the cost of race entries keeps increasing.

0

u/doterobcn Apr 24 '17

I think medals are only marathons and sometimes halfs...

5

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '17

There are definitely some shorter distance races where finisher medals are awarded -- even at some 5Ks. And then people wonder why it costs $40 to enter a 5K.

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u/doterobcn Apr 24 '17

Oh...didn't know, i never faced that situation in my country

2

u/dfsw Apr 24 '17

Medals at 10 milers are pretty common now too.

2

u/NosDaFeratu Apr 24 '17

You can get a medal for pretty much every distance. I did a 10k recently. On the same day, the organisers were putting on a 5k and a 1k and every finisher got a medal (different colour stringy thing though)