UKC

Who listens to music and who doesn't?

I mostly do as I road run near me
But tend to avoid listening to music when I'm on the fells

In reply to goose299:

Never, I find earphones uncomfortable with any kind of effort and running on the road I like to hear traffic. Running in the hills, I think it would totally detract from the experience.

My girlfriend runs ultras and nearly always listens to music when running.

In reply to goose299:

Running gives me space to think and to listen to the birds without distractions. Music would be an abomination.

In reply to goose299:

I have the headphones on to zone out when I'm running on the treadmill offshore. Never when running fell/trail - would seem to defeat the purpose a little.

In reply to goose299:

For many years I was unable to listen to music while running but more recently I have done it.

I wouldn't describe it as an abomination - a touch of hyperbole there I think.

My use is actually around pacing. I have a number of songs of similar length and they help me to get a sense of whether I am ahead of schedule or not (if I beat the song to the end then I'm ahead etc). So the music itself is not the pull but the timing and splits. Once I go over to a new GPS watch I will go back to the sound of silence.

In reply to mudmonkey5:


Likewise - I listen to music on the treadmill, but once I'm outside, I far prefer to hear what's going on around me, especially at this time of year - skylarks, curlews, oystercatchers, lapwings, buzzards, the occasional grouse - all part of that good-to-be-alive feeling.

In reply to tony:


Once I'm outside, I far prefer to hear what's going on around me - fords, toyotas, audis, volkswagons, hondas, the occasional man shouting out of the window "run forrest run!" - all part of that yes-I'm-running-haven't-you-seen-that-before feeling.

Just kidding (though that does happen). I never used to wear headphones, then did for a while, then my mp3 player broke, then tried using my phone but it wasn't comfortable/bit of a hassle to use whilst running, and I haven't since replaced the mp3 player, so now I'm back to listening to the above traffic noise and hilarious commentary. I don't mind it to be honest.

Off-road, it's quite nice to be able to hear whether a young and ethusiastic german shepherd is chasing you or not and, critically, if any golfers are shouting at you. Oh, and the birdlife you mentioned of course!

In reply to goose299:

So I'm definitely in the minority here.
I'm going to go headphone free on tonight's road run tonight then

In reply to goose299:

Very rarely, but 95% of my runs are on trails in the mountains - to be honest, it doesn't occur to me - I'm happy with my thoughts, my dog and the sounds of nature.

However I take headphones on long ultras, because there are undoubtedly times when you're trudging on your own, in the dark, exhausted and ready to quit, and the option of music can help give you a boost.

When I run in the city (about 5-6 times a month depending on work travel), I generally don't listen to music either, simply because I've got out of the habit.

In reply to goose299:

Defeats the point of being out for a run IMO. Also having people wander across paths oblivious to what's going on around them is a real pain for other users.

In reply to goose299:

Shoes, trail, as little baggage as possible for me.

On a tangent: I've noticed more headphone wearing dog walkers being taken by surprise when you appear behind them on a run or out on the bike.

In reply to SteveRi:


This is actually becoming a real problem on my commute, which follows a bike path that is heavily used by dog walkers.

I'm another one who uses headphones on the rare occasions that I run on a treadmill, but not when I am running outside. I feel disconnected, somehow, by listening to music.

In reply to Bob:


I think this is a bit broadbrush. I don't go out for a run to lap up the scenery - I do it for fitness primarily. We have a lovely garden out in the country with lots of birds, hedgehog, squirrel etc. If I want to enjoy the wildlife I can sit with a beer in my hand and do it.

I actually only use one earpiece so I'm not totally detached.

In reply to SteveRi:


And you also get people talking to each other who seem to get upset by you interrupting their conversation. And people on mobile phones oblivious to all around them. And others who just wander around like zombies. L'enfer, c'est les autres.

I do listen to music when running on my own, sometimes with earbuds in, sometimes tucked under a buff so I can still hear ambient noise. On the bike, if riding on my own, I tend to listen to podcasts, and in one ear only.

In reply to goose299:

I actually find listening to music and running in the fells can be a deeply magical experience, its all about which music of course.

In reply to goose299:

I don't run much, but I don't listen to music while running or cycling. There's the discomfort of earphones and the faff of the cables, the increased risk of being run over, but mainly you miss the sounds of the countryside and time and space for solitude.

People who can't seem to function without earphones rammed in their ears baffle me, but each to their own I guess.

In reply to SteveRi:


Taking a dog walker by surprise wouldn't be a problem. Taking the dog by surprise might be...........

In reply to Robert Durran:

I do actually run past a woman who has a deaf dog

In reply to goose299:

So last night and this morning, I ran without music.
I'm not adverse to it.

I would say my internal monologue is a bit louder without music and there's less danger of being run over as I can actually hear the cars on the road

In reply to The New NickB:


Exactly.. regardless of the hearing nature argument that's your personal choice..

But the safety factor is the most important reason.

I hate lapped races on narrow trails when the back runners are totally oblivious to you due to their headphones. if they want to listen to music at least have one ear free so you can hear something.

In reply to goose299:


If I may - averse



This of course is the counter argument to going musicless - I tend to end up finding some cheesy pap pops into my head as I'm trotting along, which I'm then stuck with on a continuous loop for thirty minutes

In reply to goose299:

Used to like it. Can't find many earphones that I'm comfortable with. Start to get irritated with everything attached to my body twenty minutes into the run. Watch comes off, earphones come off, and if your lucky ladies, shirt comes off. Don't bother with music any longer. The stream of consciousness / tourette ticking expletive laden rant far more entertaining.

D

In reply to goose299:

Music for me and this week, it's mostly been Planet Funk.

In reply to goose299:

Cant run without music..Chemical Brothers is an absolute must !

In reply to goose299:

I tend to run along the local coast prom and cycle tracks always with music. It is my regular route and I would be deathly bored without it.

For those mentioning being able to hear around them. It is about having the right headphones. I have some that sit tight in my ear that I use when taking trains or flights (they let little sound out so don't disturb others). If you get the type with an ear loop or a back-of-the-neck band they often have a planar speaker that sits around the ear rather than in it and still let in sound around you so that you hear traffic and bikes coming up behind.

I don't like music when out in the hills. On regular surfaces I feel my pace can often drop into something with or around a beat but when I am varying pace and stride for terrain and incline music just seems "wrong" and offputting.

In reply to goose299:


Music when running I can relate to, but the headphone thing seems to have been getting out of hand recently. The other day I saw a couple walking down the road hand in hand, stopping for a snog every few seconds and obviously in the first heat of new love but wearing *matching* massive ear covering headphones to shut out any word the other person said.

In reply to goose299:

I used to listen to music a fair bit, but then I realised I pay much more attention to my form if I don't.

In reply to goose299:

Absolutely listen to music ,I love music and love running.

In reply to tom_in_edinburgh:


Yes, in a similar vein, I drove (carefully!) past a teenager cycling (well, weaving around all over the place) on the road with headphones on and his phone out, apparently texting or selecting a new tune or whatever, with either one or no hands on the handlebars. He didn't seem to notice me until I was alongside (i.e. in visual range) and looked surprised.

This is either placing too much trust in other people to be careful around you or being totally oblivious to danger.

I often have to avoid people coming towards me staring down at their phones when I'm out running and I often make people jump if I overtake them, especially if they have headphones on. Either that, or I'm a really creepy runner!

In reply to mountainbagger:


I love doing this