Do you carry ID when out training?

A serious post for a change. For many years I have used products from Road ID (see here: http://www.roadid.com/Common/default.aspx ). Somehow I have managed to lose my last one so recently ordered a new one, the Wrist ID Elite in a nice shade of blue. The service, as always was excellent, and took just a few days to arrive from the USA.

Why do I wear one? The following is taken directly from the Road ID website:

The inspiration for Road ID was born in the fall of 1999. For my father, the inspiration was his concern for me as I trained for my first marathon. For me, the inspiration was a black, King Kong size pick-up truck that I nearly came face to face with on a long Saturday run. Earlier that fall, I began training for my first marathon. My father worried about me logging all those miles and would often tell me to “be safe.” One day, he suggested that I carry an ID so that he could be notified if I had an accident while training. Of course, I dismissed that suggestion. I thought: “What could possibly happen to me while running?” So, there I was, in a ditch, on the side of the road, having nearly been hit by the aforementioned pick-up truck. From that ditch, my father’s suggestion to carry ID started to make a tremendous amount of sense. Luckily I was OK. But, what if the truck had hit me? I would have been rushed to the local hospital as “John Doe.” Without proper ID, family members and friends could NOT be contacted. Likewise, my Medical records could NOT be accessed at the hospital. How long would I lay there unidentified? This freaked me out. A few months later, from my father’s damp basement, he and I launched Road ID. To us, Road ID has always been far more than a business. We are on a mission to save lives.Since 1999, we have received countless thank you letters and emails from customers that have used their Road ID in accident situations. Many of these customers say they might not be alive today if it weren’t for their Road ID. You can view some of these stories on our testimonial page.We thank you for visiting our site. While here, take the time to read a few testimonials. If you do, I trust that you will make Road ID your new training partner and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with wearing it. Remember, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you can’t speak for yourself, your Road ID will speak for you.

And there are many cases of people being injured or suffering sudden illness whilst out training, such as this well known one:

The unknown jogger lay in a Cardiff hospital mortuary for 36 hours. No one knew his name, his address or what had happened to him. There were no signs of violence yet the 39-year-old man had been found, lying in a gutter, at the side of a quiet residential road by a passing motorist. It seems he cracked his skull on the pavement as he fell, but the moments that led to his death remain a mystery. For international athlete Steve Cram to learn in a phone call that the victim was in fact his younger brother Kevin was devastating.

I'm aware that there are plenty of similar products to Road ID available but the important message is that whenever you are out training, always carry something that will identify you and/or enable your NOK/family to be informed.

Normal joviality will resume shortly. I hope.

Stay safe folks.