I’ve never really known what to do with my race medals. At one point, I hung them in my kitchen, but then I decided it felt weird and a bit too showy for me. For the past five years, they’ve been in food bags in a drawer! I occasionally get them out to look at and reminisce over.

If truth be told, up until this year, I hadn’t run a race in so long that looking at the medals wasn’t making me feel good. It was reminding me of the accomplishments I’d had and all the things I wasn’t doing. Two weeks ago, though, I ran the Chicago marathon, and even though it was my slowest race ever, it was one of the happiest. I’ve found myself looking at the medal and thinking that it doesn’t represent just one race. It represents all the hard training, dedication, the hot summer runs in DC, and then race day when I ran a joyful 26.2 miles around my favorite city in the world and got to see my husband and friends out on the course.

If you’re trying to decide whether to hang your medals, here are some things to think about:

• Sentimental Value: If your race medals hold sentimental value for you, either as a symbol of personal achievement, dedication, or overcoming challenges, displaying them can be a meaningful way to honor your accomplishments.
• Motivation: Some people find that displaying their medals in a visible place, such as on a medal hanger or in their workout space, serves as motivation to continue their running and fitness journey. It can remind you of your past successes and encourage you to set new goals.
• Inspiration for Others: Displaying your medals can inspire others, such as family members, friends, or fellow runners, to pursue their fitness and running goals. It can be a conversation starter and a way to share your passion for running.
• Clutter Considerations: On the other hand, if you have a large collection of medals and limited space, displaying all of them may lead to clutter. In such cases, you can select a few special medals or rotate them to keep your display fresh.
• Privacy and Aesthetics: Some individuals prefer a clean and minimalist living or workspace and may not want to display their medals for aesthetic reasons. Others may value their privacy and choose to keep their achievements more personal.
• Alternative Ways to Celebrate: If displaying medals doesn’t appeal to you, there are other ways to celebrate your running achievements, such as keeping a running journal, framing race photos, or creating a scrapbook.

Ultimately, whether you should display your race medals is a matter of personal preference. I have decided to hang mine in a little corner of our guest bedroom where our treadmill lives. A few years ago, I bought the prettiest medal hanger from an artist on Etsy, and I still love it. It gives me a lot of joy to look at the medals and remember all the races and training cycles leading up to them.