Road ID is a product that many of my running friends have bought, use, and swear by. It’s a cute little bracelet you can wrap around your ankle or wrist with your name, address, phone number, and emergency contact. You know, for when something really bad happens to you. Because it probably will.
I’ve been resisting Road ID for some time now, not because I don’t like the product, but because I’m uncomfortable with the concept of using scare tactics to sell things. Our society in general is already paralyzed with fear. Why make running something else to be afraid of?
On the other hand, I understand the very valid and wise arguments that Road ID is a valuable tool. You should always carry some sort of ID and emergency contact, particularly trail runners like myself who like to explore remote and lonely places. It’s an easy thing to preach, but a hard one for me to practice. Because frankly wearing Road ID makes me feel like a big pussy.
Did Micah True wear Road ID when he was scaling canyons? Did Jenn Shelton find comfort in her Road ID when she was running out of water in the middle of nowhere? I’m not sure my ultra running heroes pre-meditated their deaths. And even if they did, they ran despite the dangers. What about the ultra runners who existed before Road ID? However did they manage to stay alive? Part of me wants to do things their way.
I’ve been told in the past that I take dangerous and unnecessary risks. I try to climb high things. I crawl into caves without knowing what’s inside. I won’t hesitate to bound off into an unknown trail or head out for a night run. Every so often I do feel a twinge of panic. Like when I suddenly realize I might be lost. When I’ve climbed really high and it suddenly hits me how far off the ground I am. But I don’t pre-think these fears. I usually go full speed until I hit something real that triggers my fear. Maybe I’m weird that way. But I’d like to eventually overcome my fears, not feel like I’m giving in to them.
The other day one of my favorite people posted a blog entry over at Run Barefoot Girl about this topic. I enjoyed reading her worst fears about running, and I’m certain that she’s not alone. But is it really normal to think about running this way? Am I wrong to think that running is all about fresh air and happy thoughts and morning dew and rainbows? Sometimes I think that nothing bad can ever happen to me. Or I feel certain that I can beat the crap and/or outrun anyone who might be after me.
I’m probably the type of person who really should wear a Road ID. But I don’t want it change the way I look at running. I don’t want to feel scared.
For now, I still run without a Road ID. I may get one someday, and I’m certainly not against them. But I want to run anonymously for a while longer. For risky trails and night runs, I’ll stick with a buddy. That way we can either die together, or one of us will live to tell a really good story. I’m ok with both options.
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V – I totally agree!! I’ve been fighting the Road ID thing too. Well, not really fighting, just haven’t even bothered. I usually take a phone with me anyway because I like to take pictures, but I totally agree with your take on fear. I do think of all the things I might encounter while trail running on my own (which I do most of the time), but I try not to let those things stop me. I try to use my fear to be more aware. Recently I even ran across a HUGE rattler. I had to wait for it to cross my trail. Was this scary? Hell yeah! I hate snakes!!!! And I know there have been a few mtn lion sightings in the area as well. Has that stopped me from running the trails solo? No.
Fear is something we should use to empower us not limit us.
It depends on your outlook on fear. I got a road id recently, not out of fear. I think of it as another tool that I will likely never use but if I did need it, it would let my family/friends know where I was sooner so they wouldn’t be worried about me. I don’t have allergies or medical conditions that the medics treating me need to know.
It doesn’t make me feel more or less safe. Fear doesn’t make sense to me from a logical point of view so I don’t entertain those thoughts. I have no fear of running into a mountain lion or a mobile meth lab or twisting my ankle or a swarm of killer bees (last week lol) while alone and miles from anywhere, simply because the chances of any of those happening are very slim and being fearful of those situations isn’t going to help me at all so why even think about it.
That doesn’t mean I leave my phone, extra water and Hershey chocolate at home as that would be stupid, not fearless!
By the way, I also carry a gun while trail running (in Nevada). At first it made me feel more safe but now I forget I even have it but, like the road id, my phone etc, it will likely prove useful if I should ever need it.
About 5 or so years ago I ran the L.A. Marathon. A few Minutes before the race the started they dedicated it to Ashlyn Dyer a friend of mine and the class president from my graduating class of high school (whom I had no idea had perished) While training for the L.A. Marathon she was struck by a hit and run driver. She carried no identification and was a john doe for a little while until someone tracked down who she was using the registration on her ipod. I don’t know if having an I.D. on her would have saved her life but it could have made a difference.
A road I.d. makes no sense in the middle of nowhere where there are no medical services available and it’s totally irrelevant to bring it up the Copper Canyons.
I am not overly concerned with my safety but I wear an I.d. from time time to set an example for my nephew’s. Most kids do not carry I.d. and if for instance they are struck by a car and suffer, let’s say a brain hemorrhage hospitals can not operate without a parent’s permission, brain damage can set in quickly and being able to contact the parents is essential. Sure this is a 1 in a million situation but if you were that parent and new you could have prevented a catastrophe.
You can drive your car everyday and not wear your seat belt and be totally fine your whole life but if you do get in a accident you will wish you had worn it.
In my opinion carry an I.d. causes no harm and is probably a good idea.
I’ve been in a situation where I didn’t know who I was, wasn’t carrying ID or cell, and I was in a different country. My Road ID would have been nice to have at the time as it would have saved a few hours of interrogation by the local authorities and then hospital staff. It may have even helped bring me back to reality sooner than later.
Now I wear my Road ID when I go out for an adventure – not because I have self-limiting fear, but thoughts of my husband and next of kin. Just in case something does happen to me again, they will be informed faster this time around.
True about one’s relationship to risk and fear.
I think of IDs kind of like the way I think about helmets and seat belts. PROBABLY nothing will happen, but just in case it’s a small thing that can do a whole lot of good. Maybe not save my life, but it can let my family know right away.
My brother was hit by a car last month (hit and run), fortunately his wife was with him and had her phone (first time she ever went biking with a phone). In the hospital we were talking w/ the case worker who said “Write your name and emergency contact info inside your helmet. If there’s an accident, the only thing we’re sure to get is the body. Stuff in your pockets or in a bag might not make it.”
Not being scary, just practical, and honestly I hadn’t thought of that before. Since we’re not running with helmets, a simple ID bracelet seems like a reasonable choice.
ditto what Patrick said. My kids have Road IDs and I wear one not because I am fearful but because I am realistic and there are stupid people in the world that warrent being afraid of like people who text while driving ect.
out in the wilderness, if something happens well you are kinda screwed anyways so why bother but in the wilds of society, definitely.
I bought my Road ID when I lived in the suburbs of AZ. Not because I was afraid of being attacked, but because I ran alone and there were spaced out soccer moms running through stop signs in their SUVs everywhere. Although I always wait to make eye contact with a driver before running in front of them, you never know what is going to happen on the run! I agree with angie – I’m not wearing it because I’m afraid .. I’m doing it because there are stupid people out there!
I wish I had more of your courage. I think it’s a strength that developed as you survived and learned from the events of your past. Do you take unnecessary risks or do you realize that there are worse things in life than climbing a little too high?
Timely post! I actually just ordered a RoadID. I do most of my running at night, and I don’t always carry a phone and never carried ID. I was never afraid of something happening to me, but my wife gets annoyed when I go out at night with nothing. Simple thing to do that makes her feel a little better.
I’m sure your loved ones LOVE your outlook. I don’t do it so much for me, but I certainly do it for THEM! I would want my friends and loved ones to do the same for me and have ID on them. Nope, you don’t have to have Road ID, but it is smart to have SOME ID on you when you go out and run. Road ID just happens to be a convenient way to do it–just like my Medic Alert bracelet that tells of my asthma and drug allergies. Do I HAVE to have it? No? Is it wise to have it, yes. And if Road ID makes it easy for people and makes them aware of just WHY they need it, then good for them. I don’t think it’s scare tactics at all. Life in this world CAN be very scary and risky, they are just telling the truth and selling a product that can come in very handy.
I think the road ID has become a fashion piece for runners and active people. A conversation piece for sure. The one I got Is the dog tag style. As much as I love trails, 80% of my running is in the urban setting around idiot drivers on there cell phones and young kids racing In there beat up Honda’s. family and work is why I run close to home. Got only so much time to train
I’m a fan of RoadID and I never have thought about it from a fear standpoint.
I recently got the slim version and just wear it all the time. I like it when folks ask about it. I’m an emergency nurse practitioner so I’ve seen more accident badness than most people, but it is not something I dwell on. I’ve been there with a patient who is seriously hurt and unidentifiable. It can delay life saving care, keep family and loved ones from knowing where you are for sometimes days or weeks. Also, I’m an organ donor which I think is very important.
I don’t think they are worn in “fear”. I think they are just a precaution and an aid for first responders. I don’t see why anyone would doubt your hard-core-ness because you were using a safety measure.
As a police officer who has responded to accidents in which a runner or cyclist have been hit by an automobile I have seen the results of those who have Id vs. those that do not. Unfortunately sometimes the contact person on the ID is provided just enough time to say goodbye one last time. Because of this I don’t leave home without mine if I am running, riding, or swimming. So I guess if it makes me less hardcore I will be okay with that =)
Do you wear a seatbelt because you’re afraid of getting in a wreck, or simply because its so habitual you don’t even think about it? Do you have home insurance because you are actually sleep afraid of a fire, or because in the event your house did go up you sure as heck would be happy you had insurance? Thus with the road id, its so habitual fear has nothing to do with it.
I wear one when I’m alone (full disclosure: they’re a client of OutsidePR), but not because of fear, but out of consideration. As a husband and a father, I want my wife to know asap if I’m ever in a position of getting medical treatment.