<<Technically, at last weekend's Marine Corps Marathon here, and even at much smaller events like the Creaky Bones 5-kilometer race in Florida and the Corn Maze 4-miler in Tennessee, runners should not have had the luxury of listening to their favorite songs along the way. Marine Corps Marathon officials threatened to disqualify runners using headphones, but did not follow through. >>

<<First Annual ‘Creaky Bones’ 5K Run/One mile walk, and Kids Monster Dash is part of the Sarasota Downtown Merchants Halloween Extravaganza. The 5K race around scenic Sarasota Harbor has ‘Creaky’ water stops, signage, music, and post race refreshments. One mile walk around the island and is pet friendly, Kids Monster Dash in four age groups with finisher medals and trophies to the winners. All participants receive an official ‘Creaky T-shirt to dye for! Awards for 5K winners with age groups.>>

if a team or sponsor is paying my way and they have certain rules then so be it i understand that.

but music and sports just go hand in hand. maybe some of you should try it. you'd be better runners for it.

this is a tough room for you NH..many posters here are not pleased with your nasty tactics..I am one of a few, or maybe only one, who will even acknowledge your existence..I will calmly address you untill you get ugly again.. and at that point I will not..your choice Muchacho

It's age old debate tactic to attack a person rather than an issue ..readers of your's and my ideas will make there own minds up...wish and try as you might NH ..free will still lives in this world....

you don't have facts.. you don't have a persuasive argument from logic... you don't have credibility with your audience.. therefore you have a weak or nonexistant argument..my suggestion to you in persuing your Anti-everything crusade is FACTS...information...research..your zealous opinion alone doesn't cut it ..search the ends of cyberspace for facts..and talk to race directors..ex. (contact Portland RD and ask why ipods are acceptable..listen with an open mind what the experienced RD of a truly large race has to say..and if you want to demean or contradict him/her for their inexperience, their lack of intelligence, say they are disingenious, do so to their face)..report back their responses..be interesting to hear..you can't waste all your energy attacking me..it gets you no where on the issue..I am not THE DECIDER.... and you need my ear..because ears for your words are growing few and far between ...and you, NH, know what happens when the space between ears gets too big and wide....your brains fall out

I think you will find that about the only thing I attack is "cutters and pasters", "deliberate distorsions", and people who claim they have a position, then go complete opposite of that position later when what they like is better suited from the other side of the fence.

I almost always gave a reason for my questioning any of the RDs issuing statements. IE. pointing out why their position was not necessarily to be taken as indiciative of the whole road racing scene. I didn't say the other RDs didn't work hard or didn't care as was spun about what I said as if I'd question Mom and Apple Pie. Just because someone agrees with YOU, doesn't make them the authority, and just because some doesn't agree with you doesn't make them a know-nothing. Though the latter seems to be defacto around here.

If you post something from an RD that I find outside the normal, how would someone go about questioning the statement and not be accused of attacking or contradicting that person. Essentially, you've tossed up a wall saying. They said it and it can't be questioned.

If you recall someone posted some comments from a RD in Texas about a race on beach. I questioned the applicability of a race on a beach relative to road races in general. The poster tossed the RDs comments in the thread as if the was end all and be all of the whole subject. Yet my pointing out how non-main stream that race was cast aside as picking on the RD. If I implied that the RD implied that his race was indicative of all races, then I'm sure I did contradict hime because if he didn't know that his races was not in the main stream then he shouldn't be considered an expert on the subject.

You don't know what I know about my experience and why I would know beyond just the races I'd directly worked on as to why I would know even more on these managment subjects. However if you read the full article posted by Dave MacGillivray, you will see in there his non-vitriolic discussion of many if not all of the sujects which I conveyed to you. You all blew them off as baloney from me, yet here is essentially the same content and the suggested probability for the future as the result of the content from someone who is at the pinncle of being an Expert in the road racing sport.

Why not read his artlcle and ask him to "prove" all that he asserts? And if he respectfully declines, does that mean he is a know-nothing as many of you claim anyone who can not produce proof is. Or perhaps, you guys are at such a level that he or others doe not feel that giving you a crash course in serious in-depth road management is warrented.

Dave has a website which you should look at to see that the Boston Marathon is just one of the many things he manages.

Even better, go directly to some details of who he is and what he does.

http://www.dmsesports.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.AboutUs&x=7610492

so you guys have your silly argument but it really makes no difference, the majority wins in this case because the majority of people who make up and pay for these races use i-pods and listen to music. i just ran a marathon and i'd say 90% of people had music on.

"Thank you for your question. In November 2006 USATF passed the "no
headset" rule. Because we are a USATF sanctioned race we are required to
follow the rules. All USATF sanctioned races must abide by the rules.
The rules intent is to make races safer. This has actually been our
policy since 2002.

We know that statement in red to not be true...the Twin Cities RD knows that too..ask them why they can't own up and sayTwin Cities Marathon is prohibiting ipods..because thats the truth of it.. ....

THE SARASOTA MARATHON is USATF Sanctioned ..I spoke with the RD personally...and she tells the truth..it's our call ..so plug in and run..