You finish the race. You get your medal. You wear it around for a bit, take some photos, show it off at breakfast. Then you go home — and where does it end up?
For most Filipino runners, the answer is a drawer. Or a box under the bed. Or hanging off a doorknob until someone asks you to move it.
It's not that you don't care about it. You earned that medal. You woke up at 3:30 AM for it. But there's no obvious home for it, so it gets stored, not displayed.
Here are the most common things Filipino runners do with their race medals, and which options are actually worth it.
Put Up a Medal Hanger or Rack
A medal hanger is a hook or horizontal bar you mount on the wall. Medals hang from their ribbons, displayed and accessible. You can find them on Shopee for ₱200–₱800 depending on size, and some come with motivational text or running figure designs.
The upside is that your medals are visible every day. Guests notice them. You see them when you wake up.
The downside shows up around 20+ medals — it starts looking cluttered, and not every home setup has a dedicated wall for it. Rented apartments and condo units make wall mounting complicated.
Best for runners with a bedroom or gym area where a dedicated medal wall makes sense.
Display Them in a Shadow Box or Frame
A shadow box is a glass-front display case where you arrange medals alongside race bibs, photos, and finisher certificates. More of a tribute than storage.
You can commission custom ones from craft shops in Cebu or find ready-made options on Shopee. Expect ₱500–₱2,000 depending on size and customization.
It looks genuinely good when done right — clean, framed, the kind of thing you'd hang in an office or living room. The limitation is capacity. Each box fits only so many races, and adding new medals means updating the whole display.
Best for commemorating a specific milestone — a first marathon, a 21K personal record, or a race with a story behind it.
Pass Them On
Some runners give medals away. To younger siblings, kids in the family, or nieces and nephews who think they're cool. Some donate to community programs or schools. A few pass them to fellow runners who DNF'd a race but still want the memento.
If you've been running for years and the medals have started losing individual meaning, this is a real option. Most runners find it hard to part with them though — each one ties back to a specific morning, a specific finish line.
Store Them in a Box (The Honest Default)
Let's be real. This is where most medals end up. A shoebox, a plastic bin, a Ziploc bag somewhere in the cabinet.
They're not damaged. They're not lost. But they're also invisible — to you and everyone else. Nobody knows you finished a half marathon. Nobody sees the 10K you ran three months pregnant, or the one where you PR'd after two years of trying.
The medals are there, tangled together, doing nothing.
This is the drawer problem. And it's exactly why Norman built RunMate.
Build a Digital Medal Wall with RunMate
RunMate is a free race journal app built for Filipino runners. When you log a race, you upload your bib photo and medal photo. They get added to your digital medal wall — a clean, public profile page that shows every race you've finished.
Your medals are visible. Your stats are visible. Anyone with your profile link can see your full running history, without needing to log in.
- Log every race — distance, finish time, date, location, bib photo, medal photo. All in one place.
- Public medal wall — your profile at runmateapp.com/u/[username] is shareable. Send the link in the family group chat.
- No physical space needed — works in a condo, a rented room, anywhere. Your wall lives on your phone.
- Free to use — log up to 10 races for free. RunMate Pro unlocks unlimited entries plus a gold profile ring.
It's not a replacement for the physical medal — you keep that. It's a way to make your running history visible and shareable instead of buried in a box.
You can browse real runner profiles on the RunMate runners page to see what medal walls look like in practice.
Which Option Do Filipino Runners Actually Use?
From watching the RunMate community grow, most runners want their medals visible but don't have the wall setup for a physical display. Apartments and rented rooms make mounting difficult. A digital medal wall fills that gap — it costs nothing, takes no physical space, and you can pull it up on your phone anytime someone asks how your running is going.
The runners who get the most out of RunMate are the ones who have been running for years and finally have somewhere to put all of it. Every race, every finish time, every medal — organized in one place instead of scattered across drawers and boxes.
If you've been running fun runs in the Philippines and wondering what to do with the collection building up at home, start your free medal wall on RunMate. It takes five minutes to log your first race.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fun Run Medals
What do most Filipino runners do with their race medals?
Most Filipino runners end up storing their medals in a drawer, box, or bin at home. A smaller number display them on a medal hanger or in a shadow box. RunMate offers a free digital medal wall where you can log every race and display your medals online on a public profile.
How do I display fun run medals at home in the Philippines?
The most common options are a medal hanger mounted on the wall (available on Shopee for ₱200–₱800), a shadow box frame for a curated display, or a digital medal wall using RunMate — which is free and works on any device without taking up physical space.
Is there an app to track and display race medals in the Philippines?
Yes. RunMate is a free race journal app built for Filipino runners. You log each race, upload your bib and medal photos, and they appear on your public medal wall — a shareable profile page showing your full running history.
Can I show off my race medals online?
Yes. With RunMate, every race you log gets added to your public profile at runmateapp.com/u/[username]. Your medal wall is visible to anyone with your link — no login required for viewers.
How do I keep my race medals from getting tangled?
Hang them individually on a medal rack or hanger — ribbons stay separate and medals stay visible. If storing in a box, wrap each medal loosely in tissue or a small cloth pouch to prevent scratching and tangling.
