Creative Ways to Show Off Your Medals and Bibs

Grab some inspiration for how to show off that hardware you have tucked away in a box.

Three things are certain when running a race—you need to train, fuel, and you’ll end up with a bib and medal you won't ever get rid of. Race medals keep getting cooler, and often give you an incentive to run more than one race a weekend. And let's face it, walking around after a race showing off your hard-earned hardware is great. But what happens after you get home? And, think of all those medals and bibs you just can't part with that are filling up a drawer or box in the garage.

Rather than forcing yourself to part with them or simply hanging them on a hook, there are plenty of ways to keep them on display. We asked our audience via a Facebook post to show us how it's done. Here are some clever ways and touching stories behind how runners have repurposed their bibs and medals.

"Keeping track of my goal to run a race in every state!" —Stephanie LP (pictured)

"[Tracking races with a] map has magnets on the states that I have run halfs, fulls, or ultras in." —Claire Blanton

"Made the RUN with my Bibs and wooden letters!" —Catherine Berry (pictured)

"I made a custom built a hanging rack for my medals so they double up as art/decoration/inspiration." —Janette Palmer

"Homemade wooden Rack says ‘I run this town’ for my local medals, and ‘I run the whole country’ for my out of state Medals. Awards sit on top. Plus I have another rack for marathons." —Pam Wolff (pictured)

"I made my own rack to hold marathon and half marathon medals with a small shelf for age group hardware. The dowels the medals hang on are easy to remove to add new awards." —David Trammel

"I gave mine away to kids fighting cancer in my area!" —Leanne Loney (pictured)

"Anything over 13.1 I always take and donate to Medals4Mettle! I have no use for all but maybe three in my lifetime, the rest get restrung and brighten someone's day in a hospital. I’m not sure if they have chapters everywhere but our local one in MI is huge and there is even a race to benefit it (and there is always a cool medal for it to donate back)." —Jessica Hebben Ericson

"We repurposed an old entertainment center for our bib and medal display." —Tara Carrao Christley

[From training tips, to fueling strategies, to improving the mind-body connection, the Runner's World 2020 Calendar will help you run your best all year long.]

"I found an old window frame and added chicken wire and hooks to it." —Ashley Bible (pictured)

"I re-purposed an old farmhouse window. I just love it." —Michella Prokop

"My husband made [a] display for me out of old windows from my grandmother's house." —Valerie Hunt

"I put my bibs into custom designed books every year!" —Whitney Lyn Froelich (pictured)

"I made a scrapbook page for each race/event with the bib as a background. I called it my Race Book." —Brooke Botterill

"I [scrapbook] with my race bibs and photos I take at each race. Such a nice way to look back every time I add a new one." —Amy Rath

"I turned mine into ornaments and cut all my bibs into a paper chain. I add to it every Xmas!" —Kathy Kostelny Nicklebur (pictured)

"We have a medal tree in addition to a traditional themed tree." —JoJo Swearington Bolden

"[Made a] ‘runderful’ tree with my medals and bibs from this year's 57 races." —Bev Klason

[Heading to a Park Can Make You Feel Just As Happy As Christmas]

"This is a display of some of my medals in my classroom. I use them to inspire my students to set goals and make plans to make them happen." — Cindy Jackson Wolfahrt (pictured)"I use my finisher medals as hall passes. The kids never lose them or accidentally take them home. They also look like they won when they walk to the bathroom." —Amanda Margrave

"I saw a photo of a wall covered in bibs once. I wanted to achieve that. They ended up wrapping around my room." —Amanda Schumaier (pictured)

"For me my numbers save on decorating! But after I total up the race entry fees it's probably the most expensive wallpaper I will ever have. Now onto the third wall..." —Rachael Welby

"Made a medal holder from the slideboard I used when I was in a wheelchair and seven screws taken from my hip after I was injured in a car accident. That incident got me into running, and now I can use those tools to display my achievements since then!" —Anna Wood

"My mom helped me make this vest, for my oldest son, out of the numbers from his high school races, except for the yellow one. The yellow one is from his very first race ever... he was 4 years old, held my hand the whole way, and was disappointed that it was only 1/4 mile long. We call it his ‘gateway race.’ Anyway, the vest was a huge hit and I'm happy to have finished it in time for his senior year High School Varsity Athletic Awards Ceremony... too perfect!" —Chele Pippin-Reagh

"I was very sick at the time, undergoing chemo treatment for breast cancer, and my friends were having this ‘do-it-yourself costume party.’ Most of these friends are from L.A. Triathlon Club in Los Angeles, but we also have run many road marathons together. I felt really sick that day, but my mom helped me piece together this ‘dress’ with my marathon and Ironman race bibs so I could go to the party and do something uplifting, as being a cancer patient is anything but.

"I went to the party and could only stay for a little while, but I won the prize ‘best dressed DIY’ costume. So that was fun! I still have the ‘dress’ at home." —Alison Sunshine Bassett

Running and Therapy Helped Her Mental Health

26 Songs to Add to Your Playlist to This June

From Brain Surgery to the London Marathon

RW+ Members' Favorite Tunes

Jake Smith on RED-S Recovery

This Runner With ALS Ran in All 50 States

My Run Club Was Profiled for Cheering While Black

Running Helped Her Recover from Heart Surgery

How I Run: "I’m Thinking About Having Fun"

Mom and Son Duo Prove It's Never Too Late to Start

Sixth-Grade Math Teacher Runs 2:24 Marathon

This Runner Helps Adaptive Athletes