By your comment “Given that music helps people to run and to improve their performance” it appears you approve of and advocate any sort of artificial performance enhancement. Tell me, does that extend to EPO boosting? Steroids? Doping?

Your advocacy of an anti-social, dangerous, and illegal behavior is without any positive merit what so ever. USATF is five years late in it’s ruling. USAT (USA Triathlon) banned the personal audio devices a few years ago, and USAC (USA Cycling) has also finally gotten around to banning them only after far too many fatalities.

I have no sympathy for CHEATERS, and the beauty of sport (any sport) is that an a good day with the panets aligned, good health, and a good relaxed mindset, even an average joe can beat a pro. That beauty is the fickleness of life and how on any given day, what you have in the tank, in your heart, and in your mind is what counts.

If you are too bored with life to want to share it with your fellow athletes, then why bother? Go run by yourself in an artifially induced state of deafness. Why not put blinders on your eyes as well? Why bother to run at all for that matter? I’m sure you could just put on VR head gear and fantasize about winning a race. Why bother to go to all the trouble of getting sweaty, breathing so hard you want to hurl, smelling the hot pavement, hearing the people around you, the cars, the wind, the spectators, the birds, seeing the sun, or the mud puddle, or the mass of brightly colored spandex and cotten… I mean, why actually RACE?

Obviously, the fearful individual who didn’t even have the courage to list their own name as part of their post, only runs for the ‘look at me I’m so great’ ego delirium that afflicts so many who, when it comes to physical and mental well being, seek external affirmation of their own worth. I wish them well in their recovery - may it happen sooner than later.

I run with music, yes, music that I find inspirational, that lifts my spirit and enables me to contemplate the joy and excitement involved in physical exertion. I run with music playing that makes me smile and wave at the people who support our physical endeavors, who give us water and encouragement in those long runs. I run with music, yes I do, music that is only just loud enough to be heard in my ear, loud enough to add a pleasing backdrop to the laughter and cheers and greetings pro-offered by other passers-by.

I may be unique in that I have never seen nor heard of a runner running in a sanctioned and policed event ever - ever - being injured as a result of wearing headphones and listening to music. I have, unfortunately, heard runners with their own music so loud as to certainly cause hearing loss later in life pass me while running. I have not seen these purported incredible numbers of fatalities or even of serious injuries, (again in sanctioned events) that some claim as reason enough to ‘ban’ music at sanctioned events - and after all, that is what we are talking about; headphone-oriented music at sanctioned events.

I run for the physical joy of movement, aware that I am lucky to have the use of both arms and legs. I run in sanctioned events and charities for the contribution that I can make in doing something I enjoy. Music is that sweet meditation that allows me to more fully expand my consciousness during the run, to feel the pavement, to see the course and the people, to appreciate the scents in the air rushing through my nose, mouth and lungs.

Would I stop running without being able to listen to music - no. But until my hearing diminishes to the point of deafness, I would not register knowingly for a USATF event if I knew I would be harangued by those officials at USATF sanctioned events to give up my music or be disqualified. Let’s hope that, for the casual running aficionado, the regulation, which does not mention Mp3 players specifically by name or manufacturer, will be lax.