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As triathletes, we spend hours and hours obsessing over our gear, but far too often we overlook one of the most critical pieces of equipment that, when neglected, can turn even the best race into a nightmare: our ?#@*&%! car keys. You may be wondering about my use of the colorful adjective “?#@*&%!” in describing this simple instrument used to unlock and start our vehicles. If you are, clearly you’ve never finished a race and realized that you are locked out of your car.

Although I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the art of losing car keys, I must say that my worst experience occurred just this month at a half marathon. It was supposed to be a slightly cool, crisp, spring morning warming up to about 60° F later in the day. At least that’s what the weather forecast said the week before, but each day the predicted temperature dropped a few degrees. By race morning the ground was covered in a light dusting of snow, flurries were blowing, and the thermometer read 24°. The solution? Layers! I put on two shirts, a fleece jacket, and a windbreaker and went out to brave the elements.

It was a freezing start, but after about a mile, I started to warm up. In fact, I realized it was time to shed a layer. That fleece jacket was a little much. Have you ever tried to re-pin a number to your shirt or jacket while running (just wondering)? I tossed the fleece jacket onto the side of the road in a location where I would be able to pick it up after the race on my way home. I realized I might never see it again, but it could be replaced if needed.

After that, the race went well. I not only got a PR but finished under two hours for the first time. I was thrilled. Before the race, I had modified my goal to just survival, so meeting both of my other goals was a huge bonus.

My wife was also running her first half marathon but was a ways behind me. It was still in the 20s, so I thought I’d go get back in the car and warm up while she finished. I walked a couple of blocks over to the parking garage, found my car and went to pull out my keys—or should I say ?#@*&%! keys. At that moment, I realized the keys were in the pocket of the fleece jacket that I’d left out on the course around mile two. I also realized that my wife didn’t have her keys either. In fact, before we left the car, she double-checked to make sure that I had mine. And, in fact, I did.

So, it was back to the finish line to wait, freeze, and beg for a ride. I am happy to say that I did avoid hypothermia by spending a little time in a ritzy hotel lobby before making my way back. Before long, I met up with my sister-in-law, whose husband had also raced, and was able to get a ride back home to get the spare key. Note that we did stop at the spot where I dropped the jacket, but of course, it had already been picked up, and I have not been able to track it down to date. Did you know that car keys are ?#@*&%! expensive to replace?

I learned the hard way that you need to have a car key strategy for your race! Here are a few tips to avoid situations like mine:

• Don’t leave the keys in your bag at transition if the start and finish line are miles apart. I also learned this one the hard way, but that’s another story.
• Don’t trust the small pockets in your tri suit or running shorts unless you also enjoy snorkeling and think it will be fun to hunt for lost keys in the bottom of the lake after your event. One thing I’ve learned is to use a safety pin to secure the keys to the inside of the pocket. Just make sure it’s a sturdy enough safety pin to hold up during the race. You don’t want it opening up and stabbing you as you bend over to change shoes in transition.

  

• Don’t take a key fob into the water with you. It may be a little less effective when you go to unlock your car.
• If someone is at the event to cheer you on, only leave your keys with them if they are committed to staying on until the end. If this is their first time being a spectator at a triathlon, they may get bored and go home. Make sure they have a track record of staying until the bitter end.
• You want to have your key with you at the end of the run. To ensure this, you could pin or tie it to your running shoes or get a race belt with a small pouch like the Ultra Aspire Io 2.0 Race Belt pictured here:
• You may want to small lock box that can hold your key and attach it to your car. Just make sure it’s a combination lock…
• If you’re brave enough, you could hide the key somewhere. Just don’t be surprised when you see a nice looking, black Honda Accord with the same license plate number as you cross the road ahead of you at an intersection while you’re racing.

Following these tips, you should be able to come up with a strategy for taking care of the most important piece of triathlon gear. Do you have any horror stories about lost keys? I’d love to hear them. Please comment below!