Kathy Connor loves the Boston Marathon. She loves friendship. She loves the mystique of the world's oldest annual marathon, which dates back to 1897. She loves the idea of being able to run the same rugged courses conquered by greats like Catherine Switzer, Meb Keflezighi and Des Linden.
Connor, 58, loves the Boston Marathon and has run it nine times. But there's one thing she and many of her fellow runners don't like. It's a redesigned medal that will be awarded to the 30,000 athletes who complete the 46.2-mile race on April 15th.
“When I saw the photo, I was a little disappointed,” Connor, a graphic designer from Pittsburgh, said in a phone interview. “Why ruin a good thing? This is no turkey trot.”
The new medals are quite similar to past versions. The main image, as always, is the golden unicorn, the long-standing logo of the marathon's organizing body, the Boston Athletic Association.
However, the new medal caused a backlash among purists due to important differences. It has been redesigned to feature a large banner from the race's corporate sponsor, Bank of America, along the bottom edge.
“I don't like how it suddenly looks like it's the Bank of America Marathon,” said George Christopher, 55, of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. “The Boston Athletic Association has very little to do with the marathon. ” he said.
The Boston Marathon has been awarding finisher medals since 1983, and countless other marathons have adopted this practice since then. But for the Boston finishers, this medal appears to be especially important. You can't just walk into Boston on a whim. With some exceptions, you must have achieved a qualifying time in another marathon or be willing to raise money for charity.
The race is also grueling, hilly and occasionally stormy. You can earn a finisher medal.
Eve Lanham, 39, hopes to run fast enough at Saturday's Rebel Mount Charleston Marathon in Las Vegas to qualify to run in Boston next year.
“For avid marathon runners, Boston is sacred ground,” Lanham, who lives in San Diego, said in an email. “For someone like me, running Boston would be a huge accomplishment, but probably not something I could do on a regular basis. I hope the medals are of high quality and that the iconic unicorn is featured. We want that and not have another ad for a big bank as our main focus.”
Bank of America is in its first year as the race's presenting sponsor after 38 years of operation by Boston-based insurance company John Hancock. This is also the first time that a company logo has been emblazoned across the front of the medal, so the bank wasted no time in making a major change.
After a local TV news story about the production of the new medal aired in February, a thread on Reddit captured the general mood of “Nauseous!” someone wrote.
A few weeks later, marathon officials posted a photo of the medal on Instagram. But if they were expecting to be praised for their sustainability efforts, such as medals and ribbons made from recycled materials, they miscalculated. The comment section was ablaze. Reactions ranged from “very disappointing” to “very sad.” The trash can emoji was frequently used.
“The BAA understands how much finisher medals mean to Boston Marathon athletes,” a Boston Athletic Association spokesperson said in a statement, adding, “As has been the case for decades, participants will I feel like they will wear it with pride and take good care of it,” he added. reach the finish line. ”
Representatives for Bank of America did not respond to requests for comment.
In October, Lanham ran the Chicago Marathon, also sponsored by the bank. But the race's medals were “much more elegantly made,” she said, with her brand name written across the top in a relatively modest typeface.
Christopher, who ran Boston in 2020 as a pandemic-era virtual race, said he's excited to hit the course in person later this month. He also understands the collective frustration with the new medal. He has a different breed made by the same company.
“It's a great medal,” he said. “But the Boston medal had kind of been around for a while, and I think everyone was looking forward to getting a medal that looked like that.”
Connor, who ran his first marathon at age 39 and has since completed it at age 37, understands the hard work that goes into it better than anyone. Last weekend, she completed her final long distance run, 21 miles, in preparation for her 10th Boston Marathon. Are you disappointed with the new medal? of course.
“Because it’s always about money,” she said.
But the chunk of recycled metal emblazoned with the brand's logo hasn't dampened her enthusiasm, she says, including at France's Marathon du Médoc, where athletes can win a different kind of prize: a glass of wine each time. She said she hopes to run more marathons. aid station.