Staying fit is one thing, staying safe is a whole different game. As we’ve mentioned before, staying safe while out for a run, hike, walk, ride, climb, or swim is an extremely important factor to consider when participating in these activities. For the most part, this can be achieved through simple means: going out with a friend, keeping yourself well-lit or wearing reflective clothing, running with a cell phone for emergencies, knowing your surroundings, and paying attention to the time of day (if trail-running, mornings can be hazardous because of animals; if road running, nights can be bad due to crime or traffic). Unfortunately, even if you take the aforementioned precautions, I would be lying to you if I told you that they make you magically immune to accidents. For those times that something does goes wrong, it is best to be prepared.

Enter GO>ID, with which, as they so elegantly put it:

You’ll have the peace of mind to do everything you want to with the confidence to go anywhere.

As far as big ideas go, the simple ones are always the best.

When we were first contacted by GO>ID, we weren’t sure what to think. The product is fairly new so we’d never really heard of it before. Honestly, I think the thing that really caught our attention initially was that the business is local to us (Madison, WI) and is available at our favorite running store, Berkeley Running Company. So, we surfed on over to the GO>ID website, where we were surprised to be presented with one of the best ideas yet to come to the fitness ID market–an ID that can be easily attached to gear that you already have with you, such as a watch or even your shoelaces. It’s also one of the most obvious ideas when it comes to fitness IDs, and we could hardly believe no one had thought of it before–a reaction we immediately expressed to its creator!

Russell, the designer, is a long-time runner who sought a simple solution to what he saw as a safety problem when it comes to carrying identification while running. Having some sort of ID is vital to running safety as it provides key health/emergency contact information to first responders in the event that you are rendered unconscious and find yourself unable to otherwise communicate the information to them. However, the need to carry a driver’s license or be forced to contend with additional wrist-wear (e.g., the Road ID or Nathan Vitaband) can make it very easy to forget or convince yourself it is OK to forego carrying an ID altogether.

The GO>ID eliminates this problem. It is a small metal tag (with ample room for identification information, date of birth, hometown, insurance information, emergency contact information, etc.) that can be attached to your GPS watch or shoelaces (no extra wristbands!), or to a clip or keychain (good for attaching to a backpack while hiking or to your house key while running). Because it can be left in place at the end of your run, it is much less easy to forget, and because it doesn’t require wearing or carrying anything extra to hold it, you’d be hard-pressed to find a reason not to!

True to the device’s concept, setting up your GO>ID is super simple, as well, and can be done at home, which is great when you consider that some other ID options take weeks to process your information! When you first receive your GO>ID, you’ll open it up and find an assortment of things:

Metal GO>ID

Silicon Cover

Resealable bag

Zipper hook

Velcro hook fastener (1)

Velcro loop fastener (2)

Laser-only labels (3)

Inkjet-only labels (3)

Clear label over-lamination (2)

GO>ID Sticker

The instructions will send you to the GO>ID website, which will explain, in detail, how to quickly and easily print your label and attach it to your new GO>ID. Once this is complete, your new ID is ready to be attached to whatever item makes the most sense for you. I went with the watch option just because I prefer the out-of-sight, out-of-mind approach. That said, the best part about the GO>ID is that it offers more than one option to display your identification, and you can easily switch between these options depending on your needs for that day.

Velcroed to the underside of a watch:

A clip (great for backpacks):

Or shoelaces:

The hole in the top of the plastic carrying case also works well for a keychain:

With its ease of setup and multiple display options, it is hard to imagine the GO>ID getting any better, but it manages to find one more way to impress. This thing is reported to be super durable. It’s been tested to withstand one of the toughest races around, the Ironman Competition, and has proven to remain sturdy through hot tubs, tumble washes, saltwater, dishwasher cycles, chemicals, mud, sweat, and, of course, tears!

In summation, the GO>ID is arguably the best thing I’ve seen come to personal IDs, and with a price of only $18.95, how can you resist? You can pick one up at their website or at Berkeley Running Company in Madison, WI (tell them Technically Running sent you).

Steve is an Executive Recruiter at Robert Half Executive Search in Madison, WI with a business degree in Information Systems and E-Commerce from the University of Toledo. Steve loves spending his time away from work; running, gaming, watching movies, checking out new social networking tools/sites/start-ups and blogging.