If you are running on a track there is a right direction to run and a wrong one.  It’s simple, there are lines, even arrows to direct you but what is the “right way” to do the 6 mile loop you run near your house or the route you and your running group to take together?  There are many ways to name loops, which usually has no specification of direction.  In High School Cross Country we used to name the loops we would run after a person, road name, point of interest, and even an extraordinary event that happened on the run.  One guy jumped on, up, and over the back of a slow moving car in a park.  He got a loop named after him.  We had everything from the Waffle House loop, Spalla loop, and the MidBroadwell loop.  I never accomplished anything out of the ordinary on a run to have a loop named after me.  That was a High School goal that I actually wanted to accomplish!  Grades are cool, but a loop named after you for years to come, now that’s accomplishment!

So every time we decided to run a loop “backwards” there were questions.  It seems that everyone had a different opinion on what running it “backwards” meant.  One line of thought is that clockwise is running a loop “normal” and counterclockwise was “backward.”  I look to the track to refute this theory.  The “normal” way to run on a track is counterclockwise so this doesn’t work.  Another theory is the “normal” direction of a loop is the direction that it is predominantly run.  Although humans have very good internal calculators, this way to designate the direction of a loop is flawed because each individual has different experiences running loops in a certain direction, making this designation not universal.  Lastly, a way to designate direction is by the first time the loop was ever run.  The first direction anyone in the group runs the loop is the “normal” way; therefore, running it the opposite direction would be “backwards.”  This way makes the most sense to me and I have used it in my loop designations ever since.  Are there any other ways to designate loop direction that I missed?

I think I may ellicit the USATF in making an universal designation of direction for running loops.  I gotta accomplish something; I never got a loop named after me for the Cross-country team!  Honor Roll, scholarship awards, admission to a top 25 ranked University, sure that’s nice and I am proud of it, but many others have been able to do that.  I want a loop named after me!

As mentioned in a previous blog, listening to music while running can prove to be very beneficial for setting a pace and diverting negative thoughts in a runner’s mind. Recently, the USA Track Field has amended Rule 144.3, which will enable race directors to choose to allow the use of headphones by runners in non-championship races. The rule set forth reads, “The following shall be considered assistance and therefore not allowed:

“(f) The visible possession or use by athletes of video, audio, or communications devices in the competition area. The Games Committee for an LDR event may allow the use of portable listening devices not capable of receiving communication; however, those competing in Championships for awards, medals, or prize money may not use such devices.”

Previously headphones had been banned from all USATF events, but the enforcement of this rule was often in the hands of race directors, with some enforcing the ban, some simply urging runners not to use headphones and others not enforcing it. This rule gives the race directors authority to do what a lot of them were already doing.

Personally I think music does give an advantage to runners; however, if you make this advantage available to every participant, I do not see at as an issue. Opponents of allowing headphones cry that it is too dangerous for the runners to not be able to hear. I personally think the opponents are made mostly of runners who do not choose to use headphones when they run and do not want to allow a competitive edge to the other runners. I don’t listen to music when I run. Stop complaining and just run faster.