Running the Race with music?
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samkelly89
Posts: 198 Member
Sunday is my first full marathon (And really my first race besides some 5ks) And the website says they strongly advise that we run without ear phones. I had a mini panic attack about this because I ALWAYS run with earphones and music keeps me going. Has anyone else trained the whole time with music and then ran the race without??
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Every race I've participated in also strongly advises against running with ear phones and I've always run with ear phones. As long as you're not a contender for a top prize and would therefore be disqualified, listen to music. As long as you don't have them turned up so loud that you can't hear what's going on around you, you should be just fine.
I have my first full on Sunday, and I could not imagine doing it without music! I even upgraded my ipod shuffle (I wasn't able to skip songs or change the volume on my old one) specifically so I'd have it for this event.0 -
With the exception of the Portland Marathon pretty much every race recommends you not wear headphones. There are several concerns with wearing headphones during a race, the biggest being that you may not hear someone warning you of a safety concern ie "Watch out for that car!" If the event you are running is a larger race where all the roads are closed this won't be much of a concern. If you do decide to go with the headphones I suggest keeping them low enough to hear people trying to talk to you. No headphones also helps you converse with others which can be handy when you are out there for 3+ hours. Good luck with your race.0
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I run with only 1 headphone in so I can hear what's around me but still have some music going.0
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I was mad the first time someone told me I wasn't allowed to run with headphones, but I've come to realize that it's not so bad. I listen to music on long training runs, but I don't in races anymore. I think I race better and feel a little less encumbered (and thus faster, even if it's entirely psychological) without the headphones.0
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I always listen to music when I run. As long as they aren't expressly prohibited I would still wear headphones. I don't like talking to people while I'm running because I'm usually running too hard to spare the breath, so I don't care about holding a conversation. In the Army, they told us if you can complete a sentence, you aren't running hard enough. I guess it just stuck with me!
To be honest, if I were running anything longer than a 10K and they said headphones were prohibited, I probably wouldn't race. 5K and 10K distances are totally doable without, but a half marathon (which would take me 2+ hours) would be torturous with nothing but silence.0 -
I like my tunes, and I don't like to run without tunes. I blame my stress fracture I had last year to not listening to my tunes! (( lost my synchronization, flow!). I really don't care if can be faster with tunes, I still want my tunes. (and I LOVE to be fast, but speed is not worth it if I have to lose my tunes).:laugh:0
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If its a relatively 'large' race you'll find that most people will use them anyway! There's no way they can even stop that many people from using them! haha
I had the same panic when I read that on the website for my marathon and soon realised it was nothing to worry about!0 -
Ipods (and all listening devices) have now been banned at all road races in South Africa. Depending on the race this rule has been strictly applied with a couple of disqualifications and pressure on the clubs to keep their members in line.
I had to retrain myself not be so dependent on music on my long runs and now hardly ever run with music anymore.0 -
Don't do it. It's a safety issue and it takes away from the experience. Also, you need to be dialed in to what your body is telling you, not tuned out.0
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I trained with music for a long time - I love music and recorded my own running music. It absolutely keeps me on pace. I use Noom or Endomondo for pacing information. Even when they advised against it. it seemed to be some sort of assurance for me. Then in my first half, the music wouldn't play, just the pacing prompts came through. I had, within seconds, the predicted pace for the race.
It was a tough transition, but I found to be no problem. I still use music for certain training aspects as the beat really helps. I do rely on the pacing prompts, but not the music.0 -
I listen to audio books while I run. Earphones haven't been prohibited in any of my halves so far. I have to laugh when people talk about talking to other people during the race and the crowds and the bands and everything... the races here are very small. It is a lot of kms between observers! A lot of the time I am either running in the woods, and no one else is in sight, or along the left side of a rural highway, and you can see cars coming a long way away, no chance of missing them. I haven't run into any dangers on training runs or on the race course that have been made worse by wearing earphones.
Caveat - I am a new runner and have not run a lot of races! This could be a case of "a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing".0 -
Please leave the tunes at home on race day. Running is a social activity, make some friends out on the course.
I've met all sorts of interesting people during races.0 -
Please leave the tunes at home on race day. Running is a social activity, make some friends out on the course.
I've met all sorts of interesting people during races.
Meet people?
Ain't nobody got time for that!
:laugh:0 -
Please leave the tunes at home on race day. Running is a social activity, make some friends out on the course.
I've met all sorts of interesting people during races.
Meet people?
Ain't nobody got time for that!
:laugh:
I often start marathons with a pace group to keep things in check, easy to chit chat with fellow runners along the way. It helps me get settled in - even at PR pace.0 -
I think most race courses are so crowded that you need to be able to hear where others are. Somebody might be passing, close. You might be passing, and stepping over to do it, and someone might be coming through.
Etc.
If they ask you not to do it, I wouldn't. A race is exciting and interesting enough. You'll have enough stimulus.0 -
I think I am the odd person out. I have never, even once, run with music. I can't imagine running with it! I do not want to develop a dependency on tunes to be able to run my best.
Now my Garmin~that's a whole different story! I cannot run without that!!!:laugh:0 -
I have not run a marathon, but I did run my last half without music (or in my case, audiobooks). Loved it so much. I ran with a pacer a good bit of the way, and it was nice to talk, and I felt very in tune with my body. I have since started running unplugged a lot more. Not always, but I am not bored like I though I would be!!0
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Ignore it if you need the music. I do. I've done it over 100 times. No issues, ever. Just keep the volume low enough that you can hear ambient noises around you to help avoid any collisions, etc. (not that I've ever seen it happen).0
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Ignore it if you need the music. I do. I've done it over 100 times. No issues, ever. Just keep the volume low enough that you can hear ambient noises around you to help avoid any collisions, etc. (not that I've ever seen it happen).
I have. And they were runners wearing headphones and running 3 abreast, totally unaware of what was happening around them.0 -
In fairness I have seen plenty of people doing this without headphones too.Ignore it if you need the music. I do. I've done it over 100 times. No issues, ever. Just keep the volume low enough that you can hear ambient noises around you to help avoid any collisions, etc. (not that I've ever seen it happen).
I have. And they were runners wearing headphones and running 3 abreast, totally unaware of what was happening around them.0
