What is the worst prize you have ever won at a race?

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

Finished in 2nd place overall. Got a set of steak knives. You will NEVER guess what 1st place got....

MURDERED?

1. I won a 5K and received a $100 gift card for a vitamin store. The next day I drove to the store (which was an hour away from home) only to find out the store had permanently closed.

2. I ran a 5K in November and won a round of golf for 4 at a local course. The expiration on the award was December 31 of the same year and the course was already closed for the winter.

3. A pound of butter.

4. 5 free oil changes. Unfortunately, this was from a 5K in Las Vegas (I was there on vacation) and I wasn't going to use it on my rental car. I gave it to a local.

AwardWinner wrote:

Fleet Feet gift certificate is always the worst.

You are one a a couple of people to mention this. Can someone explain the hate for fleet feet? They are the best running store in my community by far and give back to said community in every way. I will never shop online because I want to help Fleet Feet keep the $$ here in my running community.

MeHereYouWhere?! wrote:

Finished in 2nd place overall. Got a set of steak knives. You will NEVER guess what 1st place got....

AlwaysBeClosing wrote:

Did 3rd place get fired?

The leads are weak!

Ran a 1/2 marathon in my hometown over the 4th of July. It was expensive ($60) for a local race out on country roads but my parents wanted to see me run. Won by well over 5 minutes, basically running 13.1 miles on my own past a bunch of farms on 2 lane highway roads. I got my reward, which was a $5 gift card to target and a pair of socks that didn't even last the rest of the summer. Wasn't the fun I expected.. .

OK, lets turn this positive. What is the BEST prize you ever won? Cash excluded. Mine was winning my weight in wine for winning the masters title at the Napa Valley Marathon. They put you on an old fashioned wood scale and pile cases of wine on the other side until it balances. Think it came out to 10-12 cases which they shipped to my home for free. Being a beer drinker, I gave it all away to friends. Great fun. Anybody beat that?

blechh wrote:

Beef jerky, for 1st at a 10k. Not just a single bag even but epic amounts of the stuff--two giant boxes of it plus various bags of different flavor jerkies.

I hate jerky.

You ungrateful sonova ....haha did you give it to anyone and if so did they say whether it was good, id enter a race if that was the prize

I'll ignore cash won.

Large hand made glass bowl for winning a half-marathon. I didn't think anything of it until I got home and looked up the company. Turns out the bowl was/is worth ~$1000 USD. They also offered to have it engraved and I declined. Glad I did because anything I would have come up with standing in a tent after a half-marathon would have probably ruined it. The bowl now proudly holds fruit on my kitchen table.

On two occasions I won free nights/dinner at a boutique resort. Rooms over $500 a night with dinner for two being easily over $200. Bottle of champagne on ice in the room upon check-in. Got some strange looks when I rolled up in my car with in-state tags and checked in. Being a skinny 20-something didn't help either. Every other car was out of state BMW/Merc/Porsche, and we were the youngest people there by about 30 years. The proprietor politely asked how I came across the gift card. Was really excited when he found out a local won the race and was staying. Treated us great the whole time, lots of free drinks.

Washington DC 10k, 600+ runners, shirt-back full of sponsors, first place... A rubber clown nose. Swear to God.

Best race prizes around here are from our Shamrock Run. Awards for overall top 5 in each of 4 race distances, overall winners get their weight in beer, 2-5 get restaurant gift certificates, all the overall and age group placers (1-3) get either a backpack or a duffel bag (depending on the year). AND.... they mail you the awards so that you don't have to wait around for an awards ceremony!!

I've won or placed in many smallish races that have awards that most people would say are awful, but I usually enjoy the weird things. At one race, the race winners got their choice of the unclaimed raffle prizes. Someone had told me that ahead of time, and the prizes were all spread out around so you could look at them. It was surprisingly fun looking at all these very sweet, homey, gift pack type things. I ended up taking this one that was a bucket full of random things: candy, candles, a SBUX gift card, some other stuff I can't remember and a small styrofoam pumpkin that was painted gold. I loved that prize bucket! Way better than when the prizes are a complete after-thought, like once when I won 2 bottles of Muscle Milk.

Very cool!

I won an extra large shirt for third place once. I don't know if they were assuming the third place finisher must be overweight, since he didn't win. I don't think any person, that would fit in that shirt, would have run 17flat for a 5k XC race.

Won a 10K in Hawaii and for that I got a chandelier from the local Ace Hardware Store.

Second place got a helicopter tour from Blue Hawaii Tours.

Ran a 5k at Universal Studios Lot and won Season 2 of Desperate Housewives on DVD.

I once entered a 5k over the summer and ran pretty bad, like in the 19's (was in high school). I figured I dodnt win anything since it was a big race and left early. Turns out the race put me down as a 12 year old and I won that age group, so I got $5 to the local running store. Ended up getting some metal spikes for free though, so I guess it worked out.

I won overall for a 10k at a local road race a few years back. I won a relatively cheap wine bottle opener with the title sponsor's name on it (it was presented in a little box as though it were expensive jewelry). At the same time, there were some awesome raffle prizes, such as gift baskets, and gift cards, including a $50 (or more) gift card to my favorite local brewpub. I would have happily traded my bottle opener for a $50 burger and beer tab.

Another time, about 8 years ago I was 2nd place overall. First place won a fancy HR monitor ($150 value or something). I won a tiny orange road cone, about 5-6 inches tall, that said "Top 3 Overal." Their spelling, not mine. I must have beaten someone named Al!

Cadillac El Dorado!!!!!!!!!!!!! Third prize got banned from the race for life.

I won a 5k (1,500 finishers) and walked away with a small stuffed animal.

2nd in my age group in a 5K. Won a stuffed animal. My toddler loved it so I guess it wasn't that bad. Add to this list various crummy water bottles and key chains throughout the years. I'm not good enough to win at a race that actually gives out decent swag!