Forums >General Running>Which is Worse
For the second time in a large race in Philly (first time at RnR Philly last year, this time at Broad Street) people have been taking medals who didn't even run the race! The Rock 'n Roll Half last year actually ran out of medals for the actual runners themselves. People in the crowd had been stealing the medals by the armful off the racks that they were kept on because of a lack of security or lack of paying attention. This weekend at Broad Street I heard many tales of volunteers pocketing medals and some spectators bragging about hopping into the finish area and pretending they had raced to get a medal. At least they didn't run out of medals.So what do you think is worse, stealing a medal you didn't earn or running a race and taking a medal that you didn't pay for?
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Seriously? Who cares?
I'm usually about 100 times more concerned about the RACE than some cheap trinket handed out to everyone. I couldn't care less if they gave medals to the entire universe.
Labrat
So what do you think is worse, stealing a medal you didn't earn or running a race and taking a medal that you didn't pay for?
Both are theft so whats the difference really ?
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Seriously? Who cares? I'm usually about 100 times more concerned about the RACE than some cheap trinket handed out to everyone. I couldn't care less if they gave medals to the entire universe.
A lot of people cared at the RnR half who ran didn't get a medal. It was the back of the packers who were left with nothing and that's where you'll find the most people who could have been doing their first half marathon or getting a first medal. Not everybody has hundred of them, so many people use them as a token of their achievement or a keepsake. Heck, I've done a ton of races and I still keep my race bibs which are worth even less than those "cheap trinket" medals.
This will a little lesson for the "back of the packers" then. Maybe they should haul ass a little more, and chit chat a little less. Doesn't matter to me one way or the other, i'm doing a race this fall and will gladly pay the fee. If they offer a medal, i'll pass.
kween
This is a tad harsh.
I just hate thieves in general. I suspect the people who took the medals without running weren't really aware of what the consequences might be for the field of runners. Bandits, on the other hand, know exactly what they are doing. They are despicable.
MTA: I also keep my bibs and eventually toss the medals. When I started running, there were no medals.
Nolite te bastardes carborundum.
When I started running, there were no medals.
Also, all your races were uphill in the snow.
Dave
I still feel like all my races are uphill!!
Well, you asked what WE thought of it, and so I offered my thoughts. I don't have a hundred medals, but I've never cared at all a out getting one. Not my first one and not my most recent. And it's an RnR event, so something's bound to suck.
I saw "who cares?" so I was just responding to that. If you left that out I wouldn't have replied at all. I have no problem with you not caring if you get one. We're cool.
Fanilow
I was done running in a race and waiting for my hubs and daughter to finish. At the finish line there was a ton of stuff being handed to you...foodwise.
So, I go sit under a tree but stay close to the finish line for pics of my kid and hubs, right? This lady is behind me reaching over the fence that separated us from the finish line filling her pockets and a bag she was carrying with Power Bar stuff. The guy who was handing stuff out from that stand told her that was for everyone, not just her. She said...and I quote..."I just ran 11 miles, I deserve it." I said "um, more than the hundreds of others running 11 miles today?" Sometimes, people are just assholes.
2014 goals
Well, there's always next year.
Why would someone who didn't run the race want the medal? It's not like they have a monetary value...they can't pawn them or sell them on a street corner. I don't get it.
Look at E-bay. They CAN be sold.
Or at least some of them can. (This years Boston one for example)
Sometimes, people are just assholes.
+1
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