Runners know: the medal matters. It’s the tangible reward for the early mornings, sore muscles and mental grit. That’s why the Deseret News Marathon—the state’s longest-running marathon—has partnered with Utah-based SymbolArts to design this year’s race medals. And with new relay offerings and an expanded medal lineup, this year’s 24th of July race promises to be one for the books.
SymbolArts, a longtime leader in high-quality custom awards, brings four decades of experience to the table, and medals to the finish line. Headquartered in Ogden, the company is a premier vendor for events nationwide, including US Speedskating, the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, the NCAA and the Ogden Marathon. For this year’s Deseret News Marathon SymbolArts is helping elevate the entire race experience.
“We’re thrilled to be working with SymbolArts because their local customer service and presence is phenomenal,” said Corbin Talley, race director of the Deseret News Marathon and the head coach of Weber State men’s track and field team. “We can go right into their store in Ogden and work with them.”
The collaboration has already paid off. “We have a design team and created a medal design this year based on past years,” Talley said. “SymbolArts enhanced it based on their expertise—things they know better. We haven’t seen that in any place we’ve ever worked with before.”
Talley, who ran his first Deseret News 10K in 1991 and his first Deseret News Marathon in 2002, knows just how meaningful a race medal can be. “A medal is important to a runner because it captures the emotion of the race—what you put into preparing, participating and celebrating,” he said. “We wanted people to see their Deseret News Marathon medal and relive the event. We wanted it to stand out.”
This year, SymbolArts also helped develop awards for the marathon’s new team relay options. Runners can now complete the full marathon as a relay team of two to four participants. The course is divided into four legs, and teams can compete in divisions like Corporate, Family, Senior (age 55+), and Youth (under 20). The top three teams in each division will receive custom-designed relay batons and finisher medals—with a traveling trophy up for grabs in the Corporate Division.
From Metal to Medal
Matthew Young, national sales manager at SymbolArts, said the collaboration with Deseret News felt like a natural fit. “The Deseret News has many sports awards, from high school on up,” he said. “They provided insights to make the marathon medal meaningful.”
Creating a medal is far more complex than most people realize. “You have to consider how it will look on metal,” Young explained. “Someone might have a design in mind, but at SymbolArts we can make it pop by using hard enamel or other design specifications they may not have considered.”
SymbolArts offers an in-house team of designers who can assist at every stage of the process, whether a client arrives with a fully sketched concept or a blank slate. “They can sit down with a blank sheet and come up with something amazing,” Young said. Once a design is finalized, production begins. For an order of about 5,000 medals, production typically takes four to six weeks.
Beyond their technical expertise, SymbolArts is known for helping clients create medals that hold deep personal meaning. “Race medals serve as meaningful symbols of perseverance, dedication and achievement,” Young said. “Each medal is a tribute to the story behind the race.”
That storytelling aspect is central to SymbolArts’ work. Whether it’s through custom engraving, unique shapes or subtle design nods to the race route or theme, every detail is designed to help athletes remember not just the finish line, but the journey.
Ogden Marathon Partnership
This approach has also shaped SymbolArts’ work with the Ogden Marathon. Every year, the event features a new artist who designs a poster—then works with SymbolArts to translate a portion of that design into that year’s medal. “We do an artist callout,” said Troy Callantine, executive director of the Ogden Marathon. “The artist, the Ogden Marathon and SymbolArts all collaborate to bring it to life.”
Callantine praised the partnership. “They are a good creative team. They’re prompt. And they help us at meetings to move things forward. They are a true partner with us—a true stakeholder in the process.”
SymbolArts’ work doesn’t stop at marathons. The company is the exclusive licensee for America’s 250th anniversary public safety badges and challenge coins. They also serve as the exclusive provider for Scouting America’s America250TM products, combining national significance with local craftsmanship. Symbol Arts is also the preferred national licensee for markets other than public safety and Scouting America.
As runners line up on July 24 for the next Deseret News Marathon, many will be thinking about their pace, their hydration and their personal goals. But once they cross the finish line, they’ll be greeted with more than a medal—they’ll receive a piece of art that represents every step, every sacrifice and every triumph.
Because when it comes to race day, SymbolArts understands that making moments count means making medals matter.