Looking for MP3 statistics

[eleanor Su]

Hi,
My name is Eleanor Su and I'm a reporter with the San Diego Union-Tribune. I'm working on a story about the USA Track and Field ban of headphones and MP3 players at races and I'm trying to get estimates for just how common it is for racers to use them. I apologive if this is an inappropriate use of this forum, but a race statistician suggested it as a last resort.
Can anyone provide an estimate of just how many U.S. runners race with MP3 players? And what, if any statistics exist on how often the use of the MP3 players causes accidents on race courses?
I appreciate all the help you can provide. I'm trying to file this story by 3 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18.
Thanks much,
Eleanor

[Trailrunnerdude]

The difficulty with this question is that MP3 player/headphone usage is not generalized across all races - in some races zero or less than 1% of the field may be wearing them while in some others the rate can be as high as 10% or more. If you check some of the other threads I think you'll see some instances where MP3 player usage was counted after the ban was announced. The thing to remember is that this is a growing phenomenon. Ten years ago you might have had a handful of people running with discplayers in races. Because MP3 players and other devices are now smaller, cheaper, can hold more music and are being aggressively marketed using running scenarios, it's more tempting for people to wear them. Once they get into the habit of training with them they feel they can't do without them in a race.

[keithcstone]

Your article should point out that headphones have been banned for years, what is news is aggresive enforcement of the ban.

[Brian Mastel]

Originally Posted by keithcstone

Your article should point out that headphones have been banned for years, what is news is aggresive enforcement of the ban.

Definitely this should be included, the official USATF Rule has finally given it some teeth. We DQ'd 176 people from The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and 10 mile fields which had a total of about 12,100 finishers between the two races. We know the number of people actually wearing them was higher because there were several photos where we couldn't identify a race number.

I'd put the the total number of people wearing them at 2% of the fields.

[hillrunr]

Originally Posted by keithcstone

Your article should point out that headphones have been banned for years, what is news is aggresive enforcement of the ban.

Indeed, a point worth noting. In fact, all the way back in 1991 was when the RRCA first approved a guideline recommending that races ban headphones. The RRCA stance, at least as of 2006 when I exchanged a few e-mails with Jean Knaack, hasn't changed since that time. The RRCA policy at least has only become more of an issue due to the proliferation of easier to run with music devices, the influx in runners who insist that they need their headphones, and as mentioned the more aggressive enforcement that some races have been implementing in order to meet the more strict USATF ban.

[Trailrunnerdude]

Originally Posted by Brian Mastel

I'd put the the total number of people wearing them at 2% of the fields.

I would say that this is a fair estimate. The thing to keep in mind is that 2% of a small field is generally less consequential than 2% of a larger field. For example, if a race has 300 runners and 2% (6 people) are wearing MP3 devices it's not as much of an issue because there is more space between the runners who will get spread out quickly. On the other hand if a race has 20,000 runners this means there will be 400 people wearing headphones who will be interspersed in all the corrals and bunched up more closely to the rest of the field. As a result the probability of accidents will be higher.

[JamesM]

Eleanor, I see that you are a general staff writer and not a sports specialist so I will try and explain it, although I think some others on this board could probably do it better they are some what weary of this subject.

USA Track & Field’s no-headphones rule, No. 144.3(b), became mandatory for sanctioned road races in 2007 because of safety concerns on crowded running courses.

The problem is that it is mainly new runners who don't seem to understand why headphones are banned. These same new runners also cause most of the problems because they often don't understand the etiquette of running in a group. They have often trained alone or in a very small group, and don't fully comprehend, or are not fully aware of what is happening all around them and how to run in a large running race.

In a car your rear view mirror helps to to know what is going on around you, and the rule is that the car behind has to stay clear.

In a running race your ears are the important senors that pick up whats happening around you, and it is your job to not block the runners behind you.

When a runner behind you lets you know they are passing you should move over to let them through without stepping into the path of another runner. ESP would help, but baring that, most people use their ears to pickup the information their eyes miss.

The restriction on head phones at running events is not new. They have long been baned from track events, and for many years a lot of local running clubs have restricted or band them from their events.

Way back in 1991 by the Road Runners Club of America came out against headphones in races. Most local running clubs in the USA are RRCA members. While for the last 15 years this as only been an advisory ruling, most clubs followed it and most clubs don't let runners use headphones on the track or in road races. This has also been a clause in many road race insurance polices and the rule appears on many race applications, for races held by RRCA affiliated clubs or insured events.

The rule has not been widely enforced because in the past racing running with headphones was not a common problem.

Just last night, at our running club board meeting, we were discussing the subject of problem runners who failed to move over because they were wearing head phones and did not hear people who were right alongside them. Some one suggested we need to post a notice in our race applications. It was pointed out that the language is already in our standard waver that each participant signs and yes, it says NO HEADPHONES, and has done so for years.

The difference is that now, with light MP3's, people are starting to violate the rule in numbers. Some of them are causing problems on the race course, so we now have had to start enforcing the rule more systematically.

May races, especially large marathons are not run by RRCA affiliated clubs but independent organizations or for profit companies. They could, and have, been turning a blind eye to the issue. Now the USATF has made a firm rule about enforcement so that all the running associations, RRCA, USA Track & Field as well as the IAAF are now on the same page with regard to headphones.

Because USATF also controls sanctioning of other independent events and USATF has come out strongly for uniform enforcement of the headphone ban, many of the larger independent events that are USAFT sanctioned are now implementing polices to enforce the ban. They want to keep their event USATF sanctioned and in many cases they need to so that they can maintain their insurance coverage.

There are other rules about running in races that the average mid pack runner has never learned, but so long as they just keep following the other runners and doing the same they will probably be ok.

Running, in it's many forms, has probably the fewest rules compared to other sports. I could explain all the running rules to you while we watch one marathon, and you would understand each one. On the other hand, the many rules in a triathlon would take me a lot longer, and you may need several days to fully absorb and learn them. Other US sports have byzantine rules: The rules of US Football are not only baffling to the rest of the world but most of the wives in America.

Road Racing has lots of behind the scenes rules, for course measurement, record eligibility and such, but the rules for participants are simple. Even then may runners are totally oblivious to them.

The runners lack of knowing what the rules are may be because the average runner in the USA does not belong to a running club or turn out to organized training. It may also be because events are run by a wide collection of independent groups, so none of them take up the mantel of teaching the runners the rules, and what rules they do publish are deep in the fine print of race entry applications.

The thinking is that the runners should know all the road race rules, but to be hoist, the rules are not widely disseminated and osmosis is a slow process.

For example, most runners have know idea of what they should do if they find them selves off course, but their is a rule for it, and the rule is not new.

While there are hand outs on runners etiquette, it would be good if there was a standard and simple handbook on the road race rules for participants.

Check the following two threads on this board for more on the issues of actually implementing headphone bans:

http://www.rrm.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108

http://www.rrm.com/forum/showthread.php?t=176


Road Racing in the USA has a lot less rules for participants than in other similar sports. If you are caught wearing headphones at any point in a triathlon you are pulled over and disqualified on the spot, forget about finishing.

The rules for participating in a running race are also looser in the USA than in other countries like the UK. You may like to browse the UK "Rules for competition" available here >>http://www.ukathletics.net/competitions/rules/

The general running rules apply at the beginning, then you can skip down to the UK Road Race specific rules starting at rule number 200 through 225. As you see, people running races in the US have it easy in comparison, but they still want to bitch because they can't have their headphones. In the UK the use of any technical device, other than a watch and heart rate monitor is baned, UK RULE 21.

Hope this helps put it in perspective.
I am sure the more knowledgeable people will jump in and point out any place where I am wrong.

[JamesM]

In the Sun-Sentinal from Fort Lauderdale FL, states that for the ING Miami Marathon:

No headphones allowed: USA Track and Field enacted the ban in accordance with a rule put into place by the IAAF, which banned their use in championship events. Only a handful of U.S. races have enforced the ban, but don't test race officials.

I think this is the correct message for the media to be sending.

This is not a subject that is suitable for a popular vote. For each race there is only one race director and possibly thousands of runners, yet no one questions it is the race director who is in charge and must look after the issues of safety. If you want to interview people, the people to interview are experienced race directors.

Anecdotal interviews with ipod runners who say they don't cause problems is a bit like anecdotal interviews with car drivers who say they don't cause car accidents. If the world were run this way we would not need traffic regulations or traffic police because most people believe they don't cause car accidents.

[Recreational Runner]

Originally Posted by Brian Mastel

We DQ'd 176 people from The Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon and 10 mile fields which had a total of about 12,100 finishers between the two races. We know the number of people actually wearing them was higher because there were several photos where we couldn't identify a race number.

Out of curiosity, how many of those DQs were overturned on appeal?

[JimG]

My bet would be not many - because I'd expect that not many people appealed. They know they were breaking the rule, they either figured "they're not really going to enforce it" or "I won't get caught" and when it turned out that both were true they were nailed red-handed.