The Beat Goes On

Or will it?

There are more runners listening to music en route than not, according to a recent, informal survey conducted by me. Six out of 10 people crossing the finish line around the two-hour mark of last year’s NYC half-marathon wore headphones.

Starting in the 1970s, road races began using music to pump up the runners before the race. It would be hard to stand on the starting line of a race, hear Eye of the Tiger and not feel a rush of adrenaline. So it makes sense that runners want to bring that adrenaline rush with them from the start line all the way to the finish. But race directors don’t like it. In 2007 the Twin Cities Marathon disqualified over 100 runners for wearing headphones following legislation from the USA Track & Field, which states that runners must not run with headphones in USATF-sanctioned events. Other marathons have since followed suit, including the Hartford Marathon, which has DQs slated for its 2008 event. No such plans yet for the ING NYC Marathon, though the governing body of this marathon strongly disapproves of running with headphones. "We recommend that people not wear headphones during races, but we don't enforce the ban,” says Sara Hunninghake of the New York Road Runners, which organizes and oversees the event. “It's hard to enforce consistently, and we put our resources toward other aspects of the event. Having headphones on takes away from the unique race experience. [Music is] a great training tool but you don't need it on race day. It is a safety issue as well because runners [wearing headphones] are potentially slower to respond to what's going on around them.”

It is a hot debate—will the beat go on? I went out to Central Park Resevoir for a little field research.

Pro Headphoners Say:

1. I run in the mornings and it wakes me up.

2. The song dictates my speed, I like to run fast and the beat helps me.

3. Running is boring, music isn’t, but music alone does not promote weight loss.

4. I time my run by working out for five songs.

5. I like it so other runners don't talk to me.

6. My iPod tells me how far I run, so of course I play the music because it’s there.

7. So I don't have to listen to other people's singing or breathing.

8. It's a free world. I have a choice and I'm not hurting anyone.

9. They have headphones in the Tour de France.

10. This way I don’t have to listen to the stupid Run Forest Run comments.

And those Against:

1. You cannot hear a runner approaching from behind, which can wreak havoc and cause collisions.

2. Watch a runner with headphones maneuver around a water station at a road race. More accidents happen here than at any other stage and it is usually the non-headphone-wearing athlete who suffers the most.

3. You cannot hear a warning shout or instructions called out for your safety and benefit.

4. The social aspect is lessened; it is hard to strike up a conversation on the run with headphones blocking you from the world. 

5. Nearly every horrific runner/car collision story you hear involves headphones.

6. You now only have 80 percent of your senses intact.

7. When there’s a medical emergency or life or death situation and responders need runners to get out of the way quickly only the alert, aware runner can react.

8. We don’t want to get to the stage where runners in the Olympics are listening to headphones, do we?

9. A Central Park precinct officer, who admits to running with phones himself, reports “90 percent of all attacks on joggers happen on those people who are wearing headphones. We strongly advise that if you do run with music keep the volume on low so you are aware of everything around you.”

And off the reservoir, I phoned a pro to get his two cents:

10. Three-time world champion Moses Kiptanui says: “You cannot train as hard when listening to music. I think there is something very musical about listening to the sound of what is around you: nature, your breath and footfalls. That is enjoying running and you are here to be enjoying running not music, right?”