The inspiration for Road ID was born in the fall of 1999. For my father, the inspiration was his concern for me as I trained for my first marathon. For me, the inspiration was a black, King Kong size pick-up truck that I nearly came face to face with on a long Saturday run.

Earlier that fall, I began training for my first marathon. My father worried about me logging all those miles and would often tell me to "be safe." One day, he suggested that I carry an ID so that he could be notified if I had an...