123

Headphone Rule (Read 920 times)

Trent


Good Bad & The Monkey

    Well, apparently folks who wore headphones are starting to receive their official disqualification cards from Grandma's Marathon...thoughts?
      To me it's simple - they broke the rules and should be penalized.

      When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?

        To me it's simple - they broke the rules and should be penalized.
        I have to say that I agree. I hate getting "yelled" at so I am very mindful to rules, even the "no headphones" rule.

        Michelle



          I wonder if this is the case for folks using the iPhone? Evil grin Anyways.... I don't wear headphones at races. Maybe I'll give them a go at my next earphone friendly race. modal (who does not feel like griping about Bluetooth earpieces for cellphones)

          Vim

            I never thought too much about the rule until I saw several instances of cyclists trying to pass runners at a race I did last Saturday. They would holler out "On your left". And of course, the headphoned runners couldn't hear them.

            When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?


            madness baby

              Well, apparently folks who wore headphones are starting to receive their official disqualification cards from Grandma's Marathon...thoughts?
              Seriously? That's crazy. I just turn mine down fairly low. I can still talk and hear everything else (okay, except for mile 21, when I seriously needed some help and cranked it). I ran a half with no ipod and I needed a little umph umph. I can't imagine a marathon without some beats. Do they give a warning that they will actually be enforcing this rule at this marathon?
              deb
                If the rule was clearly stated than they have the right to enforce it. Was there some kind of incident that started that rule at that particular race?

                Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away...(unkown)




                Go With The Flow
                Thyroid Support Group

                Trent


                Good Bad & The Monkey

                  It is a USATF rule. Grandma's was part of the Olympic Qualifiers, so they elected to enforce the rule this year.


                  Imminent Catastrophe

                    If the rule was clearly stated than they have the right to enforce it. Was there some kind of incident that started that rule at that particular race?
                    USATF recently announced that any sanctioned race must enforce the no-headphone rule. Grandma's was the first big one where it was enforced. My take--them's the rules, ignore them at your peril. That said, I still have my little iPod shuffle and if I find myself all alone and needing motivation late in the race, I might just put a earphone in ONE EAR ONLY (so I can keep situational awareness) and listen to some tunes or motivational podcasts, or maybe raunchy comedy. Raunchy comedy is especially good for the last miles of a marathon but spectators who see you laughing hysterically at mile 25 might just think that you're crazy and report you.

                    "Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

                     "To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

                    "The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

                     

                    √ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

                    Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

                    Western States 100 June 2016

                    PWL


                    Has been

                      It's always funny to me when people get angry about rules being enforced. Isn't that what rules are for?

                      "Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, 'In this world, Elwood, you must be' - she always called me Elwood - 'In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.'  Well, for years I was smart.  I recommend pleasant."


                      madness baby

                        USATF recently announced that any sanctioned race must enforce the no-headphone rule. Grandma's was the first big one where it was enforced.
                        That makes more sense!
                        deb


                        Imminent Catastrophe

                          I want to clarify something--in a big race where I'm constantly surrounded by other runners and spectators, or if I was worried about flying monkey attacks, I would not use earphones. However, in some races, like my last 50k which had less than 30 runners, I was all alone on forest trails for hours, and the iPod was not a safety hazard. Still, it's only in one ear. If you're listening to Pink Floyd, you'll just have to choose which channel you want to hear Big grin Bottom line, use common sense and don't be stupid!

                          "Able to function despite imminent catastrophe"

                           "To obtain the air that angels breathe you must come to Tahoe"--Mark Twain

                          "The most common question from potential entrants is 'I do not know if I can do this' to which I usually answer, 'that's the whole point'.--Paul Charteris, Tarawera Ultramarathon RD.

                           

                          √ Javelina Jundred Jalloween 2015

                          Cruel Jewel 50 mile May 2016

                          Western States 100 June 2016

                            dude, I hope you wear your headset when you are flying a 777!

                            Vim


                            #2867

                              The headphone rule from the USATF perspective has nothing to do with safety. If you read the USATF rules and articles, you will see in rule #144 point #2 that no assistance may be given to runners, and then that point and the next few points define what assistance is. Any sort of electronic device (basically and paraphrased) can be considered assistance. That being said, it is of course a safety issue. Having been hit by a car before, I have no desire to do anything that is going to make it more likely that I will be hit again, such as being unaware of my surroundings because I am distracting myself or drowning out any noises in my environment. (Note that I wasn't wearing headphones when I got hit, I was just stupid and the driver was going too fast.) I have an advantage in that I don't get bored when I run, though, so I don't need the distraction. I have a deaf friend (actually, a few deaf friends, but this one became deaf 3 years after I met him when he got a bad fever) who has had a lot of trouble with cars and bikes passing him and he had no idea they were there. He wears a shirt now that says "deaf runner" on the back of it to warn people as they come up on him that he might not know they are there.

                              Run to Win
                              25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

                              derek


                                The headphone rule from the USATF perspective has nothing to do with safety. If you read the USATF rules and articles, you will see in rule #144 point #2 that no assistance may be given to runners, and then that point and the next few points define what assistance is. Any sort of electronic device (basically and paraphrased) can be considered assistance.
                                I'm curious....does that mean I can be disqualified if I used a GPS device? Is this for the elite runners only, or is Grandma's disqualifying even middle or back-of-the-pack runners?

                                Derek

                                123