“Hey runner, there’s no music in this race – you have to take off your headphones.”

“What did you say? I can’t hear you, my headphones are on!”

This weekend was my first distance race experience where I wasn’t allowed to wear my headphones or carry my trusty running sidekick, my iPod Nano. I’m not sure how this impacted my overall race time, but it definitely had an effect on my outlook on racing distances without hearing “The Killers” blast into my ears. I don’t run with headphones for all of my training runs, so I’m used to the rhythm of my body and the natural surroundings (sometimes unnatural). But I did like the experience of falling into a pack of other runners who had nothing to do but listen to each other’s food steps, breaths, and encouragement. Being the only person in a race without a sound system is isolating, but when music is off limits, the group of runners racing to the finish line become that much more of a collective sharing the same goal: get from the start to the finish.

Despite this interesting, new and great experience from having to race sans iPod, I still missed my little jam buddy. Truth is, there aren’t many races these days that support a ban on portable music devices. Here’s a bit of history. Back in 2007 there was a movement among race officials to block runners from using their music devices while they ran races. There are a few reasons for this, some legit, and some bogus. First off, there’s the safety factor. It’s always nice to be fully aware of your surroundings, even in a race where you’re unlikely to need to listen to commands and pay attention to traffic. Then there’s the impact factor. It’s a bit frustrating when you’re trying to pass someone and they can’t hear you because they’re blasting a personal soundtrack. And finally, there’s the motivation factor. Let’s face it, listening to certain songs encourage a faster step and keep us moving through the pack with a bit more ease than simply listening to your breath and cadence. This is viewed as an unfair advantage in certain races.

Now, not all runners these days are as competitive as they used to be. Marathon populations are growing to include the not-so-likely runner, and these people are helping to encourage race officials understand the value of allowing iPod use at their races. There is a bit of an insurance liability to manage (races allowing iPods or music devices generally fork out a bit more for insurance than races that prohibit the use), but attendance is at risk for races that don’t allow music, making for hard to get entry fees.

Personally, I see the benefits and the pitfalls of running with headphones and have to say I agree with both sides. So I’ll enter races with the intent of getting a mix of the with and the without. I’ll blast “Ok Go” when I’m allowed to, and I’ll chat it up with my neighbor when I have to follow the rules. One of my favorite parts of being a runner is being flexible.