DIY Gifts for Runners

If you know someone like me who must have #allthemedals, probably one of the most thoughtful things you can do for that person would be to help them solve the problem of what to do with those medals.

Let's face it, medals are pretty useless. Who decided that the award for completing a foot race should be a piece of jewelry that is way too big, too heavy, and too weird to wear the day after the event is over?

Medals are pretty good, however, at covering patches of bare wall in your house. You could hang your medals with a hammer and nail, easy enough - but that's boring. And puts a lot of holes in your wall.

You can also find medal hanging solutions at most race expos, but they'll generally run you $50 plus. I saw one vendor at my first runDisney expo during the Wine and Dine Half that sold a solution that would let you mount your medal, race bib, and a photo in one, which was awesome but had a hefty price tag of over $100! No thanks, I'd rather put that money towards running more races!

So I just bought a shadow box at Michael's craft store and made this myself for $20:

This worked as a great way to commemorate our first runDisney race. But, as you may know, we've done quite a few more races in the last three years. So check out what we made this month with things you can get from Home Depot:

Here are the things you need for this project:

Wood

Wood stain

Galvanized pipe

Metallic spray paint (galvanized pipe is pretty dirty - clean it well, then spray the heck out of it)

Flange

Guy with a drill

Do I really need to give step by step instructions on how to make this? Just make sure you measure appropriately to be able to drill into your studs, you want to make sure it's well supported so you can add all of your fancy runDisney medals to it.

Here's the best part - mine is already looking pretty full, right? But if I start running again and need more space, the solution is super easy:

I just need to unscrew the cap and add on another length of pipe! If I get an elbow fitting, I can really have this thing run all over my home office.