Kamal Datta (00:02.822) Hey, welcome back everyone to What Runs a Run Pod, the show where we go behind the scenes of the running world from start to line to the finish line and the stories that fuel the sport. I'm your host Kamal Datta. Today, actually, we are talking about something every runner knows but rarely thinks about it. That finish at a medal, waiting at the end of the race behind each one that is a design, craftsmanship and a story. and no company represents that better than Ashworth Awards, a family-run business that's been creating medals and awards for endurance events for nearly 60 years. Joining me today is Morgan Ashworth, the company's chief operating officer and a third-generation leader. We'll talk about how the business began, how the metal industry has evolved, and why those small circles of metal mean so much to runners. Welcome. Morgan. Morgan Ashworth (01:02.594) Thank you very much for having me on today. I'm happy to be speaking to our listeners. Kamal Datta (01:07.429) and then really excited to what you're going to cover during the next couple of minutes. So let's start with people may not know your background. Can you share your journey into a short words? Did you always think about that you will join the family business? Morgan Ashworth (01:26.35) Yeah, honestly, I always did think I would in some way, shape or form join the business, whether that be helping from afar or internally. And I'm lucky enough that I get to say it's internally at the company. I started with the company years ago, though I joke I've been helping out when I can convince my parents to allow me to work in the production unit. I was already helping whenever I could convince them to allow me to. And that just allowed me to get a very great ingrained knowledge of our production processes, of the way in which the organization ran. And then of course, I was running all sorts of events from road races to half marathons, 5Ks at the time, that has now brought me into marathon training and even triathlons. Kamal Datta (02:14.789) Wow, that's cool. So two follow up questions on this. The first one is, how is it like growing up around the brand? And if you want to share some of kind of the highlights for yourself. Morgan Ashworth (02:28.142) Yeah, you know, that's a tough one to answer because I think there's a lot of highlights growing up around the brand. I grew up in a very active lifestyle because of that. was naturally within the opportunities to go and run 5Ks and meet people. I also think I got to meet so many different individuals than I would have otherwise been able to. For example, meeting pro athletes all the time. Every time I got to go to a trade show or a conference or a race. afterwards, it tends to find itself behind the scenes with races because we're either, buying VIP tickets to be able to be a part of it when, my mom was running or my dad is running. And then through, just being able to, you know, anytime we were donating or volunteering, I got to see a lot of the stuff behind the scenes. So I think it was a, a very interesting upbringing I had because of that. Um, so, you know, I love to talk about how I was young and I went to a conference in San Diego with Dan, um, our CEO and I was, I don't know, maybe 13 at the time. And I ended up, was doing a practice run. Dan got lost on his practice run. went to an island, um, right off San Diego. Uh, there's like a bridge over to an island, to an island. So I ran over, found him and who comes up, but Meb, Meb came up and I just. Kamal Datta (03:41.38) Ha Kamal Datta (03:52.183) wow. Morgan Ashworth (03:53.27) I tried to do Meb's cool down with him. I only lasted a mile on his cool down. So it was, it's a, I definitely felt like I had a lot of opportunities. I got to be athletic. I got to see and meet people. I was able to travel a little bit with the company too. So it was very fun. Kamal Datta (04:14.34) That brings me to the next question. That's fascinating that you know, 13, you're into, I don't know if it's printed with map for a mile or something else, but that's pretty courageous for sure. So now you're an athlete yourself, as you mentioned. So I wonder how does being around this endurance community, especially pro athletes and the overall industry leaders, how does it influence how you lead being the CEO of Ashwood World? Morgan Ashworth (04:43.182) You know, I actually studied leadership, funny enough. So not just being around leaders, but I am a leadership expert myself. I went to school for industrial organizational psychology. And so I would say that that has tended to guide my leadership perspective the most. But I can say being able to see the different ways that individual vendor leaders work versus race directors versus the race owners versus the timers, the timing leaders. For each and every race, think it has allowed me to see that the leadership approaches do change based off of the size of an organization, the size of a race, the just the way in which the company works or the specific industry or tasks that organization has. So I think it's challenged some of my original approaches to leadership, know, where to be more flexible, where to be more dominant, you know, where to be more directive with what you can allow to kind of travel through or someone to make their own decision for versus things that you can't necessarily allow that decision making timeframe to happen. I would argue that this, you get to know a lot more leadership approaches. I tend to say though that I feel I've coached more on leadership than anything else. Kamal Datta (06:05.441) Wow, wow. Yeah, that's definitely, you can bring in the, differently you are expert for by education, but being around the leaders, then you can see the practical application of it and where you can actually tweak and apply different approaches to leadership. As you said, you have done more coaching than actually the other way around. That's awesome. Morgan Ashworth (06:26.668) Yeah, yeah, lots of practical application. And honestly, I guess one thing I should have noted is the running coaching. That has changed the way because you think we, I know at Ash with Awards, we try to have a little bit of gamification. We make it fun and different, not necessarily a competition, but fun competition, just like how runs have, you're competing against yourself, but you might also be competing against others around you. Kamal Datta (06:34.806) Yeah. Yeah. Kamal Datta (06:47.447) Sure. Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (06:53.314) So definitely being able to apply that more sports-based coaching and the running type of coaching within our leadership, I would say we get to do that at Ashworth Awards, playing on the metaphors of our industry. Kamal Datta (06:57.858) Mm-hmm. Kamal Datta (07:07.031) That's awesome. That sounds a lot of fun too, as well. Now, let's rewind a little bit. Ashford Awards were established in 1965, if I got the numbers correct, by your grandfather Douglas Ashford. Morgan Ashworth (07:10.23) Okay, I'm good. Kamal Datta (07:24.354) And if you want to take us back, like the evolution of the company that you saw or you are aware of from the jewelry to the Finisher medals to the event awards that you did today, if you to take us back and walk us a little bit of a couple of the transition that happened when Ashford Awards is today. Morgan Ashworth (07:40.812) Yeah, certainly. you know, Ashworth Awards started as an emblematic jeweler. Our official name is actually Ashworth Associates, but we have a, we do business as Ashworth Awards because it is more synonymous with what we do. So as Ashworth Associates, we began as an emblematic jeweler making pins and emblems, all sorts of jewelry type pieces for corporations, businesses, et cetera. and then come the eighties, Doug, my grandfather actually was at a bar where we were pewter jewelry producer and someone yells out, Hey, who produces a jewelry with pewter? Well, my dog Doug goes, I do. Who was asking Boston marathon, Boston marathon asking, who produced was the, was the Boston athletic association. Kamal Datta (08:31.081) wow. Okay. Morgan Ashworth (08:37.246) because they wanted to use pewter in their medals due to the history surrounding Paul Revere and pewter. So that is, I would argue, the time that we started transitioning in medallions became more popular in the sports and especially the running space. And as one of the only producers of emblematic jewelry that was also partaking in medallions at the time, Ashworth Awards started to pivot. Kamal Datta (08:55.029) Mm-hmm. Morgan Ashworth (09:06.956) And that's actually when our name began to pivot and we did a little bit of a rebrand and started producing metals. Now we're most known for our metals and less known for our pins and jewelry than we once were. But we still do pins, we still do jewelry, we still do all those emblems, we even do apparel. Because any type of recognition or promotional product that you see out there, we probably do make. We're just most known for medals and awards. Kamal Datta (09:35.167) wow, that's fascinating. It looks like transition happened when the 70s and 80s when the running boom was happening, right? And that's kind of the pivotal moment for Ashworth Evers as well, which is great. Now let's talk about the industry itself. I think, I know a lot of sweat and tear went into this one. I'm holding, I'm sure it came out of your manufacturing facility. Even to talk a little bit about the industry opera you operate in, for me it's emotional, keepsake, right? For a runner like myself. But for me, from an industry itself, it's a lot goes into manufacturing. You mentioned BAA, and I know that the Boston Marathon medals come from Ashford Awards. So you want to take us to the industry, the landscape, and maybe a little bit of the operation that goes into producing these metals. Morgan Ashworth (10:35.074) Yeah, yeah, certainly. So there is a lot that goes into the production of a metal. Any really any sort of fully customized product takes time to create. You gotta think we have to build some sort of tool or some sort of design that allows us to produce it. And so because of that, we typically need at least six weeks notice of a desire for a piece. Usually more because it does take time to design and to quote out if needed. Some of our quoting, our pricing is known, other pieces are in fact custom quoted to the piece. But when you take into account our overseas manufacturing facility, we actually will ship via boat to the US from our overseas facility and that takes so much extra time. We like to put in about 14 weeks of time from when the order's put in to the event date. just to account for shipping via the four to five weeks of shipping from overseas and then as well, give a little leeway in case something were to get stuck in customs. I know that's actually, that was the issue during the government shutdown that customs was getting a little slow. Yes. So it takes time to do something. know, our many vendors in the space that create custom products from maybe just doing apparel to just doing metals, maybe just doing jewelry. Kamal Datta (11:46.176) I did, okay. Morgan Ashworth (12:00.308) they all need the time to design it, they need the time to quote it, and then they need the time to produce it. The production is what takes the most time, especially because there needs to be a level of leeway in case there's an issue with the production line. Not common, but it can happen and it's better to give more time than less. So you actually will see races starting to reach out to vendors like ourselves with upwards towards four plus months in advance of their event. to get those medals. Well, runners, your race directors are putting a lot of work in ahead of your run. It's not just a weekend thing for them. It's just the same amount of time that you're training is the same amount of time it takes them to do all of their work to get you all of those pieces of memorabilia from the apparel to the medals to any other sorts of giveaways. Plus on top of that, ahead of that, they need to get their volunteers, they need to get their budgets, they need to get their plan, their... Kamal Datta (12:30.662) wow. Kamal Datta (12:38.196) Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (12:59.276) that permits everything. So a lot goes into it. We are obviously on the supplier side where we are giving all those memorabilia promo type products to the race directors and the races themselves. But the obviously have the most amount of work. So I would say Ashworth Awards tries to represent itself as more of that consultant of what can we do to help you? Like where can we help? Kamal Datta (13:15.324) Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (13:28.494) We have many of races that come to us that are newer and say, don't really know the quantities I need. And we tend to say, you know, from the typical, you know, things that we see in the industry, thanks to other organizations like Running OSA, RCA, road race management, et cetera. There's a lot out there. A lot of those education platforms. These tend to be the trends that you can follow. But on top of that, that one stop shop method that Ashworth Awards is trying to take. Kamal Datta (13:28.723) Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (13:57.934) We're trying to support them where we're like, okay, you don't have to go to 40 different vendors. You can come to us for at least 10 of those items, right? So there's a lot of time that goes into it. We can talk about the more specific process if you'd like behind the scenes. Kamal Datta (14:06.738) Right, right. Kamal Datta (14:15.998) That would be great. And it would be great in the context of Boston Marathon because that's a massive event. And I'm curious, how does the planning, said average 14 weeks to maybe four months, three, four months advance at a regular race maybe. But for Boston, I walk us through the life cycle and then goes into actually producing that medal I was holding a second ago, because I think another thing about Ashford words which you can also dive in after this is the pride in made in America as well and then the sustainable aspect will you know will chime in on that as well but take an example of Boston Marathon maybe walk us through yeah Morgan Ashworth (14:54.764) Yeah, certainly I can take you through. So Boston Marathon as one of the larger events, they're preparing even farther in advance than the average race, average everyday race. So as of now, they've already created, for example, pre-production samples. Not every race does pre-production samples. I'd say it's about one in a thousand races get a pre-production sample. And that means that they create a sample of their metal ahead of the production and that's how they approve it. So Awesome Amazon has already done that. It's already in the order is actually going to be getting placed sooner than later. Kamal Datta (15:30.873) talking about for next spring you already did the pre-production? okay okay Morgan Ashworth (15:35.734) So Boston is pretty set on what they're doing already. No, they're not gonna release it to you guys any sooner than they usually do. They usually know five to six months in advance of the event what their medal's going to look like. Yeah, but they don't usually share it until they have all the medals in hand. So yeah, so we'll start by designing and coming up with the concepts. Kamal Datta (15:43.869) test. Kamal Datta (15:52.253) That's cool. Morgan Ashworth (16:02.164) Some races like Boston do a lot of their own design work, though Asher Thord certainly will partake in it as needed. Other races, we complete the design through and through for those races, meaning we actually, get the concept from the race, we get their budget, and then we recommend the different metal, the metal that might be best for them based off that budget and based off of the design that they're hoping to see. There are multiple different types of metals. There's diecast. Yes, Ash with Awards is a diecast producer as well. There's dimensional steel. Dimensional steel is actually coined to Ash with Awards. We're the only ones in the world that do it. There are wood aliens. Wood aliens is actually trademarked as a name by Ash with Awards. You'll see wood medals by other people. And then prefer like medallions as well. There's a couple others like PVC, ribbon based medallions, et cetera, et cetera. But diecast and dimensional steel are the most popular. anyhow, getting to it, the design, sometimes it's the customer that comes up with it. A lot of times Boston is the one that developed their design. And then sometimes it is Ashworth Awards. I would definitely argue Ashworth Awards in Boston. We collaborate a lot. Boston Marathon's actually Dan Ashworth, our CEO's baby, we say. He's very proud and loves to talk about it. We love our relationship with them. They're great to work with. Yeah, after the design comes the approval process. So getting the approvals, ensuring the budget matches up, they approve their sales or they approve their art and it gets into production. Once it's in production, it could be 14 weeks ahead of the event. It could be six weeks ahead of the event. Rushes under six weeks aren't as common, but they happen. Kamal Datta (17:30.813) awesome. Morgan Ashworth (17:52.446) And that's something Ashworth Awards prides itself on being able to provide to those races, especially the new ones. And then after during production, it just goes through a number of processes from getting going through the dye process or the cut process through the plating or powder coating process down through either the decoration via enamel or some sort of other process. And then obviously through assembly, packaging and shipping. Shipping is what can take the most time and it's the one thing that the race and the vendor ourselves don't have control of though. The shipping is through the shipping carriers. Some events get their medals a month in advance of their event. Others get it the week of their event. Just depends on the timeline and the preference again of that event. All in all though, the most complicated part of process is the design. Kamal Datta (18:31.579) Right. Kamal Datta (18:52.271) I see. see. then different kinds of metal. Morgan, how do you decide or how a race decide which one to go after? Is the pricing the main differentiator? Morgan Ashworth (18:52.878) Yes. Morgan Ashworth (19:05.656) Possibly yes Dimensional steel and diecast are pretty one-to-one unless diecast is coming via a boat shipment boat versus air shipments from overseas facilities are a significant difference As you imagine a truck versus an air shipment in the US truck week versus air can be the same day That obviously is a quite the price difference So that would be the only Kamal Datta (19:19.227) Yeah, yeah. Morgan Ashworth (19:32.558) note I would make other than that the weight of metals can affect the price though dimensional steel is actually naturally heavier than die cast it does end up shipping for roughly the same amount if not less because it's usually within the US dimensional steel is 100 made in the US and then and then but if events are worried about shipping costs then they might look towards a wood alien or an acrylic Kamal Datta (19:37.84) I see. Kamal Datta (19:52.57) I see, I see. Morgan Ashworth (20:02.06) Really though, I wouldn't say it's cost driven as much as it is preference. know, a trail race, they want a wooden metal because it's a trail race and they're in the wood. acrylic metals and PDC metals are very popular for kids events. Then dimensional steel. If someone is, if a race has a really high, sustainability value or value surrounding the environment, dimension is our recommended option since steel itself as is the, base substrate of it. Kamal Datta (20:09.679) Yeah. Kamal Datta (20:24.603) Mm-hmm. Morgan Ashworth (20:31.15) Steel is 100 % recyclable through its lifetime, well die cast is. So for that reason, steel is better for the environment than zinc. Kamal Datta (20:34.395) I see. I see. Kamal Datta (20:39.777) wow, that makes sense. Now, I that brings me to the point that you talked about the shipping, about made in USA versus made in outside the USA. And does it also play a role? What they're ordering, could say the diecast or the steel ones are primarily made in USA, but for the others, you make a call whether to be manufactured in US versus outside. Morgan Ashworth (21:04.588) Yeah, yeah. So diecast, I would say that our competitors pretty much are all overseas, mostly in China. Our overseas facility is in China as well for diecast, but we also have a facility in the US to support diecast. The problem is diecast in the US, you actually start with a tool. It's basically a big piece of metal that compresses together and allows the zinc to cure at the in the right shape. We used to do pewter. Pewter is far too expensive to do now. So sneak tends to be the metal of choice. A die in the US, that giant piece that holds the metal in the shape and lets it cure in the shape it should be, is a lot more expensive than it is, unfortunately, overseas. And so it would be about a $1,000 investment to start just for the die in the US for diecast versus in China, could be more like Kamal Datta (21:53.999) I see. Morgan Ashworth (22:03.726) $200 to $300. But that actually is why Ashworth Awards came up with Dimensional Steel Medallions. We actually just launched the line in 2019. We hard launched it in the spring of 2020, perfect time for the pandemic. Yes, and so we came up with Dimensional Steel because it does not require that die, that cast to be made. It doesn't require any sort of tooling, so it's less wasteful in that. Kamal Datta (22:18.104) Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (22:33.006) It's less expensive when it comes to tooling in that way. And then obviously it has that really high sustainability component for how it's made. Diecast and dimensional steel. Dimensional steel is basically a reverse engineered process to diecast. Diecast, you start with melted metal that then cures to be a solid molded form. Think of when you were a kid and played with Play-Doh and you put it molds and that's how it came out. Kamal Datta (22:42.628) Makes sense. Kamal Datta (22:57.486) Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (22:59.928) versus dimensional steel, we start with a flat substrate, the steel, the rolled steel, we powder coat it, and then we use a specialty decoration process on top of it that builds texture. So we build texture after the fact. And it's only a process that Ashworth Awards does as of right now. You can tell other people might be trying to figure out how to do it, we're six years ahead of the game. Kamal Datta (23:21.202) wow. Kamal Datta (23:25.828) So if I try to understand what I just laid out, if I'm looking at this metal, if you're going the diecast process, you will take a piece of metal and try to create this metal from that blob of metal, right? That's what the diecast process would be, okay. Morgan Ashworth (23:30.357) Yes. Morgan Ashworth (23:42.742) Yes, yes, but it's not previously cured metal. that metal is unfinished in some way, shape or form. It gets melted down and then can get cast. Boston Marathon is mostly die cast. Most of their metals are die cast. Kamal Datta (23:56.567) And then I think the sustainability aspect, what you're referring to is that there is a lot of throw away from what we start with because it's just take out this piece. Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (24:01.87) Yes, yes Yeah, there can be a lot of throwaway But also zinc isn't a hundred percent recyclable through its life. Yeah, it's not a hundred so For example our metals not that we want people to get rid of them because you know, they mean a lot to us Trust me. I get it. I have a lot of metals, too They mean a lot to us. But all in all if there are extra metals made we can actually recycle those extras Kamal Datta (24:12.332) I see. Kamal Datta (24:19.736) Yeah, yeah. Morgan Ashworth (24:30.19) Um, versus diecasts, it's a lot harder to recycle those ones and it takes longer if we are to recycle them. Um, yeah, so it's a little bit harder to do. I was gonna note, there is definitely waste within the process. We do pride ourselves on decreasing waste as much as possible and that does apply to our diecast line. We decrease waste as much as possible. We have a strong oversight because at our overseas facility. but the average everyday average vendor might not have that same level of like being able to oversee their facility. Kamal Datta (25:07.833) Yeah, that makes sense. That brings to the point, ashwort, were, it's pride themselves being one of the leaders in sustainability. And I think what you're highlighting, a couple of the ideas that, how do you minimize the waste, you know, talks a lot about how we are putting effort towards sustainability and make sure that what you're producing is sustainable. You want to highlight a couple of more ideas that you are putting in effort towards sustainability? Morgan Ashworth (25:31.726) Yeah, yeah, certainly. So another area that we have sustainability wise is our ribbons. made of PET plastic, so it's a recycled plastic. So that's one example. We had tried to apply PET ribbons to our process so many years ago, but it was too rough of a material, the sublimation material coming from it. So those ribbons you have, it was too rough. Imagine if you're had like it was feathering out of the ribbon. That's what it used to be. Well, we're really proud to say that that's no longer the case because PET technology has come so far that now all of our ribbons are made from PET recycled plastic. On top of that, we do practice sustainable packaging. I joke about our packaging peanuts at work. You could truly eat one like a snack. Our samples have gotten into them and we don't have to worry because it's made out of natural material and it Kamal Datta (26:21.465) really? wow. Morgan Ashworth (26:28.27) pile the grain with water, they'll just dissolve in water and it's safe for the environment. On top of that, we practice lean manufacturing. That's just basically we reduce waste wherever we can, whenever we can. I mean, even when we have boxes come in from our own shipments, from our own supplies, we shred that box, that boxing and we use that in our packaging. Because our packaging is pretty much 99 % recyclable and recycled all paper packaging. We only use plastic if especially necessary and even then PET plastic packaging is available. Kamal Datta (27:06.584) That's cool. That's fascinating too. With all the initiatives in sustainability and some of them are made in USA, I can't kind of, cannot bring this topic or I can emphasize that this topic will not come to a discussion which is the tariffs that are going on right now. Since you have still some manufacturing happens overseas, what do you have seen the impact and does... Overall, the question is two part. One is from Ash's point of view. And the second part is for the runners point of view because sometimes that cost can be passed through to the runners, right? Have you seen that impact yet or you're forcing? Morgan Ashworth (27:48.778) I would say we don't necessarily see the impact of it passing on to the racer quite yet. I have seen some races that now will allow people to opt into a medal. So that's new. their registrations, so that can make it a little bit harder for timelines for races. Luckily, again, Asherth Awards can support shorter timelines at times or help with the statistics that goes into Kamal Datta (27:55.85) Okay. Kamal Datta (28:03.535) okay. Morgan Ashworth (28:17.9) what should I do for medals and shirts, how many? But so very little is it passed to the runner, but it is certainly effective of the vendor ourselves and of the races too. We are trying to partake in anything coming from overseas being a certain type of shipping that the duties don't increase after the order has been placed, but it's not always something that we can prevent. Luckily, seems that tariffs have hit a new level like normal and aren't increasing. But I can say when we saw a hundred percent tariff hike happen, at one point in time, metals and apparel even more so than metals had a hundred ninety percent tariff on it. Yeah, that happened earlier in twenty twenty five. Luckily, it wasn't too, too long, but it unfortunately did affect some shipments. Kamal Datta (29:04.596) wow, it's like I must dabble. Okay. Morgan Ashworth (29:13.454) When that happened though, our dimensional steel medallions ended up being between a third and a half. So 33 to 50 % cheaper than die cast because they are already pretty one to one. Yeah, so tariffs locally have hit a new normal, but I am interested to see if there's more races that will offer an opt in or opt out option for medallions. I'll be honest. Kamal Datta (29:23.979) cast. Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (29:41.966) I'm a runner. I want my medal at the end of the race. I'm getting some memorabilia. I probably want socks and I'm definitely buying some sort of key chain. And my favorite is I do have a stuffed animal from all of the major marathons I've run. Kamal Datta (29:45.43) That's true. Kamal Datta (29:56.34) You do? that's cool. Morgan Ashworth (29:58.37) It's all sorts of pieces that people want. It's just a matter of what swag item does the runner want. And I'm glad to say that Ash with the Words can help with all of them. Kamal Datta (30:09.108) Yeah, that's a problem. How is the opt-in going to work? So when I'm registering for a race, I'll have the opt-in if I want a certain kind of metal versus the other kind of options. Morgan Ashworth (30:20.27) Yeah, so I know when I ran a race recently, had to eat, could either opt into the shirt or I could forego it and tree would be planted. And, but I could pay $5 to get the shirt and plant the tree. I think I might've been able to choose the shirt without the tree too, technically. So it's kind of like, it's just the option of, we want to increase our sustainability. These races also want to increase sustainability. Kamal Datta (30:29.472) Yes, yes, okay. Morgan Ashworth (30:49.324) I would say it's more most so targeting those racers that won't necessarily wear the shirt don't necessarily care for the metal as much. But that doesn't mean the racer doesn't care about some sort of swag item. Kamal Datta (31:02.966) Yeah, I think I have noticed that because I'm looking to register for a race in Phoenix or the Tampa in Martin Luther King Weekend at the Rock and Roll Series. And I saw that when I was registering, there was an option, do you want the t-shirt or not? That that option was popping up. So maybe that's what I think is going to happen to drive that sustainability initiative. Oh, OK. Morgan Ashworth (31:24.878) Yeah, and I mean, I feel like that more so affects the runners that are racing, you know, multiple events in one month alone. You know, they're probably getting so many side items, so many medals that to an extent it seems whitewash for them. But most runners are new runners when they're running a marathon. A lot of the marathon runners are new. And anytime you run a marathon, I think you should have a medal for that. That is quite the undertaking. Kamal Datta (31:49.654) is true, yeah, because the sweat equity that is put into it getting to the start line and even finishing it, that is so true. You alluded to the fact that Ashford Awards is a one-stop shop, right? You talked about, so Maryland is definitely, Ashford Awards is known for. What is that Ashford Awards does that maybe people aren't aware of? Or maybe there is directors who are listening to this part or these organizers. Hey, we should reach out to Ashford Awards for those. Morgan Ashworth (32:15.618) Yeah, yeah, certainly. Yeah, obviously we're doing your medals often oftentimes for also creating people's their like division placeholder placeholders awards too. So first, second, third for the different divisions that they have the winners awards are creating but also recruiting volunteer pins. We could be creating your volunteer pins, maybe volunteer shirts or volunteer jackets. Maybe you have pacer shirts. Maybe you have pacer signs. We make the pacer signs too. Kamal Datta (32:42.857) You do? Okay. Morgan Ashworth (32:44.438) We also create display systems. think there's usually a flag for maybe every mile, maybe for every water station, some sort of feathered flag, some sort of banner that calls it out so runners can see it from afar. Tents even to protect people from the weather. That's pretty common. Even just like those typical trade show displays that the races or even racers and their families use. at the race events or at trade shows or conferences, wherever else they're going. We make all those different types of items. And then on top of everything, I noted Pacer shirts and volunteer shirts. We do have a racer shirt line. So the typical t-shirt, sleeve or tank top that you give away to your racers, we do have that available. Both within sublimated processes, screen printing processes, tech or cotton shirts. Kamal Datta (33:28.241) Okay. Morgan Ashworth (33:41.23) whatever that preference may be. And then we're always developing product lines. We are actually a consulting manufacturer, which means that we naturally create products anew. We are naturally creating products that have never been done before. Think, we're in a custom product industry. So every product we're making is new and different in some way, shape or form, or maybe just no design like it has ever been done. Kamal Datta (33:49.575) Okay. Kamal Datta (33:58.782) Right. Morgan Ashworth (34:07.784) As a manufacturer ourselves since 1965, we have 60 years of manufacturing experience. And because of that, if there is something that a race needs that their previous vendor no longer does, or their previous vendor went out of business saying during the pandemic in 2020, then they've come to us and said, Hey, can you do this? I actually have a quote right now, in right now for lawn chairs. Kamal Datta (34:27.24) Right. Kamal Datta (34:30.802) Mm-hmm. Kamal Datta (34:36.196) really? Okay. Morgan Ashworth (34:37.356) lawn chairs, want really quality custom lawn chairs. So you have to think, we definitely have a number of products to provide to people, but if there is something different that they've wanted that another vendor hasn't been able to create, usually Ashworth Awards eventually that race director will come to. And I think a big reason we do that is guess we're that consultant in a way, but Kamal Datta (34:41.517) wow. Morgan Ashworth (35:04.744) us as runners ourselves, a lot of us are runners at Ashworth Awards. We really understand the industry. We really want to have a beneficial impact on it because the more successful the races, obviously Ashworth Awards does well, but in the end it has a better effect on the runner and myself as a runner. I love when races are run so well. I love when they have great services and great material and different swag items to choose from because you really diversify the amount of runners you bring to yourself. Kamal Datta (35:37.384) Yeah, that is so true. Now for the outside the metals, is everything also manufactured in US and overseas combination of both as well? okay, you do. Okay. Morgan Ashworth (35:46.734) Yeah, that's why we have facilities both in the US and overseas. So even apparel, we have US options and we have We have both. And again, we're always developing. So we're always going to be trying to make it better. That's one thing you can count on is no matter what Ashworth Awards is always innovating. So your product might only slightly change, but it might be the quality. It might be the finish of it that's a little bit better. It might be. Kamal Datta (35:52.899) Okay, I see Morgan Ashworth (36:13.964) that it's more long lasting naturally because we have worked to ensure that we have the highest level of quality. We're doing research and we're constantly developing those products. Kamal Datta (36:26.109) That's fascinating. Since you're talking about innovation, let's look ahead. So Morgan, if you were to put ahead of a leadership role, five, 10 years, where do you think the industry heading, the metal industry? Morgan Ashworth (36:39.734) Yeah, I think the metal industry is only going to get bigger, in all honesty, because the running industry is only ever getting bigger. We see more and more of the younger age group coming in and running races. I have people I went to school with that I would have never expected to run a marathon. Are people that I've known forever. Again, would have never expected them to have marathons on their radar to have goals to run them. And they're all running them. Some might be a one-off some might be that they're now gonna go after a certain number of them So my own cousin has done two of the majors now, which I think amazing I have to train with him. I think Well, we just keep being on opposite training blocks if I'm training for spring. He's training for fall or vice versa. It's see But running is getting bigger races are seeing Kamal Datta (37:14.033) I see. Kamal Datta (37:17.561) wow, that's pretty cool. You Kamal Datta (37:27.985) I see. Morgan Ashworth (37:34.37) sometimes 50 % or 100 % increases from the year before because people want to get active and in getting active, it's more community based. So people want to do the race themselves, not just run and train for the race, but also do the race and see the people and maybe do the race with a group. Last weekend, I just did a relay marathon. I did a 7.4 mile leg of the relay and the rest of the team was between, I think, five and a half and six and a half miles. And it was a very different experience, I can say. But I really liked it. was like, this made a marathon so much better because I didn't run a full marathon. I got to do it with the team. It was really cool. So it's only going to get bigger. It's only going to get better. And runners have a say too, I think. think runners definitely have an effect based off of the types of vendors. If they know the vendors out there, they can even say, hey, I like this vendor. Kamal Datta (38:12.498) That is true. Kamal Datta (38:17.094) That is true, yeah. Morgan Ashworth (38:32.31) We actually have runners that'll say, no, I only run races and make medals for because I know they're going to be the best. Kamal Datta (38:38.813) Wow, have you seen that expectation change though, Morgan? Like from another point of view? Like, expect a metal, kind of that come from that manufacturer or this certain kind of metal. Morgan Ashworth (38:52.256) Yeah, I do say that we've seen it change or people do expect medals. So a lot of the new events, know, a lot of new events used to not do medals at first, but there are also plenty out there that are immediately doing medals. They have no idea what the number of participants they're going to have is. And so when they come to us and say, I need medals, my runners are expecting medals. Just don't put a year on them. It's like that way you can use. Kamal Datta (38:55.419) to do. Kamal Datta (39:18.011) re-use them. Morgan Ashworth (39:19.15) Or we can do ribbons next year to add to them and these ribbons can have the year on them We can do a new ribbon every year, but ribbons cost less than medals. So Again, how can we help you get there and give your runners? What's going give your runners what they want and what's going to attract them to your event? Kamal Datta (39:39.025) Have you seen or do you see that kind of interactive medals can happen in the future? Like you put a QR code or maybe some augmented reality or personalized engraving within the medalist, kind of more interactive medals. Morgan Ashworth (39:47.276) like series of medals and different pictures. Morgan Ashworth (39:59.574) Yeah. Yeah, I would say that a lot of actually racers add some sort of specialty engraving or specialty like even they might even take a sharpie and write their time on the back of it. Right. So a lot of owners do that they want to personalize it to themselves in some way, or form. There are lot of inklings out there in the industry of let's do a virtual medal or let's do a QR code on the medal. But there are also concerns regarding the IT safety behind all of that to Kamal Datta (40:11.621) Yeah. Kamal Datta (40:23.611) Yeah. Kamal Datta (40:27.953) Mm-hmm. Morgan Ashworth (40:28.5) is your virtual metal. If the company goes out of business that makes virtual metals, then you lose your metal. But then separately from that, the QR code, we hadn't even thought of it prior, but we helped the customer put QR codes on the back of their challenge coins. So challenge coins like first responders, we put QR codes on the back of them. And they came to us later on and was like, hey, can we make another set without the QR code? Apparently QR codes are starting to get a negative rap. Kamal Datta (40:34.682) Right, right. Kamal Datta (40:46.715) Yeah. Morgan Ashworth (40:59.35) So, I don't know, we'll see what happens there. But I would say that a lot of larger races at least have a specialty engraving, say where you can get it engraved right there or get a piece engraved right there. You know, those are the company ITAB. You can order an ITAB that goes onto your, onto the ribbon of your medal even. Kamal Datta (41:20.849) Oh yeah. I know when I wrapped up New York City Marathon two weeks, two weekends ago or almost a week and a half ago, we had the engraving the day after, right? You can go back and then engrave. It was a complimentary from the race organizers themselves, right? But you can engrave your finish time, your name, whatever you want to engrave at the back of the medal that was there. But it does not came with the medal. It was just after fact, because you can put more personal details that you want to personalize. Morgan Ashworth (41:44.065) Yeah, yeah. Yeah, certainly. In smaller races might be able to personalize them right off the bat. We actually do some fulfillments with acrylic awards or the division awards. We might help with fulfillment where we create them after we put the actual names of the people instead of just like, hey, first place women 25 to 35, for example. We might not just put that, but after the race, they tell us what the name is. And then we personalize them right off the bat too. So that's common, but not always the normal thing either. Kamal Datta (41:51.716) Yeah. Kamal Datta (42:17.2) Yeah, yeah, that's cool. And that's a great blend of kind of the traditional approach and also innovation, right? Which is pretty, pretty awesome. Let's talk about a couple of fun facts about you as well. So let's go to the rapid fire round, I call it. What would be a race medal that you are most proud of? I know you've run a lot of races, you're an athlete yourself. What are the race medals that you're most proud of? Morgan Ashworth (42:42.54) I mean, I think you can guess it's Boston Marathon. So I ran Boston during their 125th anniversary. And so I have the big gold one. So it's a gold version of their medal. I don't have it with me right now. looking at my, I have a medal hanger at work and at home and at home right now. I don't have the medal hanger. That one's at work with me. But so Boston Marathon is my most proud one. is Boston Marathon is the reason I ran a marathon. Kamal Datta (42:45.232) Yes. Kamal Datta (42:50.096) Huh. Kamal Datta (43:03.706) Okay. Morgan Ashworth (43:11.15) You know, I had an injury back when I was in college and I was told I was never going to run again. That is, those are not words a runner ever wants to hear. And I can thank my mom for the motivation, my aunt for the PT, my physical therapist. And they got me back into it and obviously lots of support from everyone else around me. Went, ran Bay State Marathon in Lowell, Massachusetts. We actually sponsor them and they're one of the top Boston qualifiers out there. So when race ran that first marathon ever qualified. So obviously I'm very proud of that race. Then, yeah. Then I go run Boston and guess what? I broke my foot during it. During the race, during the marathon of 2021, which is the one in the fall, the one that happened Columbus day weekend. I broke my foot and at mile seven and I finished still. Kamal Datta (43:50.767) That's awesome, yeah. Kamal Datta (43:56.121) during the race. Kamal Datta (44:02.755) Yeah, yeah. Kamal Datta (44:09.773) is still finished. Congratulations. Morgan Ashworth (44:10.7) Yeah, wasn't the time I wanted, but it was the time I got and at least I can say I did it. I remember my mom ran with me. She slowed down for me and she's like, what do want to do? I was like, well, we're finishing the race. It's Boston Marathon. What do you think? We're doing this. Kamal Datta (44:23.533) Yeah, yeah, no, that's awesome. And no wonder that medal will be very special to you, for sure. Morgan Ashworth (44:30.262) Yes, that's very special, near and dear to me for sure. Kamal Datta (44:34.753) Next question. One thing that most runners don't realize about how the medals are made. I know you covered a lot of grounds, but one thing that you think you're going to call out that most runners don't realize about the medals. It takes time. Morgan Ashworth (44:42.253) Yes. Morgan Ashworth (44:46.84) It takes time. It takes time. There's a lot of effort put into the design and then even the production file after the fact. Because like you can design something and it's going to roughly look like the mock-up, but there's a lot that goes into the production file behind it to make sure it has the three-dimensional look that the races and we're going for. And then finally the obviously production timeline. It takes a lot of time. Kamal Datta (45:14.818) Right, it affected me and I got a lot of metal but I didn't realize that it can be a couple of weeks to air out. You're talking about Boston in April and you're talking about the sample is already ready. So I didn't even realize that kind of the longer cycle there. cool. Morgan Ashworth (45:28.293) Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, a long cycle for sure. Kamal Datta (45:32.338) And I think I probably know the answer. Your favorite phrase or running memory? Probably just mentioned that. Now. Morgan Ashworth (45:38.23) Honestly, no, I don't think that would be my favorite memory. I'd have to think. That's a hard one, I will say. I felt like it might be coming, but I honestly don't know what my answer would be. What would be my favorite race memory? Morgan Ashworth (45:59.054) Can we come back to that one? Okay. Kamal Datta (46:00.418) Yeah, let's come back. Let's finish the sentence to Morgan. What is a great medal? Morgan Ashworth (46:08.512) A great medal is one that you can tell the race directors, the race owners put their like love into for sure. That's one that they focused on. They found the meaning of their race and how it would transform the runner's mindset about the medal. And they had us apply it. That's what I would say is one that's been, you can tell the love and attention has been put into the medal. Kamal Datta (46:37.771) Yeah, that's for sure. Yeah. And you probably have to spend time to actually understand what went in and aware of what goes into the medal itself to realize that the effort went in there for sure. Now, coming back, do you recall your favorite race memory? OK. OK. Morgan Ashworth (46:54.382) Yeah, yes, definitely do. know, a picture comes up for me because there is a picture of it. So I'll share it with you. Maybe you can share it out with the listeners. My favorite race memory is when I was crossing the Bay State Marathon finish line and my mom's a couple steps ahead of me because she is a she's a veteran runner. So she's been running for a very long time, especially marathons. Kamal Datta (47:10.636) Stay. Kamal Datta (47:20.077) Mm-hmm. Morgan Ashworth (47:21.942) I argue that she's faster than me in marathons. And so she's a couple steps ahead. She's smiling at me. She's clapping. And I just have the biggest smirk on my face. I'm surrounded by people I love as I cross that finish line, knowing I have like, I think I had over six minutes to spare for Boston qualifying time, if not more. We're this close to getting Kim, my mom's PR. had I not slowed down the last five miles, everyone that's run a marathon knows those last five miles hurt. But that would be my favorite memory is I love looking back on that picture. It's one of my favorite pictures. Kamal Datta (48:02.014) Awesome. Wow. I'm sure that is special for sure. That's also a race where you're qualified for Boston and you know that you are six minutes ahead. That would be a great, great feeling for sure. Morgan Ashworth (48:12.63) Yes, yes, for sure. I actually went into that race also having recovered from an injury was my first time training for a marathon. I was having issues with my IT band. Really didn't know how it was going to go because my long runs were going at like a nine plus minute pace and then I was able to throw down a 730 pace. Kamal Datta (48:31.277) That's pretty amazing. Kudos, kudos to you. Awesome. Morgan, it has been fantastic. So thank you so much for sharing Ashworth Airways journey and your journey as such and covering a lot of grounds on the metal industry and where the industry you see is heading. So thank you so much. Morgan Ashworth (48:48.876) Yeah, of course. Thank you so much for having me on and I hope our listeners struggled through some of the harder lingo to get through because there is a lot that goes into it. But happy to be here and happy to continue talking about what it looks like on the vendor side. Kamal Datta (49:04.909) Thank you. Morgan Ashworth (49:06.124) Yeah, have a great day.