I have almost retired from being a race director but still act as a consultant to organizations that want to put on a fund raising event and want some direction. One of the questions that groups ask about putting on a race is what age groups should they include and what type of an award for the winners in these age groups. Looking back at some of the awards I gave to runners and some of the awards I received when I ran in races it seems the difference is how many of the awards are still around. Early races were mostly a wooden or tin column of various height with a figure on top. The figures were of a runner or a victory woman standing with her arms above her head. Occasionally the race came up with a unique figure that represented the name of the race. I had some that were horses, longhorns, and half-moon figures if the race was in the evening. There were races that gave out various sized medals that you could hang around your neck. The medals ranged from a nice 4 inch diameter with a design logo on it to a small 2 inch medal that had the standard runner logo on it. I was never one to have a trophy shelf for the various awards so different locations in the house were temporary spots for them. With house renovations and moving furniture the trophies have been lost.
Then some races gave useful awards with the name of the race and the place finish engraved on it. One race I tried to hand out a small bath towel with the race logo on it. My thought was I had so many race tee shirts a race towel would be of good use after a race. It was not a popular substitute for a race tee shirt for n ewe r runners that did not have shelves of tee shirts. The towel award for a couple of years later was still requested if I had any left over from the race. I saved one for myself and it is still used today.
McCoy’s Lumber sponsored the first eight years of Moe’s Better Half Marathon. One of the ‘goodies’ that was placed in the registration sack was a bandana with McCoy’s logo on it. This was in 1983 and there is still a McCoy’s bandana in my back pocket today. A very useful item for a runner. For a number of years at the race we gave finish ball point pens to runners. The pens were good quality pens and not the $.25 variety. I have one pen from 2009 that still writes. I have heard from runners that still use the I I have heard from runners that still use the pens from the race today.
