Do you stay for awards?

[kawasa]

If you're going to win an award, be it for winning the race, your age class, etc. do you stay for the awards? Is it rude not to stay?

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[diablita]

Interesting that you ask since this is a big deal right now in CrossFit Land.


If it's a small enough race and I'm able to stick around, I'll stay even if I'm not getting an award.  It's a small town and I like to cheer people for their effort.  Often I do get an ag award in the races I run.  If i'm expecting to win I'll try to stay. Sometimes I win and don't even realize, like an ag award from the Asheville Half I ran earlier this year.  It was a bigger race so I just didn't expect it.  Not sure I'd consider it rude to bail though.

[SnarlyMarly]

It depends.   Are the awards within an hour of me crossing the line?  Sure.
Are the awards at 4 o’clock and I finished at Noon and no one in my group made podium, then no.   

[radial]

Lol, for most of the races I've run, if I stuck around waiting for my award, I would be waiting for a very a long time.

[nadra's babydaddy]

If I know I'm getting an award.  There have been times when I assumed I wasn't getting one and skipped out early, then it turns out I did, so I always double check.  Even if I'm slow AF you never know when only one other 30-34 year old dude is going to show up.  I don't think it's rude not to show up; they'll just go on to the next person.  But you miss out on the opportunity for ego stroking and smug self-satisfaction 

[Natasha]

Depends on if I’m alone or if I have others waiting on me. And what else is going on... if there’s food, raffles, entertainment etc. Sometimes it’s fun and I don’t feel so bad making people wait for me.

[Coyote Mas Loco]

When the kids were around/young I'd skip it sometimes. Now that's rarely an issue so I stick around. Even at some big races though, it's you must be present to claim your award. For the most part I prefer races where they have a table where you can check a computer or screen and pick up your award and be on your way without waiting for half the day.  For a big event, like a championship, it's sometimes nice to get some recognition.

[SnarlyMarly]

The last time I was even close was a small 5K in University City/Philly which was only in its 2nd or 3rd year, so the field was pretty small, and mostly college kids, so a mid-30-year-old kinda stood out. I looked at the printout on the board - again, that gives you an idea how long ago it was - I thought I'd gotten 3rd, so I stuck around

Turns out, I counted wrong, and finished 4th

I can one up disappointment.  Last year I stuck around for awards and there was standing room only.   Started a conversation with a family member I hadn’t talked to for awhile went outside the tent to talk.  Totally did not hear my name called.   Missed sharing a podium with Utta Pippig and receiving my award fro Joan S.  The other person is my good friend that made podium at this race for the first time and it was a big deal for her.   I was instantly disappointed in my mistake, but then I got home and my friend posted pictures and made a comment that I didn’t stick around.   Other friends let me have it about how rude it was.

 This year I aged up and didn’t get to podium with Utta.
Oh and my friend that publicly shamed me, went home because she didn’t make the podium😆, and so did the family member that distracted me the year before.

[Arrojo]

Missed sharing a podium with Utta Pippig and receiving my award fro Joan S.

    That there is bad enough without all the friend drama.

I usually stick around after road and trail races because my friends usually win something even if I don't.

For Masters track meets, there's no presentation, you just walk up to the table and get your medals.

[nadra's babydaddy]

I don't get the rude thing.  If anything it makes the process go faster.  People have lives and can't always be expected to wait around, particularly if the flow of the event is on the sluggish side. If I have to wait over an hour after finishing for awards (at a smallish local event) it probably isn't worth it. 

[Coyote Mas Loco]

I don't think I've missed getting an award from the likes of Utta or Joanie (sorry to hear that SM, and worse the fallout and taunting from your peer), but biggest thrills have been getting an award from Billy Mills nearly 30 years ago and getting to shake his hand and exchange a few words, and this spring at USATF road 8K I got my finishers medal from Meb, and also got to talk to him for a minute or two. They do have age group and age grade podium awards for USATF road championships, but yes at regional/state level track meets you just pick it up.

Biggest disappointment in recent memory was last year at the Crim 10 Mile in Michigan. It's a big/old time race, an icon from the 70s and 80s and still features some big names. A bucket list race for me.  I got 3rd masters overall (didn't know it at the time), but my teammate had to catch an early flight back and had us turn in one of our rental cars 6 hours early to save a few bucks, so I was on his schedule to get to the airport--not mine. There was confusion at the awards pick-up (had to pick it up that day), and they couldn't find my name. So they gave me an age group award instead. When I got home I found out about the masters placing (sort of a bigger deal, because that's a podium finish at a major race) so wrote to them and told them I would send back my age group award. They responded in an email but never followed through with anything. So I have a hunk of brick with reverse typing (i.e., damaged goods) as an age group award. It sits kind of obscurely on the kitchen counter, facing the sink and not much else.   

[Coyote Mas Loco]

I don't get the rude thing.  If anything it makes the process go faster.  People have lives and can't always be expected to wait around, particularly if the flow of the event is on the sluggish side. If I have to wait over an hour after finishing for awards (at a smallish local event) it probably isn't worth it.

Boilermaker this year did it well--they have this huge afterparty, almost like a rock concert, with 15,000 or 20,000 people. They recognize top 10 overall for men and women and top 5 masters and they all get their moment in the limelight. The rest of us get to drink beer, and the awards itself takes maybe 20 minutes and then it's back the party. They'll send out age group awards a couple weeks later and it's fun to get those in the mail.

Sitting through a 1 or 2 hour awards at a mid-sized race, going through every age group can be quite tedious. Equinox marathon in AK usually had The Longest ever! The RD/emcee telling the life stories of local favorites, sometime skipping right over the outsiders and enemy combatants. (yeah, there's a story there)

[nadra's babydaddy]

Yeah, the last race I went to was like this.   Since Utah is uber family oriented, many races have a 'kids K' a bit after the other races, presumably so that parents can run their race and then run with their kids.  They also tend to have very narrow age ranges at the youth level for the main races, so you get to sit through the 7 and under awards, the 8-9 year old, 9-10, 11-12, etc..  I was done running the 5k by 8:45 (there was also a 10k that started 15 minutes earlier).  The kids K started at 9:30, the awards didn't start until 10, then it was over 30 minutes until they got to me...and they did 5k award before 10k awards!  It was super haphazard with multiple mistakes and "wait a minute''s while they sorted things out, to where there was a gap of a few minutes between some divisions.  For being apparently one of the older and more established races in Utah I wasn't impressed. 

[BonitaApplebum]

I’m so slow, the beer is usually gone by the time I get there...

[Coyote Mas Loco]

I’m so slow, the beer is usually gone by the time I get there...

I've done a bunch of races in recent years, among best ones for beer are the Shamrock races at Virginia Beach and the aforementioned Utica Boilermaker. Plenty to go around, and they're handing it out all day it seems.

[RandMart]

There's someone around here who can get you into Smuttynose, with or without a bib

Maybe I'm remembering that wrong

[nadra's babydaddy]

Utah races are somewhat sub par when it comes to beer 

[diablita]

Ha.  Wonder why.


I run a 5K in late November that I absolutely love.  It's in a park that's nearly completely flat and I often win AG and/or first 3 females.  It's a fundraiser for support and awareness of veteran's with PTSD and there's a lot of heart that goes into supporting it.  After the last person crosses they always have an "old timer" speak before the award ceremony.  And it usually takes a while.  I've heard grumbling.  But for that race the least we can do is let someone be heard to support them a little. 

[nadra's babydaddy]

I think it's different when there's a charity component and things are moving slower because of something to do with the charity theme, rather than just the organizers dicking around. 

I have a friend who puts on some charity events.  Great person, but bless her heart, she has no flow and doesn't really understand races.  I fully expect the races to start at least a half hour late and for the distances to be way off - the last "5k" I did there was over 4 miles.  At least it was a loop course in a park i run in sometimes and I knew ahead of time exactly how long it was really going to be - so I do stuff like that to be supportive and get a good workout, but never as a goal race. 

[kawasa]

I asked because I knew I won an award Saturday but I left anyway. I felt pretty guilty. I do this semi-often and feel even worse when they call days later and are like "you can come pick up your award."

 I once left before the awards of a race I won overall.

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[Fast Eddie]

It's a rarity that I win an award, unless it's a small race and I might then end up on the podium, but small races don't go deep into age group either.  So I will stay to soak up some glory.  Usually not too many people around when they get to the 50-60 AG. 

[Arrojo]

It's a rarity that I win an award, unless it's a small race and I might then end up on the podium, but small races don't go deep into age group either.  So I will stay to soak up some glory.  Usually not too many people around when they get to the 50-60 AG. 

I do the awards presentation for our running club’s signature race the Busa bushwhack trail race (two races in one - a 5.3 mile and 10 mile race) in October, the 5.3 mile version of which I usually run as well. In honor of Rich Busa (he turns 90) and me (now 60), I start with the oldest age groups first, and work my way down to the youngest. Everyone sticks around. 

[Coyote Mas Loco]

I asked because I knew I won an award Saturday but I left anyway. I felt pretty guilty. I do this semi-often and feel even worse when they call days later and are like "you can come pick up your award."

 I once left before the awards of a race I won overall.

Posted on mobile

I got burned once, won a race and skipped the awards. They had a big gift table, and my friend who was 3rd or so got like a nice vest worth over $100 and in the mail I got a left over prize worth $8 or $10. Must be present to collect your prize! And a bit like SnarlyMarly's friend, mine sort of rubbed it in.

[CheryG]

It depends on how long I have to wait.  It's been a long whike since I've had an AG win, so that hasn't been an issue.  Again it would probably depend on how long I had to wait, what the prize was and what else I had to do that day.

A race I did last year held the raffle draw during the race and handed the prizes to the winning runners (coffee) as they crossed the finish line.  I LOVED that!