To clarify, I’m a sucker for a cool race medal. Some of my favorites have been ones with bottle openers, the awesome Disney ones or a few I’ve seen with magnetic parts to complete a three-race series. Another one that really piques my interest is the Coast-to-Coast Disney medal, for racing at both Disney World and Disneyland.
So to say I am interested in the Rock ‘n’ Roll Heavy Medal Series would be an understatement. And with one RnR race already on the books for 2012, I figured doing two shouldn’t be too difficult. And honestly, I like the two-race medal the best (that, or the 7 race one, which is never going to happen).
I’ve got my eye on either the NYC 10k (which is nice because it’s a shorter distance & I’ll have plenty of friends that I could stay with), or the Vegas Half (which would be awesome to be in Vegas in December and do my first night race).
I know that for some people, the medal is a waste of money (they’d like to see lower registration fees). But for me, it’s something I take pride in earning & I like having them as a reminder of each of my races. I remember my eyes welling up with tears when I got my Disney Half medal, and continued pride as I was congratulated all day long while wearing it around the parks. To me, the medals signify how far I’ve come, and they motivate me to keep pushing myself to do more. If paying a little extra in a race fee can motivate me to keep racing, you bet I don’t mind it.
Do I race for the medal? No. But is it a great motivator to keep me trying new races & different challenges? You betcha!
