There's only one real reason why we lace up our shoes, put on our game face and toe the line on race day. No, it's not the feeling of accomplishment of training hard and executing to the best of your abilities, or exploring new areas while getting in a good workout—it's the ever-attractive finisher medal.
Finisher medals have been a thing in the running world for a long time, but it feels like race organizers have truly stepped up their game in recent years. These medals are bigger, heavier and blingier than ever before, and have become a not-so-surprising way to attract casual runners to sign up for new events. Throw a "collect them all" tag onto any race series and—like a moth to a flame—runners (including us), who generally would only compete in one race a year, find themselves back at it again before they know it.
Polling our audience has become somewhat of a tradition at ACTIVE.com, with our popular "21 Awesome Age Grouper Triathlon Bikes" and "25 More Awesome Age Grouper Triathlon Bikes" articles leading the way, but this time we're refreshing our "Best Race Day Medals" article with medals submitted by you.
From a medal with a hilarious spelling error, to medals with some surprisingly useful features, here are 20 of our fan-submitted favorite race medals of all time.
Hypothermic Half Marathon
2020
Jarrett W.
Miles for Moffitt
2019
Nicole C.
Chevron Houston Marathon
2020
Vivek P.
Publix A1A Marathon
2020
Donna R.
Twas the Night Before 5K
2019
Caitlin S.
Towpath Half Marathon
2014
Drew S.
Colorado Springs Half Marathon
2019
Cheri G.
Chattanooga 100 Mile Trail Race
2017
Scot L.
Ninesprings by Night
2020
Catherine J.
Surfer's Point Half Marathon
2019
Acacia S.
Flying Pig Marathon
2019
Clay S.
Maratón Powerade Monterrey
2018
Amber S.
Bird-N-Hand Half Marathon
2017
Donald S.
The Big Beach Marathon
2017
Mehgan C.
Atlantic City Marathon and Half Marathon
2015
Michael N.
Little Rock Marathon
2017
Susan W.
Boston Marathon
2018
Rob B.
Disneyland Half Marathon
2018
Kate K.
Philadelphia Marathon
2018
Joanne P.
Big Peach Sizzler 10K
2019
Stacy M.
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