Meathead wrote:
Leddy wrote:
That's a good point someone brought up. That your race could be someone's first therefore the medal might mean something to them. Or don't do them for short races. But what if some people only race short course. I've only done one HIM and have no plans ever doing a full, especially for a medal. But that's just me. Tough call for you RD's. Along the lines of t-shirts. I'd be happy if I never got another one. I've kept maybe 4 over the years.
I like stuff similar to CAC giving out bike number holders. If it's functional I tend to keep it.
The reason you rarely see a ton of swag at a 5k, 10k, sprint, or Oly is because no one wants to pay $100 to run 3 miles. For me, I won't pay more than $30 for a 5K & for that price, it's hard for an RD to put on a chip timed event that uses public roads & requires staff, police, setup, some kind of post race event/food/drink, etc and still have money to give everyone a medal. Like someone else alluded to, medals for short distance races are like participation trophies in 6 year old soccer leagues. I get that for some people it is an accomplishment, but do you really need a medal for a 5K?
One thing I have seen races do is offer people to pay more on top of their registration to get a medal. I think that is a perfect solution. It keeps the costs low for everyone, and lets the participation trophy crowd get their special little snowflake award for $20 extra.
I'd be fine with that, but it doesn't seem like everyone would be. The tough decision is for the RD's to consider how much they might piss someone off without them. Seems to be a number of responses here that support that theory. While you have a bag full of medals at home the person out there for the first time doesn't.
Either way, to your point on cost vs 5K, 10K, sprint Oly. Most of the sprints and olys I do are a $100+ which is why I'd be fine with no to little swag and then cut the cost.
"I think I've cracked the code. double letters are cheaters except for perfect squares (a, d, i, p and y). So Leddy isn't a cheater... "