more and more the stupid people have done stupid things and more and more races are now actually enforcing the no-ipod rule. Usually a course marshall with DQ you and/or time penalty. Depends on the race though.

maybe they should run with scissors... no wait, that's a bad idea 

Kelli - I used to run with headsets on all of my training runs (not races, though), and one day I just decided to try a long run without it.   I think I had become so dependent on music that it kept me from really focusing on my breathing, pace, etc., but I really dreaded those longer miles without music. 

Ever since I left my MP3 player home that one day, I have yet to use them.   It really makes such a huge difference, and I now have no desire to run with music.  I didn't realize how meditative running could actually become and now I'm a little pi$$ed I waited so long to give it up!    I still use it when I'm on the trainer as that is just mind-numbing, but never when I'm running.   I love the silence now!

I am right there with you Kelli.  The arguement about iPod's are as old as iPods are but if you pay attention to the world around you while also listening to music then who cares??  We listen to music while we drive, does that make us bad drivers??  People who are deaf run, does that mean they shouldn't be in races??

I ALWAYS listen to music when I run, and have done so in ALL my run races, except my last 10K which had a huge time goal for me and I really wanted to concnetrate on where I was at in this race and I was shocked to realize I didn't miss it so I won't use it for my upcoming HM but honestly, I can't even imagine a solo training run without one.

Without arguing the merit of rules about wearing headphones during running...  I think the rules should be enforced. Otherwise, it's unfair to those who follow the rules and, perhaps, sacrifice some performance (or at least think they do)  to comply.

If you break the rules, you're cheating and you should be disqualified. 

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Athletes need to understand the rules that govern their sport and follow the special prohibitions that promoters may put in place for an event.  Part of the athlete's lifestyle is adhering to this fairly minimal standard of conduct. 

One can't have it both ways, if the race organization is to provide all finishers with traffic control, water, a funtioning finish line (remember, 5 hour marathons with closed courses are a fairly new invention) then all athletes, including back of the packers need to hold up their end of the bargain.

In the tri I was volunteer ref for, we were definitely marking down runners with headsets.  I'd have to check the results to see if they were DQ'd or merely had a time penalty, but they were definitely penalized.  (Personally, I think the most effective way to penalize folks for this would be to confiscate the MP3 players like nail clippers at the airport... like they did at Grandma's, but without returning them. 

With all your hard training, I can't imagine you'd ever break the rules by cutting the course to get a faster time.  And yet, you're clearly saying you'd like to break the rules for a faster time if only you won't get caught.  

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Originally posted by LookiLoo:

Kelli - I used to run with headsets on all of my training runs (not races, though), and one day I just decided to try a long run without it.   I think I had become so dependent on music that it kept me from really focusing on my breathing, pace, etc., but I really dreaded those longer miles without music.  <br /><br />Ever since I left my MP3 player home that one day, I have yet to use them.   It really makes such a huge difference, and I now have no desire to run with music.  I didn't realize how meditative running could actually become and now I'm a little pi$$ed I waited so long to give it up!    I still use it when I'm on the trainer as that is just mind-numbing, but never when I'm running.   I love the silence now!

I could tell the exact same story....I love running sooooo much more without the distracting music.

Tim