ipod

When it comes to music, I'm starting to sound like my father. Inevitable of course, that eventually I should catch myself shouting "Call that music?" almost every time I turn on the car radio. Of course, he was ranting about the Beatles, while I (usually) am ranting at rap, but the principle's the same.

But hey, it's not just me. The Play.com poll of Ipod users taken before the London marathon to find out what people were listening to while preparing and racing put two Queen tracks, Springsteen and the Stones in the top ten, backed by the theme from Rocky and "Eye of the Tiger".

With temperatures reaching 89 today, a late-bordering-on-night-time run is looking attractive.

But, I can't, I just can't, give way to my obsession and repeat the SAME evening trail run I've done for the last four weeks !!!!

So what do you think when a marathon bans iPods? Just noticed this news item about a Duluth marathon banning them for participants -- following a national trend. The story notes: "USA Track and Field recently enacted that ban for all sanctioned running events to increase participant safety."

Rather than a blanket ban, I think race organizers should make the decision. I ran a marathon in Fort Collins, Colorado, a couple years ago and listened to music. The race was small enough that there really was no safety issue, with runners pretty spread out not long after the start. As a 4-hour-plus runner, the music helped me keep my sanity.

On the other hand, at a really crowded race like the Bolder Boulder 10K (45,000+ runners) I can see the logic of a ban on headphones.

What do you think?

(Bobby Bostic: Did you listen to your iPod during the North Pole Marathon?)

The VONIA headband, made for the iPod shuffle and other small Mp3 players, is a headband with a twist. VONIA doesn’t play your music via headphones, it plays it via bone conduction. The headband sends pulses through your skull which result in you being able to listen to your music while still having the ability [...]