Wallets for Marathoning: A Safe, Lighter Wallet-System Alternative

Wallets for Marathoning: A Safe, Lighter Wallet-System Alternative
Wallets make some marathoners frown. They still have their safety appeal to others. But, nobody wants to carry anything more than necessary on a run or in a race. I have a solution.

First, I’ll cover why some marathoners don’t train or race with wallets. Second, I’ll cover why other marathoners insist on training and racing with a wallet. Third, I’ll go through several wallet-related items that you don’t need on a run or in a race. Fourth, I’ll discuss the items that you should carry. Fifth, I’ll show you how to create a marathoner wallet-system that is as light and safe as possible.

Wallets make some marathoners frown

Some marathoners argue that running with a shoe tag and a house or car key are enough. Here are some reasons that they don’t train or race with wallets.
[Tweet “Some marathoners DON’T carry wallets on runs because of bulkiness, fears, or fashion.”]

Bulkiness: These marathoners see wallets as bulk that slows them down. Some may even have seen one of my favorite Seinfeld episodes – episode 12 of season 9. George Costanza tries to keep everything in his bulky wallet, which finally explodes.
Fear of getting mugged: These marathoners would rather leave their wallets at home or in their cars.
Fear of loss: These marathoners can tell lost-wallet horror stories. They would rather not take the chance of losing a wallet on the road or trail. They, too, would rather leave their wallets at home or in their cars.
Not chic: These marathoners see elites racing with only minimal clothing. They see these elite marathoners as chic. So, training or racing with a wallet is not chic.

There is an irony to all these arguments against training or racing with a wallet. The word wallet comes from a German word that means to go on a pilgrimage.

Wallets make other marathoners smile

Other marathoners insist on training and racing with their wallets. They find that carrying a wallet is comforting. Here are some of their reasons.
[Tweet “Some marathoners carry their wallets on runs for emergency ID and money and out of fear of theft.”]

Emergency identification: These marathoners think of emergency responders using driver licenses to help car-accident victims. They argue that emergency identification is important for pedestrians, too.
Emergency money: These marathoners think of why they would need money on a training run. For example, they argue that it could pay for a drink at a convenience store for a dehydrated fellow trainee.
Fear of theft: These marathoners drive themselves to races and group-training-run meeting locations. Their wallets include emergency money and their driver licenses. They don’t want to leave their wallets at bag drops or in their cars, out of fear of theft. So, they carry their wallets on training runs and in races.

All these marathoners can go overboard, though, with what they carry.

What’s not needed while training or racing

I have seen all these items in various wallets. You don’t need any of them in a race or on a training run.

Automotive proof-of-insurance card: Keep this in your car, where you almost always need it.
Business cards (self and others): You should always carry your cellphone on runs and in races. So, put any contact information from another’s business card in your cellphone. And, leave your own business cards in your car or race bag; you can share them after the run or race.
Foreign currency: Unless you cross national borders during a run or race, you don’t need to carry foreign currency.
Frequent-flier cards: Leave those at home or in your hotel room.
Lots of coins: Most people rarely need coins today. People used to carry coins so that they could buy drinks from vending machines. Now, though, many vending machines accept credit cards. And, people used to carry coins so that they could make emergency calls from payphones. Although you may still find them in Europe, for example, they can be difficult to find in the USA. U.S. payphones peaked in 1999 at 2.1 million. The proliferation of cellphones after 1999 put the U.S. payphone business into a coma. So, payphones still working in the USA in 2016 had dropped to 99,800. Even the U.S. Federal Communications Commission noticed. The FCC proposed on June 22, 2017, to stop regulating U.S. payphones.
Lots of printed currency: A wad of cash is unnecessary when you carry a credit card. Yes, cash can be king in some circumstances, but you don’t need enough for an international arms deal.
Photos of loved ones: Keep these on your cellphone, on your desk at work, and in your home. They will stay in better condition than they would in a wallet on a run or in a race.
Prescription-drugs card: You don’t need it for any drugs dispensed to you in an ER. Leave it at home. You won’t need it following an emergency until after you return home.
Receipts: You don’t need these on race day, and you don’t need them while on a training run. Leave them at home or in your car.
Shopping gift/membership/rewards/store-credit cards: Use these before a run or race and then leave them in your car, Or, leave these cards at home. You weren’t planning to stink up a store by going shopping right after a run or race, right?
State-licensure cards: Suppose that a state mandates that you carry a card indicating professional licensure. You don’t need it on a run or in a race, so leave it in a secured place at your work location.
Sweetener packets: Suppose that you like a sweetener that restaurants don’t often offer. Keep spare packets in your car or bag; you won’t need them while training or racing.

There are a few items, though, that you should carry as a marathoner.

What’s needed while training or racing

Along with your cellphone, here are the wallet essentials that you need on a run or in a race.

Driver license: You need this to drive to a run or race. If you don’t drive, then carry a government-issued ID instead. Emergency responders need one or the other to help you following an accident. They especially need it when you are unresponsive.
List of current prescription drugs (optional): Emergency responders can help you better when they know what drugs you take daily. Your list should include current chronic-condition drugs. It could include current acute-condition drugs that are powerful. You may want to exclude any current acute-condition drugs for minor ailments.
List of ICE contacts: Emergency responders need to know whom to contact when you are unresponsive. These are your “In Case of Emergency” – or ICE – contacts.
List of medical allergies + blood type: When you cannot speak, this list can help to protect you from dangerous injections. And, if an emergency responder knows your blood type, this could save precious time.
Medical-insurance card: If you live in a non-socialized-medicine country, then carry your medical-insurance card. You will want to have this when you go to an emergency clinic or when you are checking out of an ER. If you live in a socialist country, then medical insurance and co-payments may be foreign to you. In these countries, you may have to carry a taxpayers-funded healthcare card instead.
One credit card: This could be a debit or charge card instead. The idea, though, is that you can use it in many emergency situations. These could be anything from getting bottled water to paying for medical care.
One key (home or car): Suppose that you start a training run from home. Then you should carry a key to your home, even if you expect others to be at home when you return. If your fellow occupants must leave home while you are away, then you still can re-enter your home. Or, suppose that you drive to a run or race. Leave your home key locked or hidden away in your car. Do not leave your car key “hidden” on a tire; car thieves often look there first. Instead, carry your car key with you.
Two or three pieces of paper currency: Cash may beat a credit card in some emergency situations. Give yourself some flexibility by carrying two or three bills of various denominations.

How to create a wallet system for training and racing

Here is how I created my wallet system for training and racing.

I bought a Road ID shoe-pouch. I had Road ID laser-engrave all this information on the metal tag for my shoe-pouch:
- My Name / Year Born;
- My City, State, and Country of Origin;
- Names, Cellphone Numbers (with “+1” Country Code), and Relationships (e.g., “Wife”) of Three ICE Contacts;
- My Blood Type and Allergies.
I attached the Road ID shoe-pouch to one of my running shoes.
I put these items in my shoe-pouch:
- Once, forever: Three pieces of paper currency – a $1 bill, a $5 bill, and a $20 bill;
- The night before a race or run: Driver license, medical-insurance card, and credit card;
- Upon leaving my car for a race or run: Car key.

This gives you all that you need safety- and wallet-wise for a race or run, but here are some extra tips.

If you are running from home, then you don’t need your car key. Instead, secure your home key in your hydration belt or pack.
If you have many medical allergies, then laminate a card for them to keep always in the shoe-pouch.
If you are on chronic medications, then laminate a card for them to keep always in the shoe-pouch.
You can laminate a medical-insurance-card duplicate to keep always in your shoe-pouch.
If you have too many cards for your shoe-pouch, then subscribe to the Road ID online service. This lets you enter medications, allergies, and insurance information for retrieval by others.
Don’t laminate a duplicate of your driver license unless this is legal. Some governments, such as the State of Texas, forbid second copies of driver licenses.

I like the Road ID shoe-pouch because it is quite secure. You must unlace a running shoe to remove it, and its hook-and-loop closure is quite strong. But, a fellow endurance athlete told me that he prefers a Road ID wristband to the shoe-pouch. He argues that pedestrians often get separated from their shoes in car-pedestrian accidents. So, even if the Road ID shoe-pouch stays with your shoe, your shoes may not stay with you in an accident.

His argument is reasonable. But, I figure that emergency responders will find my shoes, if they get knocked from me in a bad accident.

If his argument makes sense to you, then I recommend that you get a wristband from Road ID. Make sure that it contains as much information as possible. Then carry whatever else you need in your hydration belt or pack.

So, …
[Tweet “What if you decide to carry your wallet-system essentials in your hydration belt or pack?”]
I urge you to zip your wallet-system essentials into an inner pocket of your belt or pack. I had a temporary – but scary – loss of many of my essentials on a training run because I did not do this. Instead, I put them in a hydration-belt pocket with an energy gel. My driver license and other essentials fell in a parking lot when I opened the pocket to retrieve the gel. I did not notice the loss until after I finished the run. I was fortunate that another runner found them in that parking lot two minutes later. While I was panicking back at the start/finish spot for my group run, he returned and announced his find. I learned my lesson that morning. I later that day ordered a Road ID shoe-pouch.

To me, putting wallet-system essentials in a Road ID shoe-pouch beats putting them in a belt or pack. The shoe-pouch lets me keep my wallet-system essentials in a location that I will not be accessing on a run. In turn, this reduces to zero the risk of accidental loss of these essentials.

A wallet system like mine is lighter than a regular wallet but still gives a wallet’s safety benefits. To maximize your safety, check out Injury-Avoidance Habits for First-Time Marathoners and Half-Marathoners. It can make you think a second time about many safety aspects of your training and racing.

Interested? Click here:

Image Credit: Pixabay