What is the best race swag you’ve ever received?
Very few runners say it was their race shirt, with the exception of those races we worked so dang hard for or the races who go above and beyond to create a wonderful long sleeve tech shirt.
Usually I hear things like this:
- My Nike Women’s Tiffany Necklace (though we never wear it)
- Free race photos
- An apple pie! (Feasters Five Thanksgiving race gives away 9,000)
- A medal that doubled as a wine stopper or bottle opener
Which lead me to start using my long runs to ponder what race swag we’d rather have!! Race directors, you’re welcome in advance.
Thanks to Dani for the shirt idea.
Best Race Swag Ideas
Feel free to share these with all your race friends and let’s get a movement started!! Down with brown colored scratchy shirts filled with logos and onward to things that will truly bring us additional joy on the run!
Save Me Money
What if during registration we have to option to decline a medal and a race shirt?? Could I knock $50 off my registration? For some races, I’d 100% be on top of that option!
Instead of just convincing me to register sooner for less, now we could decrease things going in to the trash and reduce costs for the race director as well! BOOM!! Win for us. Win for the Earth. Win for them.
Shirt Customization
They often have medal engraving at race finish lines and I’d be all about an opportunity at the race expo to have my name screen printed on my race day shirt! This was actually another neat thing they offered in the Nike store next to the race expo. Which meant it was 1 machine and not really set up for handling EVERYONE, but what if that could be done!
Walk in to the expo, drop off your shirt, go get your bib, walk around and then pick it up. Head home, do your flat runner and then listen to everyone chant your name the next morning!
Race Photos
A few more races have started offering this and I can’t think of a better way for them to advertise! I mean hello, we all grab that photo whether good or horrendous (usually bad) and share it to social media with their logo on it.
Free Admission
Love it when a race finishes somewhere cool, so why not make free admission part of the game??
In Steamboat Springs, we headed straight to the Hot Springs and that would have been swagtastic! But it could be an amusement park, a Dave and Busters, a trampoline park, shoot anything that feels like a reward for us and those who have spent hours standing around waiting for a passing glimpse of our sweaty faces.
High Quality Socks!!
You know how often I wear a race shirt…ehhh once every couple months. You know how often I wear my favorite socks, every single week! Skip the shirt and send me on my way with a pair of dry fit socks that I can use anytime. Bonus points if you happen to work with Bombas, so we know that pairs are also being donated.
What would you add to this list of race swag we'd prefer to get?! #runchat #bibchat Share on XOHHH or better yet, give us some Body Wipes, a pair of compression socks and sandals to slide on at the finish line!! I mean seriously this is mastermind marketing! Print your logo on those bad boys and we’ll wear them for ages. 
A Legit Bag of Food
Instead of making me walk around to grab my free banana, gimme some legit food. Yes I’ve done a whole post on the best finish line food…but some of us aren’t exactly ready to eat right at that moment.
Instead, I propose sending us on our way with a big ol’ bag o’ food.
- A bottle of Farmer’s Juice (it lasts up to 30 days!)
- A bar of dark chocolate – not a piece, not a little fun size, gimme the whole dang bar.
- Giant Fortune Cookie filled specifically with predictions about how fabulous our next race will be.
- A bag of Perky Jerky for the protein lovers among us.
- Another brand new to use delicious snack because we feel like being rewarded.
- Ideally a bag of caramel popcorn with chocolate drizzle because that happens to be the one food post marathon I can eat without feeling nauseous.
Finisher Donations
Want a really whacky idea?! What if instead of giving us gear or glasses or such, you made a donation for every runner who finishes the race? A little added motivation to find our way to the finish line because if we don’t, the donation goes down!
It doesn’t even have to be the Michael Scott oversized check presentation, just let us know it’s happening or give us a few places to drop a ticket from our bib at the finish line to vote on which organization gets our donation!!
Oddly, one of the best swag bags I’ve found was for a virtual race…the Virtual Garfield Race!! If medals are more your thing, checkout these races with the best bling!
What’s the best race swag you’ve ever gotten?
What swag would get you excited to sign up??
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Wendy
I agree! If I had a dollar for every race shirt that went into the giveaway pile… if they’re going to give us a shirt, make it one they’d actually wear! Socks are great…I got a super cute stocking cap at the Chicago Shamrock Shuffle this year…
Laura Norris
Several local races in my area give the option to save money on registration if you opt out of a shirt. I have so many race shirts that I almost always take that option! One marathon I ran gave out buffs and socks, and I still use those frequently.
Alexis
At my first half marathon, they really did an awesome long sleeve tech shirt and I love that thing so much…but it makes the rest of my race shirts pretty “Meh”. I seem to collect etched drinking glasses with some type of logo to commemorate an event, so that would be cool. Otherwise, I could totally get on board with getting a big ol bag of food at the end. Specifically with lots of chocolate.
Julia
Thanks for the fun post!
Over here in europe it’s more common that a shirt is not included in the entry fee. So when you register you can choose if you want to pay more and get a shirt. I never went for this option to be honest – I just don’t need it! But socks… would be harder to resist :)!
amanda
ohhh this is new info to me!! I love that it’s already standard there, maybe we can get races here on board.
Chris
Shamrock Marathon/Half Marathon in Virginia Beach gave out a blanket one year at the finish line. I was so freaking cold, it was the best finish line gift EVER. The next few years they have been giving out beach blankets. The NCR Trail race in MD/PA gave out a blanket too. That blanket is incredible! It covers my entire sofa! The Love Run in Philly gave out food bags at the end of their half, including a soft pretzel!
As a fundraiser, I ADORE the idea that the race will donate a set dollar amount for every runner who finishes the race!! What an amazing idea!