What was the best prize you won from a race, what distance, and what was your time?

Crazy prizes in the 1980s

Microwave oven 1438 5k - 2nd place - - winner a step ahead won a early Mac

Portable tv/radio - 31 10k used it in my car because car stereo got stolen- a couple of years later it got stolen

Brass ship - won Hampton Bay Days 10k a couple of times

Wreath that they put on winners head and took photos at 5 mile in new Britain ct- 2446. Also $250

A frozen turkey, a small mulberry pie from a local bakery, a free pair of running shoes of my choosing, a small gift certificate to a running store. All of these were age group awards, and of them, the free running shoes was the best. It was for winning the most points in my age group in a four race series.

I won $20,000 and a handmade rocking chair with Nike Swooshes for the rockers for a 2:12:12 marathon. Besides money, over the years I won many prizes including TVs, radios, crystal peaches, stained glass wall hangings, and many trophies. Probably the strangest prize was a walrus oosik (look it up).

$1000 for first master at San Francisco Marathon in 1992 in 2:38.

Gold Medal at World Championships! Over 75,000 USD won.

Kachina doll, 5k, 19:48, 50-55.

Bottle of "Leg Strength?" pills, Sprint triathlon relay. Not sure what was in them.

Won a marvel themed 10k race : 34:36 in Mexico City; won a trip for two to disney california to run the avengers inaugural half marathon

Prize Man wrote:

Prize: Keg Coupon

Race: 5k

Time: 15:43

Threw an epic party a month or two later and only remember parts of it.

Won $300 for first grandmaster + $100 for third over 40 at 10k in Tupelo about 10 years ago. Ran 37:04 at age 54, I think.

oldie wrote:

malmo wrote:

You're the guy who won that? Well done. You've got 15 more checks to go.

They actually had this race series a few years. The promoters were very sketchy Hollywood blowhards so the safest thing was to convert the prize into a bonded annuity, keep the watch, sell the computer and Jeep to friends, and take many AA trips to Vegas and the free hotels.

Who is going to offer STRIPS to those blowhards?

zonker wrote:

I won $20,000 and a handmade rocking chair with Nike Swooshes for the rockers for a 2:12:12 marathon. Besides money, over the years I won many prizes including TVs, radios, crystal peaches, stained glass wall hangings, and many trophies. Probably the strangest prize was a walrus oosik (look it up).

I remember someone winning a rocking chair back in the day. My best guess is the 1981 Nike OTC Marathon.

folks, money isn't everything!

my all-time favorite: after a shockingly well-attended local mountain running race, i won a 20kg sack of apples, several bottles of apple cider and wine as well as a few other organic products, a total of well over 30kg, not to forget my bag with all my own stuff.

i was totally exhausted after the finish and was proud of my result. wonderful atmosphere and good conversations.

somehow the shuttle service was down and i had to walk back all the miles with all the stuff on my own and got lost somewhere in the forest trying to shorten the damn route. i didn't want to leave anything behind either, a matter of honor. the way back was much harder than the race. i was unable to walk stairs for days.

wisenheimer at work wrote:

folks, money isn't everything!

my all-time favorite: after a shockingly well-attended local mountain running race, i won a 20kg sack of apples, several bottles of apple cider and wine as well as a few other organic products, a total of well over 30kg, not to forget my bag with all my own stuff.

i was totally exhausted after the finish and was proud of my result. wonderful atmosphere and good conversations.

somehow the shuttle service was down and i had to walk back all the miles with all the stuff on my own and got lost somewhere in the forest trying to shorten the damn route. i didn't want to leave anything behind either, a matter of honor. the way back was much harder than the race. i was unable to walk stairs for days.

Best story yet!

Prize: $150 gift card

Race: Half Marathon

Time: 1:22:09

I only ever got one prize in a race. Took third in my age group at a small Florida marathon and got a license plate commemorating the race.

First and only time I won a prize in a running competition, and I walked the entire way. A certain irony there. Time, just under 5:40.

dhaaga wrote:

roughly 2011 I won round-trip plane tickets (2) to anywhere in US for winning a small 5k on the campus of the college where I teach (around 18:30?). My wife and daughter (HS senior then) used them to cover a college visit.

The next year one good runner heard about the prize and showed up and demolished me, and I don't think they've held the race since then. Very unusual for this area (DC) to have a prize worth much yet few or no fast runners in the field.

Maybe that’s why I won the female 5k in 2012? ? I don’t recall a prize just pride b/c I surprised myself of winning and plus the race was for a good cause. I was very close of breaking 21, (mid forties) if only I had other runners to push me. It was a very small race, but it certainly felt good to PR.?

trip to japan. hit by a car a few weeks later and broke leg and couldn't go....

Prize Man wrote:

Prize: Keg Coupon

Race: 5k

Time: 15:43

Threw an epic party a month or two later and only remember parts of it.

some thing to keep in mind before travelling <a href="

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Ooh this is is a tough one I've been fortunate with some prizes mainly at smaller races. My favorite is a cross country 5K called Run for the Hills held at a winery in Paso Robles that was a fundraiser for the local schools. It wasn't a huge field probably 250 people or so but there were a few serious runners and I figured I'd try to keep up with the young guns and see how it went.

Things started out pretty quick on a fairly dirt access road next to the vineyard about 5:30 pace and then after a half mile we started turned into the vines and things got hilly fast. Mainly up and down until we got to what is probably the steepest hill I have ever run and the footing was pretty dicey as it was dried clay and pretty slippery. The pace started to slow a bit and I was fortunate I had brought my trail shoes but the leader wasn't so lucky and took a pretty nasty wipeout on one of the downhills and decided to take it easy. I ended up battling one other person and edged him by a few seconds for first place and took home two cases of wine that ended up being quite good which is much better than the trinkets and modest trophies that many races offer today. I think my time ended up being just under 20 minutes which I felt pretty solid about given how hilly the route was.

Runner up would be winning the over 40 division at the Sacramento Beer week 5K a few years back. I got a passport that gave me a free beer at everyone of the 40+ breweries in the Sacramento area. plus a ton hats, shirts, and other brewery swag.

My weight in wine as first master at the 2000 Napa Valley Marathon in 2:31