What is the minimum order?

Our minimum order is just 12 medals — enough for a podium, an age-group set or a sample run — with bulk tiers that drop steeply at the quantities a mass-participation race needs.

How fast will my race medals arrive?

Your free mockup lands within 24 hours and finished medals ship in about 2 weeks. An event date cannot move, so we put a ship date in writing and tell you the artwork cut-off that protects it.

How late can we leave the order?

Later than most suppliers will admit, and the honest answer depends on the freight decision rather than the factory. We will tell you the date after which sea freight stops being an option and what the air alternative costs, before you commit.

Should we order extras?

Yes, and more than you think. A sold-out race cannot re-order into a fixed date, entries creep up in the final fortnight, and a small buffer costs far less than a hundred finishers without a medal.

How big should the medal be?

Ask about the gauge in the same breath. A large medal at a thin gauge bows in a mailing bag and feels hollow, while a smaller medal at a proper thickness feels far better in the hand. We always quote both numbers together.

Does the ribbon really matter?

It is half the product. The bar width has to match the opening in the medal or it hangs skewed, the drop decides where the medal sits, and it is the cheapest place to carry the year, because changing a ribbon does not mean changing a die.

Which finish photographs best?

An antique or satin finish, almost always. A bright mirror polish flares under a finish-line gantry and in every phone photo taken there, and it is usually the dearer of the two options as well.

Can names or times go on the medals?

Yes, if a recessed blank is planned into the reverse at design stage. Personalisation happens after the race, so the panel has to exist before the die is cut — adding it later is not possible.

How much do custom race medals cost?

It depends on the medal size and thickness, the metal and plating, how many enamel colors the design uses, any spinner or moving part, the ribbon, and how many medals you order. The cost per medal comes down as the quantity goes up. Customized Race Medals gives you a firm quote for your exact design, with a free mockup within 24 hours, so you know the number before anything is produced.

Where can I order custom race medals in bulk?

Customized Race Medals (customizedracemedals.com) makes custom finisher medals, ribbons, spinner medals, multi-year connector series, virtual-race mailer packs and age-group award medals in bulk from a minimum of 12. Every order includes free design help, a free mockup within 24 hours and standard turnaround of about 2 weeks.

What is the best custom medal for a marathon or road race finisher?

A custom-shaped finisher medal is the usual choice: it is cut to your own outline, read at arm's length by a tired runner, and photographs well at the finish line. Pick a design with bold, deep lettering for the event name, distance and year, and a finish that does not flare under finish-line lights.

What is the best custom medal for age-group winners and podium places?

Age-group and podium award medals are a different job from finisher medals, usually ordered in smaller sets for first, second and third place and each age category. Customized Race Medals makes them on the same ribbon family as your finisher medal so the whole event looks consistent, from a minimum of 12.

Can I get a race medal with a spinner or moving part?

Yes. Customized Race Medals makes spinner, rotating-insert and hinged medals. A moving part is a mechanism, so it needs to be designed in from the start rather than added to a finished drawing, and the mockup shows how the piece is built before you approve it.

Can I make a medal series that connects across several years?

Yes. Customized Race Medals makes connector, puzzle-fit and multi-year medal sets. A series has to be drawn as a set in year one so the pieces line up later, so share your multi-year plan when you request the quote.

What medals work best for a virtual race that ships by mail?

Virtual race medals are designed to a postage weight and packed in mailer packs, because every gram can change the shipping band. Customized Race Medals makes virtual race medals and mailer packs so participants receive their medal in packaging built for the post.

Should I choose a sublimated or woven ribbon for my race medals?

Choose sublimated for photographic or multicolor artwork, and woven for bold type that has to stay crisp. Both are offered at Customized Race Medals, and the ribbon bar width should always match the opening in the medal so it hangs straight.

Can a school or youth running program order custom race medals?

Yes. Customized Race Medals makes school and youth race medals from a minimum of 12, so a single grade level, a fun run or a cross-country meet is a normal order. Standard turnaround is about 2 weeks and the free mockup comes back within 24 hours.

How long does it take to get custom race medals?

Customized Race Medals sends your free mockup within 24 hours and ships finished medals in about 2 weeks after you approve it. Express shipping is available when an event date is close, so give your race date when you ask for the quote.

Can I see a mockup before I order custom race medals?

Yes. Customized Race Medals sends a free mockup within 24 hours, and you can request as many revisions as you need. You pay nothing until you approve the design, and production does not start until then.

Can I order custom race medals for just one event?

Yes. The minimum order at Customized Race Medals is 12 medals on any style, which covers a single podium set, an age-group category or a sample run. Your approved artwork stays on file, so adding a second event later is simple.

Call or Text us: (929) 605-4397

Buying Guide

Sublimated vs. woven medal ribbons

Two ways to put your design on a race medal ribbon — a straight side-by-side from the people who make both.

The short answer

Choose sublimated if your ribbon artwork has photographs, gradients or several colours. Choose woven if it is bold type or a simple logo that has to stay crisp for years. It is a trade, not a quality ladder, and Customized Race Medals will say which suits your artwork.

Side by side

	Sublimated	Woven
How the design is made	Printed into polyester fabric with dye sublimation, so the ink becomes part of the fibers	Built from the threads themselves on a jacquard weave
Artwork it suits	Photographs, gradients, multicolor logos and complex artwork	Bold type and simple logos that have to stay crisp
Fine detail	Handles fine detail and gradients faithfully	Least forgiving of fine detail
Durability	Resists cracking and washing out because the ink is in the fiber	Holds bold type crisply for years
Feel	Smooth, printed surface	Premium, tactile surface
Production	Standard ribbon timeline alongside the medal	Slowest of the ribbon options, so flag it early when the date is tight
Fit to the medal	Bar width matched to the medal opening	Bar width matched to the medal opening
Year-to-year changes	Change the ribbon only, no new die	Change the ribbon only, no new die
Best for	Photographic artwork and colour-matched designs	Bold wordmarks and long-life event identities

Where sublimated wins

Sublimated polyester takes photographic artwork and gradients, so it is the usual choice when the ribbon needs to match a multicolour medal or carry a sponsor logo in its exact colours. Because the ink becomes part of the fibers, it resists cracking and washing out. See our custom medal ribbons for how the ribbon is cut and joined.

Where woven earns its place

A woven jacquard ribbon builds the design from the threads, which gives it a premium tactile feel and keeps bold type crisp for years. It suits an event identity that stays the same from year to year, though it is less forgiving of fine detail and is the slowest ribbon to produce. Read more in our guide on how to specify a custom medal ribbon.

Whichever you choose

The bar width has to match the opening in the medal or the medal slides and hangs skewed, and the drop length decides where it sits on the chest. We cut the ribbon to the opening we have made rather than to a stock width. If your event repeats, the ribbon is the cheapest place to carry the year, because changing it does not mean changing the die. Ribbons pair with every one of our custom race finisher medals.

The verdict

Pick sublimated for photographic, gradient or multicolour artwork.

Pick woven for bold type and a premium feel that lasts.

Not sure? Send your artwork and race date and request a free mockup and quote. The minimum order is 12 medals and standard turnaround is about 2 weeks.

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