I AM SO AGAINST THIS! It is my right to wear a set of headphones when I run. It serves as my motivation, the driving sound of thumping bass kicks me into high gear. Call me a novice. Tell me I couldn’t possibly be a serious runner with headphones on. I can take it. But the moment I’m restricted, you better be ready to hear it from me.
I ran in the Thanksgiving 5 miler, and I was frustrated by the fact that I was asked not to wear headphones. Although I understand some of the reasoning behind this request, I think my right to motivation should be heard as well. A kind colleague, and serious runner tried to educate me regarding the banning of headphones. She explained a few things, and they all related to safety.
1) When a runner is on a course, their senses should be open to all obstacles.
2) Runners in a race should be conscious of those behind them as well, so as not to create a crash.
3) Serious runners don’t need to motivation of sound to keep them going.
My rebuttal is not only to her, but to the race world as a whole.
Let’s discuss the obstacles on a closed course. First and foremost, other people; there are serious athletes, children, beginners. All of which are obstacles. The children cause a diversion because you stare at them in awe that they’re hustling past you. Serious athletes push past you trying to make they’re way to the front. The pushiness of competition drives me to send an elbow to their ribcage. Simply because they pushed me. This counts as two obstacles. First I got pushed, second I want to push them back. Perhaps I would be able to shrug it off if I had my music pumping through my ears to distract me. Beginners are an obstacle because they just don’t know what they’re doing. They weave back and forth without the thought that they may be impeding the traffic flow. Beside the people on the course, you also have water stops, and onlookers. Neither are a bad concept, you most certainly need to stay hydrated, and having people cheer you on is inspiring. Nonetheless each is just as distracting as my headphones. Let’s take the water stop for example. Out of no where are pedestrians holding cups out in my face. Shortly after I dodge the tables, I get tripped up on the sea of discarded cups. And there’s always the asshole who spits his water towards my feet, or worse, throws their whole cup at me. Within a few hundred feet, I’ve narrowly avoided disaster. In the same breath, water stops are necessary. People need hydration. So you take a risk because the water is more important then getting tripped up, or spit on. Of all these obstacles one important thing missing; vehicles. There are no cars to be mindful of. I understand having headphones on when you’re running alongside a busy road. But if the course is closed, then the most dangerous obstacle is eliminated.
On to runners being conscious of their surroundings. I briefly touched on this when I mentioned the awareness that beginners lack. In my mind, this is tantamount to the downhill skier/boarder rule. The uphill person is responsible for the safety of the downhill skier boarder. It’s in the code of snow sports, ask my sister. Why should you be responsible for the person behind you? You can’t see them. The person in front of you, however, is in plain sight, and you should be able to judge their next step based on where they place their weight. It’s easy to see a directional shift in front of you. But good luck predicting the actions of the person behind you.
Finally the idea that serious runners don’t need the music. I agree a serious runner, who has trained for years, probably has running wired into their brain. Some of us choose to trick their brain, to cause a diversion from the fact that you’re pushing yourself harder then ever before. My playlist is full of fast tempo songs to keep me at a 10 minute pace or below. The music isn’t distracting my attention from my surroundings, it’s distracting my inhibitions and letting me push further with each new song.
When it came time to for the race, my sister and I glared at each person who ignored the rules. At least 30% were wearing earbud headphones. I was pissed. We wanted to confiscate each i-pod. It just wasn’t fair, I had listened to the rules, and it got me no where. I wasn’t in contention for a spot, in fact, my final number was something in the 2000s.
But I have to end with a look on the bright side. A few things happened without the headphones on. My sister and I really enjoyed each others company. We talked, well she talked while I tried to keep up, and sang, and laughed. There was a little music along the course. Some homeowners chose to play the Rocky theme music. We also got to enjoy the witty commentator who ran near us for 2/10s of a mile. Although I was thoroughly frustrated that I didn’t have my headphones, and others did, I did get a taste of what the Fairfield Half Marathon would be like. They don’t allow headphones either.
