Medal Board

I love to run and collecting the bling has been a great inspiration for me to keep running!

I ran my first road race in September 2013 with a few of my girlfriends.  It was a long, hot grueling race in the middle of the Texas summer sun.  The race itself was fun, but did I mention it was HOT!!!  It was a flat 5k and the race got me the taste of racing that I love today.  Fast forward to race #6 in April 2014 where I got my first medal.  Yes, a participation medal, but bling none the less.

During a race in 2015, I overheard someone say that they goal that year was to run 15 races for 2015.  I thought that sounded like a great idea and decided that 16 races for 2016 was where my mind was set.  My now husband (he still could have backed out with my crazy ideas at this point) decided to do it with me.

Between the medals my husband has and the ones I have, we needed a good way to display them.  We decided on a medal board.  Because we made this one ourselves, we were able to completely customize it to our wants.  Basic guide on how we did it is below.

Medal Board Completed!

 I absolutely love how it turned out!  Although my husband has said he does not have a desire to ever do a marathon, he still has a spot for a time in the event he changes his mind.  For now, we just try to beat our best times each time we race.

Materials:
1- 1x12x2ft (length is up to you) pine board
pre-stain
stain (color of your choice- Jacobean was used for this project)- we typically use Minwax for the pre-stain and stain; it is easy to apply and I really like the color options
chalk board paint
vinyl & vinyl cutting machine
Hillman Steel Screw Hooks (however many you want)- we used 44 total- 22 on each row
Sander with 220 grit sandpaper

Instructions:
1. CUT: After identifying what we wanted the board to say (our names on each of the sides with the 5k, 10k, half, and full) we were able to determine the legnth of board that would be needed.  A 2ft cut board seemed to work the best.  You can find 1x12 boards at your local hardware store. You do not need any fancy wood, we ended up with the select pine which is the higher end pine just so that we had a smoother, non-twisted board.

2. SAND: We cut the board down to the 2ft and gave it light sanding with a 220 grit sandpaper.  If you board is super rough, you can start with a 180 grit and then move to the 220 grit to give it the finished smooth feel.

3. STAIN: For the stain, we decided on a bit of a darker color, Minwax Jacobean, which gave the very rich look we were looking for.  We did go with a second coat so that the stain could really soak into the grain and give an extra rich look.  TIP: For best results when staining, use a pre-stain which helps the wood take the stain.  TIP: Wipe off extra stain and then let dry. You want the stain to go onto the wood in a smooth even tones and by wiping off the excess, you will reduce the chances of blotchy wood spots.  You can always put on additional coats of stain but it is harder to remove the blotchy spots caused by excess stain.  You will know the stain is dry when it is not sticky to the touch.

4. PAINT:  Although the stain can says it is dry in a few hours, we did let it dry overnight as we were going to paint on top of the stain on one side.  We taped off 1" around the top and sides with painters as we had 1" painters tape.  For the bottom, we left a 3" space for the medal hooks.  Two coats of black chalk board paint later, and we were ready for the hooks.

5. HARDWARE:  We started off with 22 hooks along the bottom and then quickly realized our love of running has made it so that we needed room for more medals, so a total of 44 hooks were used.  We spaced them an 1" apart horizontally and in between the top row for the 2nd row. (More tips on how to add hardware will be in other posts.)

6 FINISHING TOUCH:  I used my Cricut Maker to cut the white vinyl names and race distances.  When we first made the board, I had just hand chalked on the board- I love the way the upgrade turned out!

Medal Board before vinyl

Medal Board Completed!