Too many racing rewards can cause issues
Every morning a runner gets up and puts on shirt to go for a run. Depending on the weather, there is usually a favorite shirt that a runner chooses for a run. There are a few that are almost considered sacred and worn only on special occasions. For instance, the shirt I received for running the Boston Marathon, and one that is signed by Bill Rogers, telling me he will see me in Boston. But, other than those few, a runner will probably have a shirt for daily runs and another set for wearing at races.
For a runner, and race directors, collecting shirts and race mementoes can be a benefit, but it can also be a problem. The problem occurs to runners that have been running for five, six or 10 years. An average year for a runner will be around 10 or so races. Some runners find that entering a race approaches a couple of dozen races. Looking at this from a runner’s viewpoint over a period of six years, and averaging ten races a year, finds that the shelf where the race shirts are stored now reaches 60 shirts. Now, getting up in the morning and selecting a shirt from a stack of over 60 shirts can be a bit confusing.
As a race director, and a runner, this is compounded into more of a problem than a benefit. I have shirts from running races, I have shirts left over from putting on races, and I have shirts from being a volunteer at races. I have five shelves of various shirts from races, weight lifting contests, physical education and coaching shirts, all waiting to see if I will wear one of them today. I have long-sleeved shirts, hi-tech shirts, cotton shirts, 50-50 fabric shirts and a few that I traded with another runner for something different. Adding to this confusing selection is when you try to color coordinate what you are wearing. Red, blue, white, maroon, green, yellow, fluorescent colors, brown, multi-colored, and a few colors I don’t know what they are.
I never stopped to realize this as a problem until the other day when it occurred to me that I found myself going shirt by shirt through a couple of stacks trying to pick one to wear. It took about 10 minutes of time trying to pick out a shirt. It seemed to be ridiculous taking that much time to find a shirt to wear. I started to wonder if other runners that have accumulated six or seven dozen shirts over the years if any of them had the same problem.
I put on the Moe’s Better Half Marathon for 33 years and there are runners that have entered the race with shirts from past races 10 or more years ago. (One year a runner wore the shirt from 1986). This proves that I am not the only one that saves race shirts from previous races. I also have race shirts that are worn to other events other than running. The last shirt from my race is a quarter zip, long-sleeved, hi-tech shirt that I do not think would be a good shirt to wear at a race. Maybe during the winter months where you can zip up the front to form a turtle neck shirt it might come in handy.
If collecting shirts is not bad enough think about the various “goodies” that many long distance races award every runner after they finish. The most popular award is a custom race medal to wear around your neck after the race. Some of these medals are very elaborate and colorful. I have always wondered what a runner does with that medal after the race the next day. I have seen some runners hang the medal on a peg after the race. There are a few runners that have several dozen medals hanging from pegs in a room. I always liken it to storing the multiple collection of shirts. Do they ever go through the several dozen medals hanging on the peg and maybe pick one out to wear to a race, or work?
I tried to be a little more practical for after race awards. While a medal will probably be placed on a peg and never seen again for several weeks, or months, why not give an award that has a practical use every day. I started out by giving ball point pens with the race name and sponsor on it. These were good quality pens and not the kind you can buy for 50 cents in bulk form. Even in large quantities, the pens were close to $5 in cost. I have a few left over from 2009 that still write. I have a few more left over from the 29th race, the last race pens that were given out, still in the cover.
The other award that was handed out to runners as they finished was a 15-ounce ceramic mug with the race logo and sponsor’s name. Most runners will probably use that mug every day for morning coffee. My cupboards holding these mugs is a conglomeration of various years and colors. Black, blue, white, grey, green, and maroon are all present for a morning cup of coffee. I have heard that some runners put the mugs on a shelf as an award rather than use it for coffee. Trying something different a couple of years ,we gave a hi-tech runner’s cap to every runner. I still see this cap being worn at races. I think Core Running still has a few for sale at the store.
Whether it is shirts, medals, pens, mugs, or caps, a few of each is nice. But when the number gets up in the dozens of memories of a race, then it is more a problem than a benefit. Where do you put them, and when will you be able to use all of them?
