Will you let Bevan do it?

If you train with the Ipod then race like you train, but the fun of a marathon is hearing the crowd cheer you on as you run through the streets. There is nothing better than having your friends, family, and completer strangers encourage you through a marathon that you cannot find in your headphones....unless you listen to Eye of the Tiger 20 times in a row.

Go old school, no Ipod. Chat it up with the other racers and have fun with them. Ipods are good training tools but in a race, forget about it.

no

,as it will make it harder so bevan has to suffer more:) and john it older so probley wiser

Andy

Come on Bevan you big girl, you don't need an ipod to get you through a marathon!

You should get the whole set up... The shoes that connect to the Ipod and download the podcast that helps you through the race. Be that guy!

Yes i think bevan should get to use his ipod but john should get to pick the music to go on it! or bevan should do a play list for 2 hours 30 mins of his favourite music then after that it should be a recording of john telling him how weak he is and how he needs to run faster. What better motivation to run a sub 2.30 mara.

NO WAY! Harden up Buttercup!

Dude! You shave your legs to shave seconds off your time - imagine how much time you'll save without the 4 ounces of IPOD or the wind-catching ear buds in!! NO IPOD!

Nope.

Great training tool, not so good for racing with thousands of people.

No Way! Here's why - it's insulting to the people who have come to cheer on the competitors, to the volunteers who are yelling water/sportsdrink/etc so that you can make an informed decision and have a better race, and your fellow competitors who are either saying get out of my way, or alternatively, good job.

Train with one, sure, after all, how else can we listen to all the great episodes of IMTALK (after all, we love your work!), but don't be that jerk who annoys people on race day.

Frankly Bevan, you're better than that.

(PS, as an aside, I did a marathon in Eugene Oregon this weekend - the cradle of American distance running - and was appalled at how many people were wearing iPods. It was shameful, especially in a place where running is so respected.)

(pps, I had a small PB but somehow managed to take off 35 minutes from my last mara in March)

Bevan will be so far ahead of everyone else he will need the ipod for motivation as he SMACKS IT!. I say yes. If the organization allows it all bets are off. Go for a PR Bevy!

Yes.

No way - suffer, it's outside assistance + performance enhancing.

Neither for Routeburn which tourists travel half way round the world to experience, so enjoy the sounds of nature and don't spoil it with technology.

No...grab a few cement pills and harden the ........

No ipod, but take a voice recorder to detail your thoughts, content for the show.

Nope. Only time to use an ipod is during warmup. If you're that bored that you need music to race, pick a different sport. If you need motivation, pick a person ahead of you to pass in the last miles of the race. In John's case, that would be the female leader in the finishing chute. ;-)

I have mixed emotions. I train with an ipod all the time, but on the other hand, it doesn't even cross my mind to want one when I race. I try to be all focus.

Like everyone, I'm aware that they can distract you and make you not pay attention to others. But I'm also curious. For someone who is really primed and fit, is there any chance that a well chosen playlist would be super-motivating and get over the problem of loss of focus? An experiment of one time is a lousy experiment, but how many people are you going to get who are this motivated just to do the experiment and report back how they felt?

So in the name of science, I say go for it this once, and then swear never to do it again. :-)

"All entrants must comply with the rules of Athletics New Zealand and the International Athletic Federation." I can't find anything on their website that bans ipods, and there is no specific race rule. Think of it as an ergogenic aid. It aids performance and isn't banned, so go for it. However, this second alternative might be even better than an ipod... a superhero suit!

Bevan should definitely be wearing a superhero outfit. 10 guys are going for the WORLD RECORD marathon time for a competitor dressed in a superhero outfit. It stands at 2:49:50 right now. That's great you might think, but some of the 10 people going for it are previous commonwealth games competitors. It says "one more to be added" - get in there Bevan! You could be IRON MAN. Take that WTC.

No.

While you might think it makes it more challenging to do the marathon without the ipod, there is something special about hearing the crowds, and the sound of a mass of people running down the road that can inspire you. Spending a few hours away from your music will not kill you.

Nope. I can just imagine Bevan flying by singing loudly and off key (only because he'd have those earbuds in!) and John glaring at him as if he were 10 years old and just took the family car out for a joy ride...Bad Bevan, Bad!!!

-Mark "Star-Jump" Sortino

Love the Superman outfit idea, although then Bevan would end up looking a bit like the guy wearing the all in one red tri suit that he talked about at the Mission Bay tri the other weekend, bits dangling all over the place. Mind you if that were chasing me down I might do a PB so it could benefit the other runners. Still no ipod though!

No way. I just had some run gait analysis done and found out I need to make some serious changes to the way I run. I've developed a slow and lazy run because I have been listening to the ipod too much rather than concentrating on the run form.

Yeah Bevan's a good runner who must know what good technique is, but in any race you're going to concentrate in the last part to really push it home well. Lose the ipod dude...

No.

Try it in just one ear then you hear others but can still have your background music. It does not work good for Podcast you need to really listen too but music is great. If you are running with someone just keep the ear closest to each other empty.

Suppose for a moment that you ARE going to use the iPod for a race. This is going to require some time in preparation because you've got to get your playlist going. We all naturally entrain our running and breathing to one degree or another, and I have to think almost everyone is tempted to entrain music tempo to gait. It's going to take some work to choose 2.5-3 hours worth of tunes at the right tempo AND the right mood. Is it worth it???

Again, coming back to the "in the name of science", now we need him to run several marathons with iPods - one with the correct tempos, one with consistent but slow tempos, one with random tempos, etc etc. And of course all data should be collected in triplicate to check for reproducibility.

This is turning into quite a project now.

Tongue firmly in cheek,

William

Do it, but keep the volume low enough that you can hear ambient sounds like "GET OUT OF THE WAY!!!!!"

No,

yes i wish i could have had an ipod during my ironman marathons but i didn't, you didn't either in your races. why is a stand alone marathon different and why would you need one? if you train with one, then you should be able to mentally replay specific songs during your race. there will be enough going around you that will distract you or require you to have an ipod.

best of luck!

- the jucinator -

What kind of adult diapers are you going to wear also if you use your IPOD. Suck it up and leave it at home.

got to agree with the majority here bevvie. Ideal training tool but why bother doing an event if you're going to cocoon yourself from it by using an iPod.

As a socialable guy I'd expect you to be opposite and be chatty to your fellow competitors and spectators.

No way; John always knows best, and that's got nothing whatsoever to do with him putting more hill repeats into my programme if I say yes.

Its about achieving the best possible performance - if that is achieved by listening to the iPod and it is allowed in the race rules, then hell yeah! Let Bevan listen to his aerobics tunes... Let Bevan wear his speedos. Let Bevan wear his Chewbacca suit.

I will be there with my iPod and kickstart tunes...and maybe some dress-up going for a PB.

Seano the Porno

No.

Bevan think about an IMTalk listener on the street supporting you. Look there's an IMTalk t-shirt.....crickey its Bevan...."Go Bevan!"....oh the b'stards got his ipod on and can't even hear me.

Yes - If you think it will make a difference.

I used an iPod through my training for the Miami Marathon in January. At mile 14 my iPod stopped working and didn't start again it totally through me. Not having the iPod made the later miles even harder and it annoyed me having to carry an iPod that was not working for 12.2miles.

Not using an iPod at all im my traning now and finding it much more enjoyable.

No.

As I can't use my iPod during my ironman this year I want as many other people as possible to share my pain.

you're only going to be out there for 2.5 hours. that's not long enough to get bored. dont use the ipod. PR or ER bev, rip it.

I think it's definitely a yes!

Yes

Yes, it would be great!

He needs Johnny Cash so it's a yes!

Yes, he can listen to John and Bevan the whole race!