framing my wings

Once I got home from the Tinker Bell 1/2 Marathon with my medal, I knew I wanted to be able to frame it in some nice memorable way. First, because it’s just too darn pretty not to, and secondly, because it might be the only running medal I’ll ever own and frame. But when I perused the “commemorative items” section at runDisney.com, my options were pretty limited and very expensive.

There were lots of options over the $150 level, but since I’d already paid $125 to run the race, I wasn’t too excited about paying more just to remember it. Around the $100 mark there were two options: the “Artwork & Photo Display” frame from Lasting Commemoratives ($125) was a bit too gaudy for me, and the “Brass Box” from Fond Memory Graphics ($109) was too brassy and just wouldn’t fit in anywhere.

Now most of the cost in these displays comes from the “extra” medal that you get in the frame… but then what would I do with the original medal? Wear it around the house on a rainy day? I was pretty much not crazy or excited for either of these options, so as usual, I decided to take care of things  myself.

And here was my simple solution:

A simple 11×14 black frame ($12.99) with an 11×14” white mat with 5×7 opening ($10.99), all from Aaron Brothers, and a specially printed “Finisher’s Plaque” ($20) from Lasting Commemoratives. With discounts and coupons and shipping, it all came to about $45 in total for my display, but at least this one can hang proudly on the wall.

As for other medal storage solutions I found along the way, you can check out the cutesy medal and bib hangers I found for bff Auds or these metal hangers as well.

How do you store display your racing (or other competition) memorabilia?