Survey for RUNNERS: Do you listen to music?

No! at least not outside! It clears my mind and I LOVE the quiet!! But if I am at the gym, I will use my ipod from time to time because it is so boring!

I started running my freshman year of high school, ran all the way through my senior year, and took a break my freshman year of college. Now I'm getting back into it, heading into my sophomore year of college. I listen to music when I run.

I definitely don't see it as a necessity, I know that I can go out and run the same distance in the same time without music as I can with it. Music doesn't effect how fit or in shape you are, so I can't really see how much of a "crutch" it is. Personally, I wind up zoning out so bad when I'm running I don't even notice the songs changing.

Never.

I also think that "new" runners have the better...smaller mp3 players making listening to music while running easier. I use to not listen when I was younger, carrying a bulky walkman didn't appeal to me. But now I have a small ipod nano that I will listen to on runs. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't. It depends. If I need the distraction from thinking too much then I'll listen but if I want to run to think then I won't listen. Make sense?

I started running in middle school and never used music when I ran until about my sophomore year of high school...now I have music most of the time, but really I have music playing all the time anyway at home..when I'm cooking, getting ready for work, doing school work, whatever...I always have music playing. So I think it's more that I just like to listen to music, rather than a need for a distraction when I run. But I could go with or without, some days I'll run without it and just listen to my feet hitting the pavement, which is nice and relaxing.

I started running in March! Now have over 320 miles down... used to run for endurance while dancing hula when I was in my early 20's, now I'm 47. And yes!!! I do listen to music now. I run outside 98% of the time...I use it to keep a good pace - have a workout playlist on my ipod. If I had to, I could NOT use music... but prefer to have it.

L.

I started running 2 years ago, at age 39.

If I'm running alone, then yes, I use music. It's not so much a distraction, as it is something I love. It helps me just get into a 'zone' that I don't quite reach if running alone and w/out music. However, if for some reason I don't have my music (battery dies, broken headphones, etc), it won't stop me from running.

When I run with a partner, then we usually talk while running. Something that once upon a time, I NEVER thought I would be fit enough to manage!

Running tune free since 2003!

I used to use an MP3 when I started out, but then it broke. I wondered how I would survive, but then I discovered two things:

1) I really enjoyed having one less "thing" to deal with
2) I enjoyed hearing birds, dogs and cars (before they run me over)

Stay safe out there people. And ditch the music for your races (lots of nice people to talk to out on the course).

Ive been running since high school (cross country). I use tunes or even watch tv (iPhone @ gym). If I don't have something, I go crazy. Batsh*t crazy.

I more often than not listen to music, but it’s absolutely not required. I generally prefer it for long runs, but find it distracting if I’m doing speedwork. When I listen, I am sure to use my crappy headphones, for two reasons: 1) I can hear the environment around them, and 2) if my form starts to slide and I start to bounce, they immediately fall out of my ears.

I didn’t listen to music when I exercised in my youth because my walkman drained batteries like crazy. When I finally got a discman, it skipped like mad. Not only that, but I was a competitive swimmer, so I was used to silent workouts. No underwater music players back then – at least not any that I could afford. (I didn't start running seriously until my late 20s, but I did do some running as crosstraining for swimming or martial arts.)

Instance where running music can throw off a workout: I was in the last few minutes of a tough run, and I wanted to rev my engine and pump hard, but then this soft and dreamy soundtrack from a movie came on, haha. I thought, “well, at least it will be good for my cooldown in two minutes,” but by that time, another song had started…very difficult to cool down to Justice – Stress. :laugh: Why couldn’t those two songs have been switched? (Without the pain of having to dig my player out of my shorts and unlock it and all that, that is.)

On the treadmill yes, outside, no. I listen to music while on the treadmill only because my other option is to see my pathetic dog laying next to me snoring and farting. I'd rather hear music than that. It's bad enough I have to smell him. Way too many runners (I live right by an international airport - no matter what time of the day there is always a ton of traffic) get hit these days even if they have it low enough, and pay good attention. Face it there are too many drivers out there with road rage, and people always in a rush - you're life is more valuable than a couple hours of music while you run, IMO. Oh, and I never ran in my life until I had my third son at the age of 26 (about 10 weeks post-op).

On my shorter runs (less than 5 or 6 miles) no, I don't listen to music. But anything longer than that, and I need the distraction.

I don't listen to music on the 1/2 marathon races, because I want to be aware of those around me.

I started running 3 years ago...at age 39! Ran my first half marathon at age 40. :happy:

I have found that when I'm trying to train in a certain zone listening to music really messes me up. I can't focus on pace. So, I've started listening to audiobooks. That way I'm less distracted, I can focus on the rhythm of my feet instead of music and I also have something to listen to. Also, I'm training for the NY Marathon and many people say you don't want to listen to music and miss all of the great stuff going on like bands and the crowds. I don't want to get so dependent on listening to music that I won't know what to do without it.