This is great news: USA Track & Field, the national governing body for running, this year banned the use of headphones and portable audio players like iPods at its official races.
As a veteran of 14 marathons and countless other road and trail races from 5-50K, I’m proud to say I’ve never taken two steps with music. And I’ve been jostled and pushed and run into more times than I can count by oblivious nincompoops who can’t hear my “on your left!” as I try and squeeze past them. Running with headphones in a major race is like yakking on your cell phone on the freeway — both deserve the bans that they are now receiving nationwide.
And I may sign up to do the famous Grandma’s Marathon:
Coming up with a way to enforce a headphone ban — if enforcement is even possible — has been a challenge for race organizers. Some have already taken a hard line, like the Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minn., in June, which had a field of about 7,000 runners. Race officials collected iPods at the start and then mailed them back to competitors. Still, 30 maverick runners who broke the rules and used headphones were disqualified.
“We proved that it is very possible to enforce,” said Scott Keenan, the Grandma’s Marathon race director. “If other races are allowing it, then shame on them.”
Scott Keenan is my new hero.
Yeah, I’m curmudgeonly on the topic. But I feel very strongly that part of running is listening to one’s body, listening to one’s breath, listening to the sounds of the city or of nature around you. Wearing headphones to do a marathon is like wearing headphones to a wedding. Now, that’s just one fella’s opinion, and others may differ. But that doesn’t mean that wearing headphones doesn’t affect those around you, and it does place you and other runners in danger.
And the danger is real. See my post here.
Now if we can only get the rest of humanity to dump these things…
I take your point on headphones at races, where those who wear them can become an obstacle to others. Your general line that part of running is listening to your body and to your surroundings, however, strikes me as unnecessarily restrictive and prescriptive. For those of us in particular who are less than fit, jogging along to some cheerful beats can really help plough through the hard bits. Plenty of people exercise because they know it’s good for them or because they feel good afterwards, without finding the exercise itself inherently enjoyable. Music can add that little bit of extra support to the failing muscles and willpower.
Well, I’ve viewed a lot of strange views on privilage but one in which you not only parade your able bodied privilage but that as a “real runner” you have never run to music makes you even more superior. Well, if you think people with Ipods are nincompoops, try being the only manual chair in a 5K of multiple thousand people when “real runners” like yourself don’t understand a) the amount of elbow room needed for a full recovery and repush b) that the three feet of space in front of me is not “passing room” it is there so when I push, I don’t slam you tendon and c) things on wheels go faster downhill…slower uphill. So my feeling is, Mr. “Only the sound of my heartbeat is motivation enough” is that you really don’t know the circumstances of all several thousand runners. If there is some post heart transplant or neuro runner out there doing a 10K and needs whatever little bit with them to get them to a finish line which to them is an affirmation of life itself; I think a mild 1/2 second or inconvience is really fine…unless the only runner you really care is participating is yourself.
As for your marathons and ultras - fine, why not have them take off your shoes as well, or refuse water or whatever other super-ablism you might need.
Pwned, Hugo, and pwned thoroughly.
Speaking as someone who hates running, I need, NEED that MP3 player or some form of music. Otherwise, I have absolutely zero motivation to get off the couch.
Limiting the sport is limiting the people who are going to participate. If that’s what you want, more committed runners, that’s peachy. If you want more people to participate, than you’re going against it.
Folks, it’s a SAFETY issue as much as anything else. This is not hardcore athlete snobbery, it’s about traffic and about crime and about being able to hear other athletes around you in a race. Heavens, I don’t want them banned for recreational runners on a track — I just don’t want them in a race, and USATF has done the right thing here.
I hope you don’t mind Hugo that I stay for a while. lol
I had no idea that people were listening to music or such in a race. But if it is a friendly marathon, I can’t see the problem.
Marathons are usually organised well and I can’t actually see the safety issue?
Hey, how do ya feel about the Nike-ipod shoes things that let you hear yourself running while listening to music?
Seriously, though. Others have covered it: a lot of people find exercise easier and more fun when they listen to music. I’m not hardcore enough to run marathons, so I can’t comment on the annoyance factor of the ipod people.
That said, when I’m outside running, I find I don’t want to listen to music. It’s a gym thing for me. Though- it could also be the necessity for a female jogger to be very alert and aware of anyone trying to sneak up and grab her (or hiding in the bushes to do the same. Bushes are a real no-no for me on dark morning runs.)
This is not hardcore athlete snobbery
Yes, Hugo, it is. Because you didn’t simply agree that runners need to be able to hear others at races; you insisted that your personal approach to running is what running should be, and people who listen to music are Doing It Wrong. And, as is not atypical, when somebody like Elizabeth points out that you are being self-righteous and self-centered, your immediate reaction is to throw up your hands in dismay at how misunderstood your words of wisdom are.
Hugo,
First, you may have missed something when you took your “Psychology of Sports” class:
There are two types of runners — those who associate while running and those who dissociate. The “associative” runners constantly monitor their bodies, adjusting to match what they experience. These are the elite runners. The lesser runners “dissociate.” They zone out to enable themselves to do more than they would be able to otherwise. No, they’re not elite. But they are out there running.
Question: Why are you yelling “on your right?” in a marathon? You ought to be running clear enough of the other runners that you don’t have to. I can see “on your right” on the track when you’re doing intervals — I’ve done it, and about half the time was because I was a rectal orifice. But a marathon? You have to be kidding. In a marathon, “on your right” is just rude.
There are any number of reasons “on your right” is a bad idea: many hearing-impaired runners either won’t hear you or understand you, “back-of-the-pack” runners often don’t have enough brain cells working to understand you, and even elite runners can get in trouble during a race to the point where their brain can’t process the audio data correctly.
If people in cars either ignore ambulance sirens or panic and pull into oncoming traffic or slam on their brakes in a panic stop (I used to be a paramedic — I know what I’m talking about), your “on the right” is only going to make things worse.
As for other aspects of safety, if people need to be able to hear well in a marathon, then don’t hold the freakin’ marathon in traffic. Cars and runners shouldn’t be on the same course, and even if they have to be, there ought to be enough room so the vehicles have no chance of hitting runners.
Yeah, headphones are stupid. I’m a slow marathoner, and I laugh at the folks with headphones. Banning them is just a “feel-good” action that accomplishes little and probably makes it so that fewer people can run marathons.
I have to agree with the others, it smacks of “ableism,” especially for the hearing-impaired. You don’t understand what it’s like to be slow. Neither did I, and I pray God doesn’t show you justice like He did me.
Now, 6 hour runners that line up in the front of the pack? They deserve to be run over like a doomed wildebeast at the river crossing. 2:20 marathoners that start at the very back of the pack? I hope they slam into some 300 lb. marathoner and knock themselves out. Skip the headphone police. Enforce starting-line basics!
Rob, how many large urban marathons have you done, where folks suddenly get shuffled onto narrow, crowded streets, and we’re still jostling for position at mile 10? I can think of a couple of marathons (San Diego’s Rock n’ Roll especially) where the “on your right” or “on your left” while passing was critical, as there was just no other way to get around given the massive crowds that lasted until mile 18 or so.
And in trail marathons, where you’re running on single-track — well, you’re needing to get people’s attention to pass right up until the end. (To be fair, I get passed a lot as well.)
I have to agree with the majority of commenter here…I don’t run marathons (only halves) I don’t run outdoors with my music—as a safety issue for a woman who trains alone outdoors. I promised my husband that when I ran outdoors by myself (where I do listen to my breathing, hear the rhythm of my footsteps, and gawk at squirrels and birds-I’m a mixture of associative & disassociative runner) I wouldn’t use my ipod. Even though I run in the mornings, it makes sense to be able to hear the runners/bikes/etc. that share the paths and parks with me.
However I also run indoors on a treadmill 3 times a week and find the headphones a life saver—no more listening to the lame conversations, horrible techno music, and the other sundry noises around me at the gym that can be distracting.
So while I have been in races where ipod runners will drift all over the road without a thought or care (very annoying! I wonder how they ski, and rail and grumble for a few meters), after seeing the comments of others here, I’m going to try to be more accepting and forgiving. Hugo is entitled to his opinions, but he has the luxury of being someone who truly appears to love running. Not everyone LOVES running (I was a doubter myself), and I made myself into a runner—not through talent, or mysticism, but just through sheer miles and time in. If a tiring comrade on the road needs to hear “Come Undone” by Duran Duran for 5k to keep them going (my fallback on bad speed workouts on the treadmill), than so be it. Hugo should know that sometimes a body needs a friend/lifeline/crutch in the search for enlightenment, or just health.
AMG, there’s as much difference between using an Ipod on a treadmill (something I’ve actually done) and using it in a road race as there is between talking on your cell phone in your living room and talking on it in moving traffic. The latter is fundamentally hazardous, as the USATF and their insurance companies have rightly decided.
Hugo,
Perhaps you should be seeding yourself better at these races–or the race organizers themselves should be more strict about enforcing the start placements or runners, like the do at Boston. I’ve noted that when I start with people in my proper time frame (they have started to put up signs and designate race numbers with colours to facilitate this in some big Canadian races) after the first couple of kilometers the groups gets moving at similar speeds. ‘Mis-seeders’ are more annoying and hazardous to me than ipods. I also find the bunched group hard to run behind/around. You know them–they’ve probably mis-seeded themselves, and are running 5 abreast down the road, talking and not being attentive to what’s around them. They’re not wearing ipods, but they are suddenly stopping in the middle of the road to walk their 1 & 10, causing other runners to slam into them.
I see your safety concern, but I think that race organizers & learn to run groups & mentors/race buddies would be better served if runners were given some basic etiquette and kept more strictly to their seeding.
Oh, and don’t wear your damn race t-shirt until you’ve finished the race (or at least started it!).
When people athletically zone to the point of creating hazards for others, that’s a problem. Anecdote: I’m a runner (the street/park/trail kind) and a musician. I try to run indoors as much as possible with my MP3 player because it does energize me/dual as a creative period but, when I’m outside, I zone on a sort of hyper-awareness and proactive mental process. For the pain and exhaustion running can give me, both styles afford me a sense of numbing.
Even running in the sort of areas I do I still have been knocked and tripped by the aurally distracted. The sort of relationship our ears have with the sounds coming from such a close proximity is a powerful one–couple that with a “FavTunesofALLTIME!!” playlist and one’s physical awareness drecreases dramatically.
So, one snobbish-meanie-runner-hand here for Hugo. I support USATF’s ban and Hugo’s delight in it. And while I understand present commentariat concern for acceptance of various zoning methods I don’t think that was Hugo’s point. This, as I see it, is about respecting other people’s safety.
AMG, I try to actually seed myself in the appropriate corral. And you and I both know that there are always hundreds of 5:30 marathoners standing in the 3:30 area. I’ve seen that a dozen times.
A little touchy about this, aren’t you, Hugo? It’s not like we challenged your commitment to deep, radical justice.
Hugo,
Pittsburgh’s late, lamented marathon gave everyone a street-width. Cleveland’s Rock and Roll marathon had the entire road as well. Kona’s marathon (the marathon course for the Iron Man) was the most narrow with an out-and-back course and between the hearing-impaired runners, stroke survivors, and the occasional diabetic with a blood glucose of 45 mg/dl, we still had no problems. It’s worth noting that the Pittsburgh Marathon started out fairly crowded and on cobblestone.
The Youngstown International Peace Race (now just the Youngstown Peace Race 10K, darn it) never had a problem. Last time I ran it, there were plenty of headphones, and the streets are among the narrowest for any major race I’ve run.
I also worked the Pittsburgh Marathon as a volunteer, amateur radio operator, and paramedic. I also worked and ran the Great Race (a far more popular 10K) in the same capacities (and ran it, too) with a narrowing about the Mile 4 marker. I’ve treated just about everything and have never seen a headphone-related injury. I’ve seen cardiac arrest, slip and fall, torn ligaments, hyperthermia, hypothermia, etc. The worst had to be the 2001 Pgh. Marathon at Mile 15 when the person pulled up in front of me screaming with a charlie horse. I darn near quit right then and there. Traumatic limb amputations don’t scream that much….
At a pinch in a course, I don’t see “on your right” helping anyway. The turn from Forbes to Morewood in the Great Race is nothing but people jostling for position. There are a lot of injuries there — and there have been since the Great Race started — there were no Sony Walkmans then. The exception would have been for a time in the 80s when the Great Race was rerouted and didn’t go through the Forbes/Morewood intersection.
A trail marathon would be different, but any race I’ve ever run on a trail had to put up with the Saturday morning joggers anyway — far more likely to have headphones and not be paying attention. My usual workouts are often on trails — either bike or running, and I know enough to never assume someone’s going to hear me — or respond appropriately. While on the bike, I do yell “On your left” on occasion, but far enough away to not frighten someone and to give myself plenty of time to react. Too often, they react wrong or don’t hear me.
Do you think the USATF should ban hearing-impaired athletes? Should they ban slow runners who dissociate instead of associate as they run? Marathoners who take more than 4 hours?
If you’re going to ban headphones, you logically need to either ban the hearing-impaired or make them run with a hearing person.
I watched the 1984 olympic women’s marathon. Did you? There was one woman who convinced me to start running myself, to the point of training and racing for marathons. Her name was Gabriela Andersen-Scheiss and it took her 5 minutes and 44 seconds to drag her rigid right leg around the stadium for the final lap. She was the image that was burned into me as a youth of what it meant to be a runner, to be an athlete. She weaved, she did not listen to “passing on the right”, she nearly fell several times but she FINISHED (and ran another marathon a few weeks later actually). I imagine “for safety” she probably wouldn’t be allowed to continue these days. You don’t have to worry about me slowing your all important personal best by lining up ahead of you, nor I suppose would you still be there when I and those like me finish. It is just without the pure beauty/ugly displays of people like Gabriela there would be far less runners, trying to find a way to participate. Is that a good thing?
Rob, my PR of 3:13 was at the 1999 Pittsburgh Marathon. Pre-Ipod days, but I know the course well. (I even wrote a fan letter to race director Larry Grollman, what a well-run event it was!) You and I have had different experiences as runners, clearly; “on your left” has served me very well in races from 5Ks all the way up to 50K. And I’ve heard it a lot too. I didn’t, to my knowledge, hear it at Pittsburgh — but that was back when I was fast enough to be towards the front!
Elizabeth, I watched Andersen-Schiess, and like you, was transfixed.
Folks, I don’t run USATF. Why do YOU all think USATF did this, given the state of the sport today? Why are the insurance companies charging higher rates for headphone-permitting races? If you think it’s unjustified, take it up with them. I think — as an amateur athlete — it’s a good idea. But my judgment didn’t carry the day; those who know and care most about road racing made what seems to me to be an excellent decision, one that favors both safety and the integrity of the sport.
USATF didn’t issue a statement saying “We and our insurers feel very strongly that part of running is listening to one’s body, listening to one’s breath, listening to the sounds of the city or of nature around you. Wearing headphones to do a marathon is like wearing headphones to a wedding” as the reason for their ban. They were honest about their reasons (namely, liability issues).
It’s almost hard to believe the level of emotion this post has raised; Hugo’s celebration of the USATF’s decision is twofold (one, it’s prudent and safe, and two, it squares with his own running preferences). The latter of these is clearly marked as “one fella’s opinion” and not a universal prescription, although his defense of his preference is rhetorically effective.
Also it is pretty unclear how ‘able-bodied privilege’ is at play. I think we have every reason to suspect that Hugo is all for folks in chairs, hearing-impaired runners, &c participating in these events; what he clearly objects to is the *choice* of some people intentionally to isolate themselves from the race (which, I’d want to add, seems considerably more selfish than Hugo’s alleged obsession with his PR).
Hugo, Grandma’s Marathon is terrific and you should do it, if for no other reason than Duluth is a great town.
Hugo,
I was originally going to comment here to say that I do not quite understand the extremely intense level of vitriol from fellow commentors on this post (and I still don’t!), but I saw this article this morning and am curious to know your take on it. While it doesn’t have to do with the headphone ban, it does have to do with marathons. Personally, I find the general argument of the aforementioned article completely detestable, and was wondering if you’d read it.