*BLING*

A while ago fellow blogger Marlene did a post on her medal collection so I thought I would follow suit and share mine. To be honest, one of the biggest draws of racing to me is the medal! Especially considering how much events cost these days, I like to feel like I'm getting something for my money that will last and help commemorate the race in years to come. I'm also sort of a medal snob. I've been known to choose a race just for the medal, and you'll be hard-pressed to find me running a race with no bling (but never say never - most tris and ultras have no hardware and I'm still psyched to try them!). To demonstrate, I once ran a half that at the last minute decided to give out "awards" instead of the medal they had promised, which came in the form of keychains. You better believe I strung my keychain on a piece of string and made it into a medal! Over the past year and a half I've accumulated a decent collection, so without further ado I present my running bling:

My running shrine : )

The medals.

 (L to R) San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, Surf City Half, LA Marathon, SF Marathon, Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon

(L to R) Big Sur Half, Disneyland Half, Santa Barbara Intl. Marathon, Santa Barbara Wine Country Half, American River Parkway Half, City to the Sea Half

My favorite? The San Francisco Marathon, hands down. Not only for the race (my current PR on a tough course!), but also because it's pretty awesome looking. Least fave? SB Wine Country Half. The course was incredible, but the medal is so hideous it's gag inducing. Check it out yourself:

WTF. What is this!?

Big Sur also has pretty unique medals made of ceramic and designed by a local artist. Surf City I picked just for the awesome surfboard medal! Plus, it's part of the California Dreamin' Series which gives you a special California medal for completing all three races (Surf City, SF Marathon, and Long Beach). Of course I have to have it! I find Disneyland a bit too gaudy for my taste (but kudos on the size!), but I guess it suits the Disney franchise. Two final notes on medals: One, I hate when races make the race year the main focus on the medal (see LA). We don't care! Two, the ribbon can count just as much as the medal! I much prefer printed ribbons to plain.

So there you have it! Now it's your turn - show us your BLING!