Running the Race with music?
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 -
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.
True.
In these cases I blame the RD. Most of the time this happens when you have multiple race distances that share part of the course. For instance, you'll have the faster marathoners coming up on slower half marathoners in a shared section of the course. If that happens, it's poor planning of start times and merge areas.0 -
Tunes are cool if you are training, or on the Treadmill or something. But a race? Not only is it a safety issue, but it takes away from the race experience. When you get out there with all the other runners, you wont miss it. Maybe the next time you train, start using less music. If you HAVE to have music, try dancing instead? On a more serious note from personal experience, I use to be one of those runners that had to have music when I trained (not race). Once I started not listening to it, my running drastically improved. You never know, it may be slowing you down. All those extra wires around your head and all. But, if are one of the many many many runners at a race that IGNORE the rules and wishes of the RD, then go for it! In other words, Music and Races dont mix.0
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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:
I totally agree... When I first started running I listened to music, but when I started to train for longer distance races I made myself keep the tunes at home to be able to train my mind to cope with long hours with nothing but being in my own head. If you are used to music it's tough at first but you soon switch and you will find that you can't run WITH music!!! I just feel like I get more of an experience being able to take everything in at races from people chatting, to the announcers, to the sound of the pitter patter of shoes on the pavement, to an encouraging cheer every now and again! Music cuts you off from all those cool race experiences!!!0 -
i have run with music because I also run mapmyrun on my iphone with the music to give me mile updates on my time. I know I should probably get a watch for that but it is a good enough estimate since the time clocks at the mile markers are not "my time" (since i'm not that fast!! haha) I've heard what many are saying though - that when the mileage gets longer they prefer no headphones
personal preference! 0 -
If headphones are banned, I don't wear them. If they're allowed, I try to go as long as I can without music. It does get pretty lonely at the back of the pack, though, so I can see putting them in at mile 20, which I did at Green Bay. I then took them back out to run the last bit, around Lambeau field.
I currently run with headphones (volume very low) because I play a zombie running game. However, I also enjoy running without.0 -
I run with music but I do keep it low so that I can hear what is going on. I don't mind running over during a trial run but if you run a longer distance in a race, this sucks! I also turn the music off when a fellow runner decides to run with me (only happened once, but I welcome the company). I also turn it off when I'm coming up on an official directing... I also try to run the course before the race (although I have been slacking on this for a while)...0
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I used to run with music. In fact, I never ran without music, but when I ran my first half, I decided that I wanted the full race experience. I listened to people chat and talk the whole race. I had people talk to me..only for a few moments but it was nice to know that someone would take the time to encourage me. 9 half marathons later, I've not run with music since. I run a lot of my training runs on the C&O canal. I might take music when I start training again, because i'm out of harms way. There are no cars on the canal (but still need to listen for bikers)
My only gripe with people and ipods during the race? The less serious people seem to just STOP to change music with no regard for the people running right behind them. I've almost collided with several runners because they didn't have the decency to get out of the way before stopping to mess with their Ipod.0 -
I run with ear buds. I keep the right one in & the left one out, tucked under my bra. I like to be able to hear the music & everything else going on around me.0
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Well, when I started this thread I was super nervous about the music issue but after reading what everyone had to say, I decided to try and run without headphones but brought them just in case.
I ran 20 miles without music. At mile 20 I felt like dying and stopping and when I was 2 seconds from throwing in the towel, I decided to run for a song, walk for a song til the end. So I put in one bud(right) and the other tucked into my bra so I could still hear the spectators' encouraging words. I was at the very back of the pack, to the point where police men had to point me on to stay on the race course. So I was very thankful for the music at parts of it because there was hardly anyone around. But I wasn't too much in my own little world that I couldn't notice my family calling my name at the finish!! When I get faster, and more confident, I probably will just leave them at home. At the beginning of the race when I was still in the thick of everyone, I met some really awesome people!0 -
Congrats on your awesome achievement of finishing the race!!!0
