Dublin marathon 09 - To use Mp3 or not to use Mp3, that is the question!

sideswipe

Just wondering what people’s views of listening to an iPod while running the marathon?

I'm doing it for the first time and find listening to music has helped during training runs but I am unsure whether to use it on race day. I'm also doing the half marathon next weekend so I'd be v interested to hear what others think.

gaffo7

sideswipe I too have battled with this question and I think that on race day if using an ipod helps then definitely use one. My first marathon too and I have had to do most of my training on my own as I have been forced to run on the grass due to shin splints, most of the club train on the roads. I began using an ipod for company during long runs by myself and have found it to be the difference between sanity and insanity!
If you have been used to using an ipod during training and dont use it for race day I suspect you will miss it, just my view but I find it helps me enormously. good luck with marathon, 9 weeks from today!!!

Sosa

When i started running first,i would always have the ipod with me,after a while i got fed up of it and loved not having it,now i listen to the radio sometimes,but still love the times i just look around and think away to myself.

Answer to your question...no ipod for the marathon...take in the atmosphere,the day out...talk to a few people around you,no sense in putting yourself in a cocoon for the duration.

Just my opinion

--amadeus--

I took my iPod with me on my 1st marathon and didn't use it. The advice from experienced runners will be not to bother, for a whole lot of reasons.

Firstly there is always a good atmosphere in Dublin. For one day you have the sort of support that professional sports people have - crowds 3 & 4 deep clapping, kids high fiving, random strangers calling out your name (if you have it on your top) or number and giving support. At the start it's fantastic - you'll feel 10 feet tall. And at teh end you'll need it

The other thing is that you'll end up chatting to people on teh way - I've done Dublin 3 times and chatted my way round every time. Helps pass teh miles.

Finally there is a safety element - you need to hear the marshalls instructions and be aware of other runners passing you, etc. If you are locked in your own world you are less aware of your surroundings.

Highway_To_Hell

Don't; enjoy the atmosphere of the crowds and the encouragement they give you. I did my first Marathon last year and some competitors had there names on their tops and the crowds would call out their names, I might do that this year as I am sure it would give you boost when the idea of "why did I ever sign up for this..." enters your head.

sideswipe

crowds 3 & 4 deep clapping

Hope their not all gone home by the time I stumble around!
Thanks for the advice, I do all my training alone (billy-no-mates) so really think I am depending on it too much as I would like to enjoy the atmosphere. I will do half marathon at the weekend ipodless and see how it goes, it's my first organised race so am both excited and nervous but feel it will be good experiece for 9 weeks time.

Jenfer

hey there, I train on my own most of the time and always listen to the radio, or some motivating songs when i am feeling wrecked, i keep the volume fairly low so i can hear whats going on around me.
That said i brought my mp3 with me for both marathons i have run. In the first one, i would say i listened to it for about 20 min altogether, it began to irritate me and i needed to concentrate on the running! THe time passes quick enough with the crowds around and i was counting down the miles to where my family or friends said they would be along the route. In the second marathon I chatted to a girl i started beside and we stayed the same pace up to about 19 miles, so didnt listen to mp3 at all.
This year I will prob put it in my pocket to start (I am a real creature of habit!) but will most likely give it to one of my clan along the route. The athmosphere is fantastic the day of the marathon, people cheering, handing out sweets, playing stereos in their front gardens and cheering from their gates.

dario28

I'd bring it ya can always just not use it but if you are out with out it and ya want some motivation music your're screwed , Dublin wasnt walled with people all the way last year , the park was really quiet and few other spots so its nice to turn up the volume for those parts...last couple of miles was amazing though !!

Whats with this writing you name on your bib business...I think its a bit weird

tunney

why not just go for a 26.2 mile run in the park with your ipod on? Same thing.

How Strange

dario28 wrote: »

I'd bring it ya can always just not use it but if you are out with out it and ya want some motivation music your're screwed , Dublin wasnt walled with people all the way last year , the park was really quiet and few other spots so its nice to turn up the volume for those parts...last couple of miles was amazing though !!

IMO, that was just magical last year. 10k+ people running through the park when it was otherwise almost empty on a beautiful autumn morning.
What more could you ask for?

I don't use an ipod but on marathon day I think people should leave the music behind and talk to other people and engage with the crowd.
I remember chatting to a guy at the clontarf half; he was struggling along around 9 miles (as was I) and he saw his wife and children and he started sprinting. When they disappeared he turned to me and said that was just for their benefit and now he could continue to hobble back to the finish. Just that little bit of banter gave both of us a much needed pick up.

Otherwise I agree that you should just do a 26.2 mile run on your own.

robinph

dario28 wrote: »

... Dublin wasnt walled with people all the way last year , the park was really quiet and few other spots so its nice to turn up the volume for those parts...

Unless you were in the lead then there was nowhere on the route where you were on your own, and again, unless you were in the lead then you should have been running at a pace where you could have a short motivational chat with someone beside you to pick both yourself and those around you up a bit.

Training for running is a solitary passtime, running in road races is most definitely not solitary.

dario28 wrote: »

Whats with this writing you name on your bib business...I think its a bit weird

No use to anyone who may be wearing an mp3 player, but if you fancy everyone along the route shouting out to motivate you along the way by name then get a pen and write on your race number.

dario28

tunney wrote: »

why not just go for a 26.2 mile run in the park with your ipod on? Same thing.

So deaf people shouldnt run marathons ?

dario28

robinph wrote: »

Unless you were in the lead then there was nowhere on the route where you were on your own, and again, unless you were in the lead then you should have been running at a pace where you could have a short motivational chat with someone beside you to pick both yourself and those around you up a bit.

Training for running is a solitary passtime, running in road races is most definitely not solitary.



No use to anyone who may be wearing an mp3 player, but if you fancy everyone along the route shouting out to motivate you along the way by name then get a pen and write on your race number.

I ment walled with supporters ..which was what one person was talking about

Random people shouting my name does nothing for me ,just the fat they turned out is motivation enough !!

geld

dario28 wrote: »

So deaf people shouldnt run marathons ?

Despicable comment and one you should apologise for and withdraw. Very insensitive for the hearing impaired who use this forum.

ss43

What's all this about chatting to people during a race??? That seems a bit amd to me. I don't mean in a 'hate your competitors way' but surely your energy should be concentrated on racing. I can't say I noticed Sammy Wanjiru having a chat in the Olympics last year or London this year.

dario28

geld wrote: »

Despicable comment and one you should apologise for and withdraw. Very insensitive for the hearing impaired who use this forum.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tunney
why not just go for a 26.2 mile run in the park with your ipod on? Same thing.
So deaf people shouldnt run marathons ?

Im just pointing out that tunney thinks if you cant hear the crowd there is no point entering a race and just to do 26.2 miles on your own -he believes not hearing the crowd makes its a waste of time ....so thats where my point about being deaf comes from...it was a stupid point by tunney

so in your own time dismount your high horse...good lad

--amadeus--

If you want to have an argument take it to PM, any more personal digs and there will be warnings and bans

robinph

ss43 wrote: »

What's all this about chatting to people during a race??? That seems a bit amd to me. I don't mean in a 'hate your competitors way' but surely your energy should be concentrated on racing. I can't say I noticed Sammy Wanjiru having a chat in the Olympics last year or London this year.

I'm just guessing that the majority of people on here who are wondering about if they should take an mp3 with them are not quite up to the same level as Sammy Wanjiru who is probably motivated enough without any tunes in his ear or the need to chat. For the rest of us though I'd suggest that being a bit more sociable with the people around you and taking in the atmosphere of the race as a whole might be something that is worth trying for a change, otherwise it is surely more like a long training run but with a lot of other people getting in your way.

911sc

MP3 players should be banned, on safety grounds.

rovers_runner

It's a personal choice on a given day, the first time i'd do an interesting route I'd never want to have music on.

On another day you'd be glad of it, wind and rain belting down in the dark etc.

As for marathons though there are some boring sections in Dublin, that kip after Chapelizod up until halfway is pretty dour so could use music then.

Reg'stoy

Did all my training for last year with my creative Zen, Joe Duffy keep me company on many a run. I would be lost and very lonely running without some background noise.

Ran the marathon listening to Lyric FM, slow beat kept my pace under control and I didn't have it too loud so was able to chat nod/grunt and interact with the crowd. If you did all your training listening to the radio I'd be wary of changing the routine so bring it you can always switch it off, turn it down on the day.

louthandproud

rovers_runner wrote: »

It's a personal choice on a given day, the first time i'd do an interesting route I'd never want to have music on.

On another day you'd be glad of it, wind and rain belting down in the dark etc.

As for marathons though there are some boring sections in Dublin, that kip after Chapelizod up until halfway is pretty dour so could use music then.

Te section around miles 20-22 is pretty dull too!

ss43

robinph wrote: »

I'm just guessing that the majority of people on here who are wondering about if they should take an mp3 with them are not quite up to the same level as Sammy Wanjiru who is probably motivated enough without any tunes in his ear or the need to chat. For the rest of us though I'd suggest that being a bit more sociable with the people around you and taking in the atmosphere of the race as a whole might be something that is worth trying for a change, otherwise it is surely more like a long training run but with a lot of other people getting in your way.

Are the goals not similar to Wanjiru's i.e. run the marathon as fast as you can? In that case, concentrating your efforts on running rather than chatting and making friends would be advisable. If you're not going to race it why not just go for a training run with talkative friends on a date that suits you?

nerraw1111

robinph wrote: »

Unless you were in the lead then there was nowhere on the route where you were on your own, and again, unless you were in the lead then you should have been running at a pace where you could have a short motivational chat with someone beside you to pick both yourself and those around you up a bit.

Training for running is a solitary passtime, running in road races is most definitely not solitary.



No use to anyone who may be wearing an mp3 player, but if you fancy everyone along the route shouting out to motivate you along the way by name then get a pen and write on your race number.

Re your name on the bib.

I read a letter to runner's world sometime last year regarding writing your name on the bib.

One guy wrote NAD on his bib. So for the whole marathon, he had people yelling GO NAD at him. Classic.

dario28

ss43 wrote: »

Are the goals not similar to Wanjiru's i.e. run the marathon as fast as you can? In that case, concentrating your efforts on running rather than chatting and making friends would be advisable. If you're not going to race it why not just go for a training run with talkative friends on a date that suits you?

Agreed , long distance/long run training you are supposed to be able to chat, but in a race ya really should be pushing yourself a bit more....

Although the thing about marathons now is there are 2 groups

1) real runners who race their PB every time and push themselves hard

2) The I did a marathon social aspect who dont push themselves talk their way around and do it in a time that would be way below their actual capability, just to say they did a marathon

So on this thread I dont think people will come to an agreement

robinph

dario28 wrote: »

Agreed , long distance/long run training you are supposed to be able to chat, but in a race ya really should be pushing yourself a bit more....

Although the thing about marathons now is there are 2 groups

1) real runners who race their PB every time and push themselves hard

2) The I did a marathon social aspect who dont push themselves talk their way around and do it in a time that would be way below their actual capability, just to say they did a marathon

So on this thread I dont think people will come to an agreement

Agreed.

We are of course all "real" runners around here though, but I would have thought that those that are running so hard that they cannot hold a brief conversation during a marathon are not even thinking about wearing an mp3 during it. I would be running hard during a marathon, but that is a whole different level to what I would be running during a 5k race and I would struggle to get even one word out during a 5k. The speed I'd be going in a marathon though it would be perfectly possible to have a quick chat with those around you or just take in what is going on a bit more.

If you really must wear an mp3 to get you round a marathon then do. I think that you are missing out on a whole lot of the experience of the taking part though, but then I'm also quite happy to do all my training runs without any tunes on as well, no matter how "boring" the route may be that I'm running around.

MrCreosote

Reg'stoy wrote: »

Did all my training for last year with my creative Zen, Joe Duffy keep me company on many a run. I would be lost and very lonely running without some background noise.

Listening to Joe Duffy is a dangerous thing. The anger might make the training runs too fast...

dario28

MrCreosote wrote: »

Listening to Joe Duffy is a dangerous thing. The anger might make the training runs too fast...

He does say "Go-on" alot which is pretty good encouragment !!

glennhysen

sideswipe wrote: »

Just wondering what people’s views of listening to an iPod while running the marathon?

I'm doing it for the first time and find listening to music has helped during training runs but I am unsure whether to use it on race day. I'm also doing the half marathon next weekend so I'd be v interested to hear what others think.

Dublin 08 was my first marathon and I was in the same position as yourself. I had used an MP3 player for all my training as I was running alone and around the same area most of the time. However I eventually decided not to bother with the MP3 player for the marathon and afterwards I was so glad that I made that choice. The reason is that there will be people lining most of the route and the encouragement you get from them really makes a difference.

Remember you only run your 1st marathon once! So don't bring the MP3 player and enjoy the experience.

sideswipe

BUMP>>

Having read the advise of others I've decided not to bring iPod to the half or full marathon. In fact I stopped using it while training and I honestly believe that it has improved my running form as I tend to concentrate more on how I run, I’ve improved my foot striking. I honestly think I was frightening people (especially women on there own) when I ran up from behind with my feet slapping the ground like Krusty the Clown - the real one not the fake one who frequents this forum ). i thought I'd be bored out of my head without it but managed a 20 miler last weekend no problem.
Thanks again for the opinions