Custom Race Medals in Canada: Who to Order From, and When

By Chen Deng · Founder, LAMOSE · Calgary, Alberta

Last updated: October 8, 2026 · Every supplier fact below is quoted from that supplier's own website, checked on this date.

One Canadian race director orders her medals four months ahead. One year her shipment still sat "for over a month in international waters and at customs," and arrived three days before race weekend.

So the first question isn't what your medal looks like. It's how many weeks you have left, because that decides what kind of medal you can still get.

The short answer. For a half or full marathon, order die-cast medals from a Canadian medal specialist at least three to four months out. For a 5K, fun run, charity walk or kids' dash under eight weeks away, order full-colour acrylic: no die to make, small minimums, and production measured in days, not months.

Pick by weeks left, not by looks

Medals come in three families. Each has a lead time it can't beat.

No mould, no 10-week wait

Charity & Fundraiser Medals

Full-colour acrylic cut to any shape, lanyard included. Order from one medal, with a free proof before anything prints.

Design your medal →

• Die-cast or die-struck. A custom mould is made for your design. Heavy, dimensional, the medal runners frame. Trophy Gallery quotes die cast as "Typically takes 6-8 weeks from point of design approval to the customer receiving the order." Race Directors HQ's industry guide says that when medals are produced overseas, "which is most medals," expect "a total lead time of 8-10 weeks before delivery."
• Stock medal with a full-colour insert. A ready-made medal body with your logo on a disc. Faster and cheap, but every event using that body looks related.
• Acrylic or wood, cut to shape. No mould. The same guide says these "can be manufactured locally" with "shorter turnaround times of about 1-2 weeks."

The trap is designing a die-cast medal in week six. By then you're paying rush fees for a format that needs ten weeks, or you're praying at the customs tracker.

Canadian medal suppliers, compared

These are the suppliers on page one of Google.ca for "custom race medals canada." Nothing below is an estimate. Where a site doesn't state a number, we say so.

One more resource worth knowing: Race Directors HQ keeps a Canada directory of medal suppliers reviewed by race directors. It's a list, not a maker, but it's a good place to find a regional shop.

Our ranking, by event

Half and full marathons: die-cast, from a specialist. The medal is part of what runners pay for. Trophy Gallery publishes its die-cast timeline; KingPins includes artwork and a proof at no charge. Start in the spring for a fall race. We don't sell die-cast medals, so this is the one place we'd send you elsewhere.

Big-city events with named finishers: add an insert. Canada Running Series named CelePLATE its "official personalized medal engraving provider" through 2024: laser-engraved plates for the back of finisher medals that, per the announcement, "arrive in the mail within two weeks" with the runner's name and time. It's a smart model for any race over a few thousand finishers.

5Ks, fun runs, colour runs, charity walks: full-colour acrylic. Your logo, your colours, your event shape, edge to edge. No mould means no 100-piece minimum, which Race Directors HQ calls typical for race medals. A 60-person charity walk shouldn't have to buy 100.

Club events and last-minute awards: stock medal. If you need medals this week, Things Engraved's same-day express shipping and Trophy Gallery's $5.90 stock medal are the honest answers. They won't look unique. They'll be there.

Where LAMOSE fits, and where it doesn't

We UV-print full-colour acrylic medals in Calgary, cut to your shape, with a lanyard on every one. Our published pricing:

At 250 the circle drops to $6. Every order gets a free digital proof, and at 12 or more our team designs the medal for free if you don't have artwork.

Where we're not the pick: if per-medal price at 500 pieces is all that matters, BPS lists a lower floor than ours. If you want weight in the hand at a marathon finish, buy die-cast. Where we are the pick: a 40 to 400-person event, a few weeks out, that wants its own shape in full colour and would rather email a person in Calgary than a form.

A timeline that works backwards from race day

• 16 weeks out: lock the design if it's die-cast. That's the four months the director above planned for, and she still wanted more.
• 10 weeks out: last safe week to approve a die-cast proof for an overseas mould.
• 4 weeks out: approve an acrylic or printed-insert proof, with time for one revision and shipping.
• Race week: count them. Then count the volunteers, who deserve one too.

Frequently asked questions

How far in advance should I order race medals?

For custom die-cast medals, three to four months. Trophy Gallery quotes 6–8 weeks from design approval, and overseas production can run 8–10 weeks. Acrylic and printed medals can be done in one to three weeks.

What is the minimum order for custom medals?

It depends on the format. Race Directors HQ says around 100 pieces is typical for race medals, mostly because die-cast needs a mould. Acrylic needs no mould: BPS and LAMOSE both sell from a single medal.

How much do custom race medals cost in Canada?

Listed prices range from "As low as C$2.75" at BPS to $12.99–$14.99 for a single stock medal at Things Engraved. Full-colour acrylic from LAMOSE runs $19.95 for one, $8.50 each at 50 and $6 each at 250. Die-cast is usually quote-only.

Do you get a medal for running a 5K?

Only if the organizer orders them. Many fun runs, charity runs and kids' dashes give every finisher a medal; plenty of competitive 5Ks don't. If you're the organizer, a finisher medal is one of the cheapest ways to make a small race feel like a real one.

Are acrylic medals as good as die-cast?

They're different. Die-cast has weight and depth, which matters at a marathon. Acrylic carries full colour, gradients and photos edge to edge, takes any shape without a mould, and arrives in days. For a fun run or charity walk, the colour usually matters more than the weight.

Can I get medals with each runner's name and time?

Yes, with an insert. Canada Running Series used CelePLATE's laser-engraved plates, mailed to runners within two weeks of the race. For small events, order medals with the event and year only, since you won't know finish times until race day.

Chen Deng founded LAMOSE in 2017 at a mall kiosk in Edmonton. Today the Calgary team prints medals and engraves steel for teams, races and companies across Canada.