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. The new rule was created to ensure safety and to prevent runners from having a competitive edge.
But trying to enforce such a rule on a 26.2-mile course filled with thousands of runners may be futile. The New York City Marathon, which strongly discourages the use of audio players, will not attempt to police its field on Sunday for lack of a surefire way to carry out the ban.
Technically, at last weekend’s Marine Corps Marathon here, and even at much smaller events like the Creaky Bones 5-kilometer race in Florida and the Corn Maze 4-miler in Tennessee, runners should not have had the luxury of listening to their favorite songs along the way. Marine Corps Marathon officials threatened to disqualify runners using headphones, but did not follow through.
“To ban them outright is just stupid, and if they want to disqualify me, they can,” Jennifer Lamkins, a teacher from Long Beach Calif., said before running the Marine Corps Marathon. “If they are banning them because we can’t hear directions, does that mean they should ban deaf people, too?”
Elite runners do not listen to music in races because they need to concentrate on their own bodies and hear their competitors, and some die-hard, old-school runners follow suit. Those runners — purists who prefer the sound of the crowd or their own breathing over, say, “Fergalicious” — cheered the headphone ban.
But for competitors who use music as a motivational tool while training and competing, the ban was frustrating, as if the race directors were forcing them to run barefoot.
With technological advances leading to smaller and smaller audio players that are easier to carry and conceal during races, the rift in the sport and the debate over the issue seems to be here to stay.
“They can ban iPods all they want, but how do you think they are going to enforce that when those things have gotten so small?” said Richie Sais, 46, a police officer in Suffolk County on Long Island, before running the Marine Corps Marathon.
“I dare them to find the iPod on me,” he said, adding that he had clipped his iPod Shuffle, which is barely larger than a quarter, under his shirt.
Some events strongly discouraged the use of audio players in the past, but the track and field federation’s new rule mandated an outright ban so that runners would be more aware of their surroundings and be able to clearly hear race announcements or warnings from other runners.
Jill Geer, spokeswoman for USA Track & Field, said the ban was “basically an insurance issue,” because rates rise substantially if headphones are allowed. Each sanctioned race receives liability insurance from USA Track & Field, and it would be up to each race director to enforce the ban. If the ban were ignored, the races would be liable in the event of an accident caused by someone using headphones, Geer said.
While race officials could not cite specific incidents caused by headphone users, they did say that the new rule would make races safer because it improves communication. Still, they fear that banning headphones may alienate some recreational runners.
“Years ago, the picture of people running marathons was these lean, mean Type-A male running machines, but today people running are your neighbors, just regular people,” said Tracy Sundlun, executive vice president for Elite Racing, which organizes marathons. “It’s a different sport now and we have to cater to these new people, not exclude them”
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.”
Others are more lenient. The New York City Marathon’s race director, Mary Wittenberg, said it would be impossible to police a race with 38,000 runners moving through five boroughs. Wittenberg, who admitted that she used U2 songs to help get her through tough workouts, did not rule out a ban in the future. If all the major marathons agreed to enforce the rule, New York City would follow, she said.....
you guys for catching that one originally. How'd it feel getting in the water, t-man?I could be all kinds of stupid about this- but the 3:45 just keeps coming up in my own computations. One problem with it is that I'll still have to decide on a pace group- either the 3:50 or the 3:40 and gauge accordingly since there isn't a 3:45 group. Or I could just go for it and try for it on my own (which most likely means 6:50 miles for the first 4 or 5, given my tri race experience
). I'll ask their advice when I sign up for one at the expo, and ask my PT buddy again when I see him on Tues... leaning towards starting with the faster group and working my way back if need be- even though that goes against typical marathon advice to start slowly... I've mentioned I'm dim, right?
when I crawl back in here on Sunday night after blowing up the last 10k because I went out too fast with my ambitious goal-time, and finished slower than my IM 4:30 (goal #3). I'll be sure to wear my anti-TYS ear-muffs.
you guys for catching that one originally. How'd it feel getting in the water, t-man?I could be all kinds of stupid about this- but the 3:45 just keeps coming up in my own computations. One problem with it is that I'll still have to decide on a pace group- either the 3:50 or the 3:40 and gauge accordingly since there isn't a 3:45 group. Or I could just go for it and try for it on my own (which most likely means 6:50 miles for the first 4 or 5, given my tri race experience 
alert. It occured to me that I have an Excel sheet built for my psyco-mind that can tabulate times mile by mile for a 1/2 marathon. It would take all of about 7 seconds to create a second column for another 13.1 and then total and it will spit out in hours:minutes:seconds. If this will help this process for you, let me know with a PM and an email address and I'll shoot it off. I know I way over think things but this gave me an insane mental boost as I didn't have to do the math while running.
...
... now I'm going to shoot for a sub 3:00.
might be intrigued.
didn't that get wet and cold?
. I have a couple of pairs of running tights that are a must bottom layer for my bottom half, wear short sleeve wicking shirts for the bottom layer of my top half, and also like to wear a stocking cap or skull cap (I have my favorites), but everything else I just adding to the warmth.
I've never used the Under Armour... guess I'll give it a try when I have to add replacements.
..... just getting my PTTS's warmed up).
I think the cold weather turned drivers in to a bunch of #######. I had the nearest of misses on my run this evening. What looked like a teenager driving with her mom turned left turned against the red and came within about 2” of hitting me as I ran across an intersection. I ended up eye to eye with the mom in the passenger side window. I only ran 4.5 miles and got cut off one more time and had to run around one more ######## that didn’t look. 
... it could be pretty windy.
... lying on back, push your body up from your shoulders and feet- make your quads parallel to ground, squeeze butt and hold. it burns... oh yes, it burns.
finger
at home on a regular basis. Am thinking of adding weighted step ups as well for the Hancock run. Not really planning on breaking any records. Just hope to finish ahead of most of the people in my work group.I will probably be coming down the elevator in between cycles.
