Thursday, April 16, 2015

To get the medal... or not.

One discussion that often pops up over at Team Run Disney (and if you are even mildly interested in Run Disney events you should check it out) is the "Should I get a medal even if I don't finish the race?" question. To put it softly, it is a very controversial issue. Not only do people feel very strongly about whatever position they have taken on the matter but they also defend said position with passion and warfare.


Just in case you don't know what I'm talking about, let me frame it for you: You are running a race. For the sake of making things more interesting, lets assume that you have invested a lot of time, sweat and effort training for this race. As luck would have it, you are forced to cut it short and not finish. This will probably be a hard blow to take after all you have invested to get to that day. Then, a race official hands you a medal even though you did not finish. What do you do?
My first race medal
This is a particularly hot topic in Run Disney circles because, while in many races you don't even get the chance to choose whether to take it or not, it seems to be Disney policy (based on the experiences that many have shared on this subject) to give you the medal no matter what. In fact, many people have taken the medal only after much insistence from the cast member handing it to them, having declined to take it many times over. I'm only assuming here. I don't know what is the official position on this but my guess, this is just Disney being Disney. They could very well be thinking "Hey, you paid for the medal. It was part of the entry fee so you should get what you paid for." I could be wrong of course.

But the fact remains that you are being handed the medal. Do you take it?

This is where it gets ugly. There are many people who feel they should not take it. No matter what. Their position is very simple: The medal is a symbol of completion. You earn it for finishing a race. You don't finish, then you should not get the medal. This, I feel is completely fair and understandable. In fact, this is where I personally stand on this issue. If I were handed the medal in that situation, I would not accept it. Even if the person handing it to me insists, believe me, I can insist right back. No medal for me. Period.

Now this is where it gets a bit complicated, because if the reason for not accepting the medal seems simple and straightforward, the reasons people have for taking the medal are as varied and numerous as there are grains of sand on a beach. Furthermore, I think they are all valid as well.
The brass ring
I'm one of those people who likes to look at both sides of an argument so even when I feel strongly about where I stand personally, I can totally understand why someone would feel the opposite way. In fact, I will often defend the "other side" just to stir up friendly discussion sometimes. I have talked with, and read many stories of people -some who I admire very much- who have been swept at Disney races and were handed the medal and they have taken it and I understand the reasoning behind every single one of those stories. Like I said, there are many reasons but to mention some of them, people have taken the medal as reminder to do better next time and try harder. To them, the medal becomes a symbol as well. Others have given them away to people they feel deserve them. Heck, some have even taken them just because they don't want to argue with the cast member and they accept them just so they will shut up. I can totally understand that.

And you know what? It could just be that you felt  you paid a lot of money to run this race and you just want something to show for it. Disney races are expensive! I might not agree, but heck, they are indeed expensive. More power to you.

And yet, the discussion pops up and people get upset. I don't understand this. If you would not take the medal, fine. But if someone else does, why would that upset or anger you? You didn't take it. You followed what you thought was right. The fact that someone else did will not change that. Worse yet, you might not know the reasoning behind that person's decision to do so. When I hear about someone taking the medal, my immediate question is "what happened?" Not to argue with them, but because I really want to hear their story. It does not upset me at all. 

Me, taking the medal after saying I would not. Now, that would upset me. Then again, like Dennis Miller used to say: "That's just my opinion. I could be wrong."


14 comments:

  1. Oh goodness, so many thoughts are swirling around my head.
    If I didn't finish but was handed a medal, I would probably be in so much shock/discomfort etc, I may not know what to do. So here are my options being as I believe I should "earn" them by completing the race.
    A: I can take it and donate it to a charity.
    B: I can take it and run the 13.1 or 26.2 miles another time and turn it into a virtual finish if you will. So I will feel like I earned it.
    C: I can give it so some smiling little kid and make his/her day.
    D. Be the stubborn Ginger that I am and say no to the cast member and walk away without a medal.
    Such a good debate!

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    1. Many options indeed. And you just mentioned a couple in there I hadn't even thought about.

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  2. Aren't those Disney races expensive??? What else are you getting? If someone gives you a metal for something you don't feel like you deserve... give it away or toss it.

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    1. Well, you also get a shirt and ither stuff in your goody bag but now that you mention it, I never hear about anyone not accepting those. lol

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  3. There's no right answer. I'd take the medal but not wear it and bury the medal when I get home

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    1. That's exactly my point Ken. Even in a DNF, the medal can mean something powerful to the person who takes it. Even in the same level as say me not taking it.

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  4. This is why I believe Disney should give out a "participant" medal. I understand that it would be hard to determine how many people may not finish, so in that case they could just make a generic medal for all races, that way if they have extra they can just use them for the next race coming up. In my mind the medal has always been a symbol of "completion" so I could not accept something for a race I could not complete. But then again, I volunteered at the wdw half one year and a runner who completed the race refused the medal!

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    1. Both firsts for me. Never heard of a finisher not accept the finisher medal. The participant medal is an awesome idea in my opinion.

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  5. It's ironic I was just listening to this on one of the Mickey Miles Podcasts just yesterday. One of the guests came up with what I thought was a great idea: if you finish, you get a finisher's medal, if you run, but don't finish, you get a participant medal, just change the ribbon. Everyone gets a medal, plain and simple. I really have no opinion on what other people choose to do, it's just that - their choice. Personally, if I didn't finish, I wouldn't take one, and would just walk away if an overzealous volunteer tried to give me one. It's a personal decision for everyone and it's not my place to judge. Plus I would hate the accusatory look I;d get from the Wonder Mutt if I came home with something I didn't really truly earn. Kind of like a giant giant dog biscuit.

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    1. Getting the stink eye for accepting the medal at the finish: Bad. Getting from the Wonder Mutt must be pure torture. How could you live with yourself.

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  6. I go back and forth on this but as of now I think if this happened to me I would take it and keep it and use it as motivation for the future but would not put it on my medal rack. in the future i do think disney should do a separate participant medal as I think it would motivate people to really train and try their best (but yes, things can come up last minute that can prevent you from finishing races).

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    1. The participant medal idea is gaining a lot of ground it seems. Are you listening Disney?!

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  7. This really is a tough issue, and I think it totally depends on the circumstances...does someone who signs up for a half, doesn't train, and drops out at mile 3 "deserve" the medal? Does someone who works their butt off for months but gets injured right before the race and only makes it to, say, mile 9 "deserve" the medal? For me, I can't imagine even wanting the medal if I didn't finish the race, but it would totally depend on WHY I didn't finish in the first place...I'd imagine it would still mean something to me if I made it as far as I could but ultimately DNFed due to injury, etc., and, like you said, these races are NOT cheap, so you probably almost feel like you SHOULD take it. Definitely a tough situation, no matter how you look at it!

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