Medals to Spare?

Somewhat off topic, but if you are a person interested in charitable activities, then this one is for you.

As some of you may know, I just completed the Virginia Beach Rock N’ Roll Half-Marathon during the Labor Day holiday weekend.  Yay, me!  My first half-marathon was earlier this year at the Nashville Country Music Half-Marathon.  At both races, I received a “finisher’s medal” – a medal given to each and every person who crosses the finish line, regardless of time.  Its a great idea – you get a wonderful sense of accomplishment strutting around with a medal hanging from your neck… even if you cannot walk straight for the next few hours…

In the October 2008 Runner’s World, there is a wonderful article that offers a suggestion on what to do with all those clunky medals once they start collecting dust with your old and discarded running shoes.  Donate them to Medals4Mettle, a nonprofit organization that collects race medals and donates them to people battling illnesses.  According to the article, most medals go to children’s hospitals.

“Dr. Walsh, medical director of the cardiac transplant program at St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, hands out about five medals a year to patients who have traveled a particularly difficult road.  ‘I say: I would like to give you this medal.  It’s my recognition of your struggle,’ Dr. Walsh says.  ‘Later, my patients have told me that it meant the world to them to have their doctor acknowledge how hard their battle is.’”

In reading the article, I felt particularly blessed to be physically able to run both half-marathons.  I will be donating both of my medals, hoping that it can lift the spirits of a person who does not have the luxury of being able to run.  A quote in the article says it best: “The children who battle deadly diseases are far more deserving of this medal than I am … they deserve to be honored and cured.”

If you are a runner and have medals just hanging around, and you would like more information about Medals4Mettle, visit www.medals4mettle.org.