The Post That Could Save Your Life

Last night's run with the running group was a bit of an adventure. It started out like any normal night. Well, except that we got to put our names into a raffle for a pair of Asics and Jimmy John's delivered some trays of sandwiches. But otherwise it was just a normal Monday night run.

I paired up with a guy I've run with a few times who helps make the run go by super-quick. We were chatting the entire time about the criminal justice system, ethics, travel, and pets. Our plan had been to run around a 9:15 or 9:20 pace but before I knew it we were at the four mile mark and we'd run closer to 9 minute miles.

At the four mile mark we all stop to decide who's going 5.5 miles and who's going 8 miles. Also, some of us get drinks at the water fountains. I jogged over to one of the water fountains and as I walked back to the group I noticed that there was an air of panic and fear surrounding them. It was then that I realized that a member of the group was laying on the ground apparently having a seizure.

Thankfully we seemed to have a medical professional in our midst, several people had cellphones and had called 911, and the park was full of Little League teams who had first aid kits. No one wanted to leave even though it really didn't take 15 of us to flag down the ambulance. We all wanted to make sure everything was going to be okay.

The ambulance arrived after what seemed like an incredibly long amount of time and loaded the now sort-of conscious runner into the back. Discussion was had about who to contact. No one was really sure. Normally this particular runner has his cellphone on him but I don't know if he did last night or not. Regardless, once the ambulance took off if he had it on his arm it was of no use to us. At this point we ran back to the starting point of the run to re-group.

Luckily, due to a twist of fate, some members of the group were able to track down the phone number of a family member and let them know what happened. However, it certainly started a discussion of what to carry with you on a run.

I currently have a Road ID on my shoe that lists my name, Jason's phone number, and my parents' phone number. I almost always run with my cellphone that someone could use to contact people. I know other people who run wearing dog tags with contact information on them. One guy last night said he runs with his gym's photo ID and that his gym has a list of emergency contact information. Some people think it's enough to run just with their driver's license but I disagree. We already knew who this guy was last night, we just didn't know who to call in the event of an emergency.

So, I beseech you. If you run, hike, bike, walk or exercise outside alone, carry something with emergency contact information on it. Preferably something easy to spot. If you exercise with others, let them know where to find your emergency contact information. For instance, in my case it's on my shoe.

My run last night went well and I have my fingers crossed that our group member recovers fully from whatever happened. Stay safe out there!

*********************

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 0 ft Location: Forest Park, IL Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 05/17/10 Up/Downhill: [+0/-0] Time: 06:32 PM Difficulty: 0 / 5.0 Performance Distance: 5.40 miles Time: 0:48:45 Speed: 6.6 mph Pace: 9' 02 /mi Calories: 634 Map   Elevation (ft)   Pace (min/mile)   Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 9' 03 +0' 01 6.6 -0.0 -- ft 2 8' 50 -0' 12 6.8 +0.1 -- ft 3 9' 06 +0' 04 6.6 -0.1 -- ft 4 9' 07 +0' 05 6.6 -0.1 -- ft 5 20' 16 +11' 14 3.0 -3.7 -- ft end 9' 20 +0' 18 6.4 -0.2 -- ft Versus average of 9' 02 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com