The 2026 Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon Medal Has Been Revealed

If you’re one of the tens of thousands of women who’ll be pulling on their runners for the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon on 31 May, you’ve now got a very good look at what you’ll be crossing the finish line for — and honestly, the medal alone might be enough motivation to get those training walks in.

The official finisher’s medal for the 2026 Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon has been unveiled, and it’s a beauty. Designed by Seán Cotter, a graphic designer from Dundalk, Co. Louth and a recent graduate of the Visual Communication programme at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT), the medal was selected as the unanimous winner of a national design competition run in partnership with the Institute of Designers in Ireland (IDI).

Meet the design: ‘Heartbeat’

Seán’s winning entry is called ‘Heartbeat’ — and once you see it, the name makes perfect sense. The design takes the numerals 2026 and arranges them so that they overlap to form a heart shape at the centre of the medal. Three intersecting lines running through the numbers represent running tracks, nodding to the energy and movement of the thousands of women who’ll take to the streets of Dublin come the June bank holiday weekend.

It’s playful without being fussy, meaningful without being over-earnest. The kind of thing you’d actually want to hang somewhere rather than shove in a drawer.

Seán said he was “absolutely thrilled and honoured” to have designed the medal for such a beloved event. “It’s an incredibly special and uplifting day,” he said, “and I believe the medal design will serve as a visual extension of that — communicating a sense of fun, connection, and love.”

The 2026 Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon finisher medal is unveiled.

A real-world win for an emerging designer

The competition was organised as part of the IDI’s New Now graduate programme, which creates genuine professional opportunities for designers at the start of their careers. From an open call to IDI’s network of emerging talent, a shortlist was drawn up before the final three candidates presented their designs to a judging panel. Seán’s entry won outright.

Charlotte Barker, CEO of the Institute of Designers in Ireland, praised both the process and the result. “This competition was a fantastic opportunity to give a designer in their early career a chance to work on a high-profile brand,” she said. “Seán produced a unique and visually striking medal that really captures the spirit of the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon.”

Since winning the competition Seán worked with Sara Santarelli of SNDE Visual, who guided him through the technical side of turning a finished design into a fully production-ready medal specification. That kind of real-world mentorship is exactly what a graduate needs — and the fact that it resulted in something this good says a lot about both of them.

David O’Leary, Race Director of the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon, said the design perfectly captured what the event is all about. “The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon has always been more than a race. We’re passionate about giving young people a chance to showcase their talent, and Seán’s design is a perfect example of that in action.”

44 years and still going strong

The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon is now in its 44th year, which is genuinely remarkable. It started in Dublin in 1983 with 9,000 entrants and has grown into an event that now welcomes almost 30,000 women from across Ireland, the UK and Europe. It’s the single biggest charity fundraising event in Ireland, with an estimated €226 million raised for charity since it began.

The event is open to women aged 14 and over and caters for everyone — whether you’re a competitive runner gunning for a personal best or someone doing the whole thing at a very dignified walk with your mam and your sister while having an excellent chat. Both are equally valid.

If you haven’t signed up yet, you can find all the details at vhiwomensminimarathon.ie. The 2026 event takes place on 31 May — and now that you’ve seen the medal, you’ll want to make sure you’re there to earn one.