Runner Safety & RoadID Charity Raffle

Thank you so much to everyone who entered the Marathon Charity Raffle – Core Fusion and Yoga 10-Class Pack! Extra thank yous to the two people who each donated $100 — so generous! I entered every entry into a spreadsheet and then used the Random Number Generator to select a random winner.

The winner is

What the hell? When does “1” get chosen??

Congratulations on winning a Core Fusion 10-pack Michelle L!

As you can see, I am very close to reaching my goal. What better time to hold another raffle? This one is for the runners, walkers, cyclists or anyone who has active people in their lives that they care about.

I am raffling a $35 Gift Card for a RoadID.

RoadID is an essential part of runner/cyclist/walker safety.

I first learned about RoadID when Caitlin from Healthy Tipping Point detailed the story of Lindsay, who got into a cycling accident and did not have any identification on her. The hospital refused to treat her and she had to wait in excruciating pain until they received her information.

After reading Lindsay’s story, I entered the Caitlin’s giveaway, saying this: Wow. I was considering it before, but now I am convinced. If I don’t win this I will purchase one – but I’d love to win.

I did not win. So I purchased one. How could I not? How could any runner or cyclist not? I never ran with any ID and after learning about RoadID, realized how crucial it is. If you visit the testimonials section of the RoadID website, you will find story after story of people crediting their lives to having a RoadID, like this one from Shannon:

I cracked my head on the pavement and fell unconscious. Thank goodness I was wearing my RoadID on my shoe- the first responders used my Interactive ID to find out my identity and some very crucial medical information. They knew who I was and that I needed specific care. I’m not sure what would have happened if I WASN’T wearing ID, and I don’t intend to find out!

RoadID comes in different styles. I like wearing the Shoe ID because it sticks onto my shoelace and I don’t have to worry about forgetting it; I just never take it off my sneaker. They also have dog tags (for the hardcore among us), a wrist band, an ankle band and a shoe pouch (good if you want to shove some cash in there).

The RoadID has six lines of space for the following types of information:

• Name
• Phone Number
• City & State
• Emergency contact phone numbers
• Insurance Information
• Running mantra/motivation/inspiration/quote
• …or anything else you want

Why Wear a RoadID?

Caitlin detailed the following reasons why you should wear a RoadID:

• Keeping your ID in your pocket is better than nothing; however, in a serious accident, it is unlikely your clothes will stay in 1 piece or even make it to the hospital with you.  The majority of the time, clothing are cut off by paramedics and other first responders, and an ID in your pocket may get lost in the shuffle.
• Relying on your cell phone to hold your emergency contact information is not smart — phones may be smashed during the accident.
• Furthermore, for their own protection, paramedics and other medical professionals will not search bike bags, fanny packs, helmets, wallets, and purses for identification.  Personal belongings are left for the police to record in their report of the accident.
• Your parents, spouse, or friends probably do NOT know your emergency contact information by heart.  Additionally, these people probably know very little about your medical history, medications, allergies, and insurance information.
• The HIPPA Laws and Patient Privacy Act make it very difficult to track down family members or friends who have been admitted to the hospital.  Hospitals will usually refuse to release any information unless the patient has signed various medical documents.

My RoadID quotes my own running mantra, straight from Citizen Cope’s “Son’s Gonna Rise”: INAMILEYOULLBEFEELINFINE

That is “In a mile you’ll be feelin fine” shrunk down to fit onto a RoadID. I like having that with me every time I run. It is so true.

[Screen shot from RoadID]

And as I learned the hard way, do not put any information on your RoadID that might not be permanent. My old one had my ex’s phone number. Oops. Luckily they offer replacement IDs, although if they did at the time I didn’t realize because I just ordered a whole new one!

Raffle Rules

• $5 per entry – $10 = 2 entries; $15 = 3 entries; and on and on. The higher you bid, the more entries you get. I wanted this to be accessible to anyone, so as long as you’ve got $5 you have a shot!
• Please leave a comment to let me know you donated and would like to be entered into the raffle
• If you already entered my Core Fusion & Yoga 10-class pack raffle last week and also want to enter this, all you need to do is donate an additional $5 and I will count ALL your entries towards the RoadID.

Click here to donate and enter the raffle.

I will announce the winner next Tuesday morning, July 5.