Goody bags in races

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  • Salesforce strikers summer 10k was excellent DOG in a Sainsbury bag but food, muscle rub,supplements a good medal and cake as well Lincoln 10k 2013 was dreadful and a waste of a bag

  • Loved the Highland Perthshire Half Marathon.

    T shirt was great, got jelly babies and the usual sweet treats, but it was the freebies at the end which were amazing (I guess they still count as part of a goodie bag!)

    There were great food and drink stalls and all available food and drink was free to runners so I filled my belly happily.  There were free massages, by proper sports massage people who made my legs feel so much better, I loved it.  And you got free access to a nice pool for a good swim after. 

  • Bala triathlon gave bath towels and a tesco shopping bag (the blue re-usable ones) all are regularly used in my house.

    t shirt, the best one I have got is from the Amsterdam marathon,a nice flattering fitted tech t shirt.

  • Loved the Gosport Half Marathon goodie bag - nothing flashy but a nice reuseable bag, a drink, crisps and best of all home made cake. Approx 1500 people do the Gosport Half so thats a lot of baking and so thoughtful.

     

    Although no goodie bag for the British 10k you did get two technical tshirts one long sleeve and one short so handy for both winter and summer. Plus you get them before the race so nice to all wear the same on the day. Although £50 to enter better than some other big races in London which are around the £40 mark and get the usual samples in the goody bag.

  • Blaydon race has a goody bag with your T shirt and the usual cereal bars but all from local firms. It also includes a bottle of beer from the local Wylam brewery specially labelled for the Blaydon run. Given the history of the race for some these bottles are collectors items

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  • It's got to be FOOD! At Market Drayton this year, finishers got a crate of 8(!!) Muller yoghurts, pork pie, sausage roll, and a beer voucher for a local pub. There was even more stuff that I can't remember but those were the highlights from an excellent cheap local race.

  • If I remember the Glenlivit 10km was at the distillery. There was a minature bottle of Glenlivit whisky, some short bread and a running magazine in the bag.

    Other good bags I had included a protein shake or energy gel.

    The Leeds Triathlon did not have a free tshirt but had some toothpaste in the bag, which I find random.  

  • The other day I ran the Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham. For the £29 entry fee I recieved a medal, a banana, a chocolate bar, a cereal bar and a bottle of Lucozade Sport. Of course I could have had a t-shirt as well, but that would have been an additional £14!

  • I like races that give technical t-shirts. Except the last two I have done (BAcchus half and Richmond Runing Festival 10k) only bothered with mem's sizes where even a small is too big for me. All the more annoying cos the Richmond one realy sold itse;f on the t-shirt, which was a very god quality one madeby nike. They'd never dream of only having wmen's t-shirts and just giving large size to blokes so why should women put up with it!

     

    I also did the Ealing Half last week where we got a nice print of a drawing of some runing shoes and the medal. It's a unique mometo, but I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with it!

  • Cardiff 10k this year was rubbish. There was no goodie bag at all! I know its not really the point of the race, but its a bit of fun - I like a bit of food as a treat!

  • Caerphilly 10k was a good goodie bag and the medal is the best looking 1 i'v had.

     

    Cardiff half marathon bag they gave you was a waste of time. Just a horrible tasting drink and a fruit bar and loads of paper.. The tech t-shirt was very nice though

  • Longleat 10k always seems to have a good goody bag. I remember getting honey & salt peanuts one year and I'm still addicted to them. Plus the medal's shaped like a lion, I'm easily pleased!

  • Loch Ness Marathon is good - plenty of food (excellent!), beer, a ticket for a hot meal, a technical tee-shirt and a very nice medal.

    I love the medals, very happy whenever I receive one and will often go after races which have unusual or especially bling medals!

    Not really interested in samples unless they are immediately useful after the race - such as 2 sachets of shampoo and conditioner at the Great Swim - perfect for washing London dock water away!  Food is always great - maltloaf, energy bars, Mars bar, banana, water, energy and/or a ticket for free hot food.  After the Mo Runs you get a free bacon bap which if you are not veggie went down a treat.  Always tired and hungry after a race so anything that makes me feel human again is appreciated.

    I have a lot of tee-shirts, but not much wardrobe space for many more so I prefer an option to purchase the tee-shirt separately and if it is a very special race I will buy it.

  • Has to be something useful (e.g. technical T-shirt) or to eat/drink (banana / gel / meal ticket etc). As someone else wrote, goody bags are for children's parties. Tat for tat's sake is just producing more waste in a world which doesn't recycle enough anyway. It's not a money issue - I would still pay the same entry fee and would rather the money went into providing more marshalling better / course signage / toilets, showers, whatever.

    And (I know this is contentious) but I have a problem with the concept of finishers' medals for middle distance events. I can understand them being an incentive for marathons, where just finishing is an achievement for some, but for running 7km?

  • Nene Valley 10 just had a bottle of water and a drinks bottle! But then again, it was a quick, flat, 10 mile race and only cost me £11.

    So I class the drinks bottle as a bonus! They have done it the right way round.

  • Yes I agree on putting that money into the race itself. Goodies along the way are much appreciated - perhaps a range of energy sweets/flapjacks/salty snack especially in distance races.  Best goody I ever had was a proper shower after a half marathon in 30 degree heat this year.    But I still love the medals.

    medal for a 7km?  I would always use to try and go for a PB - a medal will seem worth it then image

  • Wycombe Half organsiers (Handy Cross Runners) always give a great goody bag. Tech T, medal, mars bar, fruit, pens and whatever the RO can scrounge from sponsors!

  • @aizxana - fair enough, it's good to use whatever you can for motivation, that's for sure!

    My 7km run comment came from a race I did a few years back, where I don't think I really gave my all - think I felt a bit sheepish being given a medal that day! 

  • It depends on the race, some are very low cost and so I don't expect a goody bag, but the bigger events should have decent medals at least.

    Strangely, the bib numbers are actually the bit which I tend to keep. The medals go to the kids apart from marathon medals which seem more like I did something special for them.

  • Last race I did there was no bag thank god but cereal bars, water and bananas.  Perfect finish to an enjoyable race.....shame about the extra 0.4 of a mile...can't have everything!

  • St. Neots Half had a decent goody bag.

    Decent long-sleeved tech top in non-garish colours, couple of drinks and lots of snacks, crisps and chocolate, along with the usual flyers and vouchers.

    It's also a fantastic half marathon!

  • My fave goody prize is a mug with the race details on it.  I have enough t-shirts, I like it when you get a different momento!

    http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/target262/sub-400-finalists.aspx

  • I received a small black towel with the race name printed on it, from my first ever race. Still have it somewhere...

  • Bracknell half marathon, this year they had towels with Bracknell half marathon embroider on it, also some other stuff oh and the bag was a draw string bag to shove muddy shoes in afterwards!
  • AT - both the towel and the bag from that event have been well used by me image

  • The first medal i had was at a santa run in merthyr last year,i was absolutly thrilledimage,so medals to some runners are really worth it 

  • Like Ben I too keep my bib numbers, I kinda like the history of them.. Becoming not so bothered about goody bags much now as there's been some stinkers this year.. Lincoln 10k, a bag of flyers and a space blanket but no food. As the Leeds Morun, no headband and nothing of interest in the bag. Sack the goodies and knock a few quid off the entry. I'd enter more races or travel that bit further to run somewhere new.
  • Thames Meander has the best medal and all sorts of food pre and post race

  • The now defunct Antrobus Cabbage Canter provided a large cabbage in the goody bag.  Very tasty with a bit of bacon image

  • I like having a medal, I am not that fussed by anything else.

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