Grandma's Marathon's Successful Headphones Ban

[jeff darman]

Another viewpoint heard from.

http://portlandmarathon.org/mp3policy.php

[Trailrunnerdude]

Originally Posted by jeff darman

Another viewpoint heard from.

http://portlandmarathon.org/mp3policy.php

I guess this race's organizers get their liability insurance through an insurer that is agreeable to this policy?

[jeff darman]

This article may answer some of the questions on enforcement etc.

.http://www.philly.com/inquirer/sports/11423161.html

[JamesM]

The counter argument that I hear from runners is that they can hear their music and the outside enviroment.

Today I went for my normal barefoot run on the beach sand. To get there I bike to the beach. If there is a lot of traffic coming up behind I often use the sidewalk when going over the intercostal bridge.

One the back side my way was blocked by a waker. I rang my bicycle bell and they politely stepped aside.

I next came up behind a runner with head phones. I rang my bell, I rang my bell some more. At this point I was right behind them with a front wheel overlap and I could have touched them. I rang my bell some more but she still did not hear. The walker behind me started to laugh. I edged past and the runner let out an expression that people often say when startled.

If they can't hear the incessant ringing of a bicycle bell they sure cant hear the breathless runner saying "on your left".

Some times we do a race in a local park that is 1 and 3/4 times around the loop. The lead bikes have to ring their bells and push the back of the pack over to allow the lead runners space to come streaming through when they lap the back of the pack. Same problem on that event with one or two people in the back of the pack who think the rules only apply to the competitive people in the front of the pack.

[Trailrunnerdude]

Originally Posted by JamesM

If they can't hear the incessant ringing of a bicycle bell they sure cant hear the breathless runner saying "on your left".

This actually happens frequently during races. One thing to remember, is that while many of the headphone-wearing runners tend to be middle and back of the pack runners, they have caused problems for faster runners or people near the front of the pack because they sometimes start close to the starting line. I directed a race this past Thanksgiving in which I saw 2 people with headphones on their heads who were on the starting line of an 850-person field. The bottom line is that they are only thinking about themselves, so there is no reason to have second thoughts about enforcing the ban.

[warmsnow]

Hey - have we overtalked this a little too much?

The ban was put in place - deal with it.

There are a lot more priorities in this industry, and frankly our lives to deal with rather than a headphone ban.

The horse is dead.

[hillrunr]

Originally Posted by JamesM

The counter argument that I hear from runners is that they can hear their music and the outside enviroment.

They sure do say that but that doesn't make it true. Yesterday morning, after the storm had swept through the Midwest and left a general mess everywhere, I was out running on virtually the only plowed trail in town. I came up behind a lady on the trail. She was running right down the middle of the trail, so I gave the familiar "on your left" callout twice, at which point she moved to the left as the trail cleared on the left and got a bit messy on the right. OK, I can deal with that so I called out "I'm passing on your right" from about 10 feet behind her. As soon as I finished that callout, I could hear the music and I spotted the wires coming out from the bottom of her hat. As I passed her, she gasped and said I scared her, I should have given her warning. I made a comment and she said I didn't warn her, she would have heard me if I did as she is always aware of her surroundings.

Just because someone says they are aware of their surroundings doesn't make it so. Unfortunately, someone putting on an event these days has to take responsibility for the safety of everyone, even if it is one's own actions that might cause injury. If someone wearing headphones gets hurt due to their headphone use, you can bet that they will be filing a lawsuit even though it was their own actions that caused the injury. It's also very possible that they will win the suit.

Like it or not, for the legal protection of the race and everyone involved, the only wise thing to do is ban headphones and, within the limitations placed on the resources of your event, enforce that ban. If you allow headphones, either explicitly or implicitly by not enforcing a stated ban, someone who thinks they are aware of their surroundings is going to place themselves and others at risk and put you on the legal hot seat. This is why I will always advise any race I help with to ban headphones and enforce the ban. The risk is just too high, both for the participants and the organizers.

[Trailrunnerdude]

Originally Posted by hillrunr

Like it or not, for the legal protection of the race and everyone involved, the only wise thing to do is ban headphones and, within the limitations placed on the resources of your event, enforce that ban. This is why I will always advise any race I help with to ban headphones and enforce the ban. The risk is just too high, both for the participants and the organizers.

Amen. The other thing to consider is that if the ban is not enforced, it's likely that liablility insurance rates will rise and these cost increases will have to be passed on to the runners on the entry fees. In that case, those runners who do not wear the headphones will end up subsidizing those who do. This could cause even more ill will during the races.

[JimG]

The headphone ban came up for discussion at the LDR meeting at the recently concluded USATF Annual Meeting in Honolulu. I'll file a full report on this and other items for RRM, but the gist of it is as follows:

A lot of runners and race directors have expressed their displeasure with the rule to USATF (no doubt those in favor of it haven't - it's the squeaky wheel that makes the noise).

USATF can't do anything about it until 2008 when rules are voted on, but will review it then.

I spoke in favor of the rule, and stated that if it's to succeed it must be approached as an education rather than enforcement issue.

[Trailrunnerdude]

Originally Posted by JimG

I spoke in favor of the rule, and stated that if it's to succeed it must be approached as an education rather than enforcement issue.

correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the ban originally implemented to be in compliance with an IAAF rule forbidding such devices to prevent elite runners from getting information about the location of some of their rivals? If so, then at some level enforcement cannot be ignored.