Medals or What?

There is a wee article in Athletics Weekly this week called 'No prizes just for finishing please'. The writer goes back to the 1970's and prizes that were on offer then mentioning TV sets and fridges. It was certainly the case that in the big continental race such as Hannut in Belgium or San Sebastian in Spain that the prizes were things like those mentioned above. The race was on a Saturday and because there was difficulty in transporting the prizes back home, there was an auction of the prizes on the Sunday. (No law against a man selling his own property even if he has only owned it for 24 hours). The athletes won the prize on Saturday and sold it on Sunday. But it was also true in Scotland as well - where prizes when I started in the sport were things like rose bowls, fireside carpets and coffee tables (I won a Schreiber coffee table for the first handicap in the Clydebank to Helensburgh), by the 70's the prizes were becoming quite exotic. I know that we gave a TV as first prize for the Dunky Wright one year and on the understanding that the second prize was as important as the first in attracting talented athletes, the second prize also came in at over £100. A lot of money in the 70's.

The guy in AW this week goes on to say that nowadays runners find their house full of medals obtained just for finishing. He objects to this - and I do too - on the grounds that medals available to everybody mean nothing. He concludes 'If someone has just completed their first 10K then let them be justly proud of themselves. However the reward should come firstly in that achievement and secondly in being quicker next time round.'

On the other hand I feel that the Scottish Marathon Club when it existed encouraged budding marathon runners by having their own championships incorporated in open races - the Springburn 12, the Clydebank to Helensburgh 16, the Strathallan 21 and the Scottish Marathon which HAD to be included. They awarded certificates (first and second class) for these races and these were given to the athletes on the day. They provided documentary evidence of the time that the athlete turned in and they have proved very useful to many athletes and historians since. Examples of these certificates can be seen at my own website at www.ardbruach.org.uk/ATHLETICS.htm in the SMC section. They were much more useful than a tin medal or a cheap T shirt!