Philadelphia Marathon issues apology after race runs out of medals

Thousands of runners gathered in the City of Brotherly Love for the 30th year of the Philadelphia Marathon weekend. The participants enjoyed ideal conditions and achieved fast times, but unfortunately, the race ran out of finisher’s medals, leaving more than 500 runners without one.

Nearly 17,000 runners finished the half marathon and 8K on Saturday, but some of the half-marathon finishers who were over two hours and 30 minutes did not receive a medal at the end of the race.

“This was deeply upsetting to find out there were no medals left,” one finisher wrote on Instagram. “This race has been around for 30 years. How does one underestimate medals by that much? X participants = X medals. #notacceptable.”

“There were a lot of people that didn’t get it near the end and it’s kind of disappointing when you’re a slow runner,” another finisher wrote.

Philadelphia Marathon organizers said in a statement that they received record-breaking registration numbers and expected fewer runners to actually show up–a very high-risk, low-reward scenario. They sent an apology to all participants on Sunday, admitting the error and ensuring each finisher would eventually get a medal.

“This year, we witnessed phenomenal weather, with record-breaking registration and an unprecedented number of day-of-race participants. However, with great numbers comes great responsibility, and we acknowledge that we fell short in ensuring every runner received a medal today. We understand the disappointment of not receiving a medal after your hard work. Please know that we are committed to rectifying this and dedicated to making this right for you.”

The race also promised to send a discount code to medal-less finishers for next year’s race.

posted Tuesday November 21st
by Marley Dickinson