Okay I just sing to myself (horribly) and don’t have a desire for music.
But how is it less safe than the music blairing down the chute?
Or hearing impaired people on the course?
Or someone forgetting to take ear plugs out after the swim?
Okay I just sing to myself (horribly) and don’t have a desire for music.
But how is it less safe than the music blairing down the chute?
Or hearing impaired people on the course?
Or someone forgetting to take ear plugs out after the swim?
- it’s down the chute, that’s closed and the announcer can talk over the music to give you instruction if needed
- Hearing impaired people are usually labeled as such, or at least I’ve seen it at a race where they have a sign that says “hearing impaired athlete” on their back. Kind of mean but at least passing people or officials won’t think that particular athlete is ignoring them
- Well you’re just an idiot but at least you’re not distracted by the latest Brittany Spears jam!
I wear headphones all the time in training but during a race it’s a no go!! and anytime I see someone wearing them I tend to steal it and give you real motivation since now I’m running away with your $200 iPod!
Shanks
It’s not any different. The no head-phone rule is another example of institutions taking one example and using it to apply a broad brush to an entire population. Your example of the hearing impaired person is a good one. Should they be allowed to race? Of course.
Headphones are villified when it should be the rider’s skills that take the hit.
I would never race with them, but I couldn’t care less if others do.
Chad
It is kind of like driving and talking on the cell phone at the same time. Some people think that using a hands-free device will help reduce the chances of an accident but in my opinion it is the act of talking to someone taking up brain power that should be used for operating the car. If the music is part of the “background” then it is being processed differently than if you were to listen via headphones and doesn’t distract from the main task at hand.
Some people think that using a hands-free device will help reduce the chances of an accident but in my opinion it is the act of talking to someone taking up brain power that should be used for operating the car.
**
I read a study that proved that exact point. Just like multi-taskers who think they can do lots of things at once. Not true, they are just using a smaller portion of their attention/brain to do each task.
This same idea is why I listen to music all the time while riding, but never in a race. When I am racing I need to concentrate only on going fast or else the next thing I notice, I’m just wandering down the road with no focus.
Chad
You must be a lot of fun on a road trip…
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Rules and Laws are written to apply/protect the vast majority of people.
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The majority of people don’t understand every reason why the rule/ law was written.
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Due to #2 The are great many people think they are the “exception” to the rule and feel the rule/law doesn’t apply to them.
Because of #2 and #3 rules must be applied and enforced to everyone equally.
I’m not hearing impaired, yet at least, but isn’t it reasonable to assume that the hearing impaired learn to compensate for the loss of one sense by increasing their use of another (sight for instance) to increase situational awareness.
Blind athletes can compete in races with the use of a guide. I don’t think that I would want to don a blindfold and head out for a run - I haven’t developed the habit patterns that would enable me to do so. Vision and hearing impaired athletes have generally had time to develop some compensating mechanism. In any case, they are not choosing to run in an impaired state; that’s the only way that they can compete. One can’t say the same thing about the headphone-addicted.
I used to be ambivalent about the use of headphones in a race. Then I rode bike escort for the lead wheelchair athlete at a race where the second half of the marathon event was on the same course as a half-marathon that started an hour earlier.
As we were overtaking the slower half-marathoners, the course narrowed to a single lane. Trying to clear a path for the lead chair athlete, now cruising along at 16-17 mph was extremely difficult because of completely oblivious iPlodders 3-5 abreast who had absolutely ZERO situational awareness and could not hear direction to move to one side of the course to allow the rapidly overtaking wheelchair athlete to pass.
Whatever one’s opinion as to whether someone should be clearing a path for wheelchair athletes (as opposed to making the iPlod slalom part of the competition), the overwhelming majority of folks wearing headphones were blissfully unaware of anything that was not happening directly in front of them. Pretty easy to recognize the hazard of someone unable to take verbal direction in a large crowd.
I can see why headphones aren’t allowed in a triathlon but not in a standalone run. In fact, every running race I’ve done this winter has said no headphones. But many people – myself included – still wear them. I held off on an Ipod for a long time. Once I got one, it was like crack. I can’t run without it.
I guess I should chip in because I am hearing impaired. I’m completely deaf in my left ear and have maybe 50% left in my right ear. I’ve worn a hearing aid most of my life but have learned to live without it over the past year through a combination of lip reading, experience/intuition, and the fact that all my co-workers and friends are loud people. I get by well. I do consider myself “deaf” even though I’m not fully so, mostly because I hate PC euphemisms. So there’s my credentials.
When it comes to biking and racing, it really isn’t that much of a hinderance. I can usually hear traffic coming up behind me, so I’ve no need for a rear-view mirror, although a fully-deaf person might want one for the added safety.
In races, I don’t race in a way that would require me to hear other people yelling at me. Simple as that. If you require the ability to hear people yelling at you from behind, you’re probably doing something wrong. So, you know, don’t do something wrong.
In summary: having headphones on is no more dangerous than is necessary, especially if you have a rear-view mirror or if you’ve developed the ability (like me!) to feel cars/trucks coming up behind you. The only thing I can’t do that non-deaf people can do is hear other cyclists coming up behind me. But that never presents itself as a dangerous situation, really.
Now, in terms of racing, I think the rule is entirely reasonable because the last thing I want to do is have to dodge around some doofus dorking around with his iPod in a race. It’s bad enough dodging geniuses who have decided to weld a fanny-pack to their handlebars so they can dig around for their ClifBars or whatever they have packed in their duffel bags and swerve back and forth over the entire road. And there’s always the slack-jawed zeros who ride on the left. Like, for the entire race.
How about this: if you let people wear headphones in a race, you should also let people physically move them if they block or do other stupid shit.
I’ve seen this exact problem in a 4 loop marathon, The fastest male and female runners had a bike escorts, but the escorts had a very hard time getting people with headphones out of the way as they were lapped. This was also a race course where traffic crossed the race course and you really risked your life if you couldn’t hear the police. I saw a confused driver cross the course and its a good thing the runners could hear the police yell.
Music is great to run to, but leave it at home on race day. I’ve seen only one triathletes break this rule in 6 events, but it was very common for marathoners to break it. I not sure why that is, perhaps threat of penalty, or just better sportsmanship following rules?
As much as I like to run with my ipod, it certainly seems that I am safer without it. I never cycle with headphones and I’ve seen others who do that shouldn’t.
Guess I’ll say something that a lot of people are probably thinking :
HTFU.
If you can’t figure out how to motivate yourself on a run without music,
you’re an idiot. I run with an ipod. On a treadmill. In the open road,
if you’re not:
a) comfortable inside your head for a long distance
b) not focusing on pain for a short distance
You need to get the heck off the course and STFU.
Not you personally, but you and all of your ilk.
-Jot
Actually, what I want to say is far harsher. But, I’m not willing to
yell that on a street corner, so I won’t post it here.
I wear headphones when running around my neighborhood but I keep them pretty low so noone sneaks up on me. I also wear them on a local running trail that is shared use but always stay over to the right and keep them low. I never come to a complete stop or turn around without looking behind me. But honestly I am the exception. I like to soak up the atmosphere on trails and during races. People in headphones are totally oblivious to anyone around them and are a menace even when they are sure they aren’t.
The vast majority of people who say they can’t run without their ipods can’t run with them either.
“If you can’t figure out how to motivate yourself on a run without music, you’re an idiot.”
Thank you for the kind words.
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Trust me when I say:
I’m a slow slug without an ipod.
But the only time I ever wear one is on the treadmill.
The ones that really get me? Trail running with an ipod. I enjoy the
sounds of the outdoors too much. If you’re going to do that, why don’t
you go inside to your treadmill? That way I can have my trails back.
-Jot
I did a hike up to Camp Muir on Mt. Rainier two years ago and one of the people with us wore her iPod the whole time. I didn’t get it. We are on frikkin Mt Rainier! Why would you want to listen to techno on a glacier on a beautiful day?
-Jot
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Don’t let the ear plugs bother you. Unless they block your progress. If this is the case - feel free to yell obscenities or run them off the road. I ride with one ear plugged, the other clear. I jog with both ears in. In races, all ears need to be clear in order to hear the multiple passers on the run (I am a born swimmer). Music in the lobes is dangerous because it distracts people you should be passing