Artist behind Miami Marathon's spinning, colorful medal explains inspiration

This year's medal is designed by Laelanie Larach, a Honduran-born artist who's been living and working in Miami since 2012.

• Her painting, "Tropical Sunsets and Palm Trees," is a vibrant original oil painting inspired by Miami's scenery and culture, she told Axios.
• The painting is split up into three panels for each race — 5k, half and marathon — with bright pinks, blues and oranges.

What they're saying: The artwork also has three-dimensional effects, she said, with spirals and different textures. Larach says these reflect the movement of not only the runners but of Miami as a diverse city.

• The project, which took her about two and a half weeks to complete, is also inspired by her Hispanic heritage.

Fun fact: The medal spins (because what's more Miami than a shiny medal that spins?), a design element Frankie Ruiz, the marathon's founder, thought of in the event's early years.

• "I saw a keychain rack at a souvenir shop with a bunch of things that spun," he told Axios. "If they can do this on keychains, I thought, why can't we do this on a marathon medal?"

"Now everyone's medal is spinning! But we were the first spinning medal to my knowledge," Ruiz said. "That's our claim to fame."