As the 130th Boston Marathon draws near, the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) has officially unveiled this year’s finisher medal design. The prestigious race will start on April 20, when more than 30,000 runners will set out from Hopkinton to make their bid for the holy grail. Design innovation: understated beige replaces classic blue and yellow Compared with last year’s design, the 130th medal retains the overall structure—still featuring a shield-shaped center with the signature glossy gold relief “unicorn” at its core. However, the most striking visual change is the radical shift in color: the design team departed from the B.A.A.’s traditional royal blue and bright yellow and boldly chose a light, creamy beige as the background. Gold edging and intricate etching remain in the details, and the medal is engraved with “130th Boston Marathon” and “Boston Athletic Association,” giving it a softer, more vintage feel. Sponsor elements: learning from controversy, returning to subtlety This year is Bank of America’s third year as title sponsor of the Boston Marathon (part of a ten-year agreement). Looking back to the first year of their partnership in 2024, some runners criticized the design on social media as “tacky and cheap” because the sponsor’s full name appeared too prominently on the bottom of the medal. After taking that feedback on board, the 2026 medal design has significantly toned down commercial branding: it includes only a very subtle sponsor logo, allowing the medal to return to a purer expression of the sporting spirit. Where grit meets glory When the organizers posted the medal on social media they captioned it: “Where grit meets glory.” For runners around the world, the Boston Marathon is famed for its strict BQ qualifying standards; earning this finisher medal is not only a test of physical limits but, for many, the ultimate goal of a lifetime of running. Is this the marathon finisher medal you want most?