October 31, 2007
When the marathon became lonely and cruel
Here's a piece on the headphone/ipod ban in certain marathons (those associated with USA Track & Field). The materials for the Chicago marathon earlier this month also banned headphones and ipods, but I listened to mine anyway for the first half of the race, and I saw a great many other runners doing the same.
i think banning headphones is crazy! especially for the average runner who maybe isn't in the race to win it, but just wants to participate.
I can understand why they're a problem -- if you're listening to loud music you have a lot less information about what's going on around you, and in a big race like the marathon where it's crowded and people are doing a lot of passing, that can be an issue. But I agree with you that average runners who aren't trying to win (which is like 99% of the people there in the Chicago race) can be very dependent on music.
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