What was in Marathon runners’ headphones? Coldplay, Carrie Underwood, K-pop, and more.
There weren’t many things that Boston Marathon runners were permitted to bring to the starting line in Hopkinton on Monday morning, but one of those approved items was headphones, which were “discouraged but permitted,” according to the prominently displayed signs near security checkpoints on Boston Common. And while upbeat rock, pop, and soul curated by stadium DJ TJ Connelly blared through speakers as the racers laced up their shoes, kissed loved ones goodbye, and prepared to board the school buses to the starting line, individual racers had their own plans for what would be in their ears as they ran the 26.2 miles to Copley Square.
Some of them had given the matter significant thought. Katie Lewis, from Florida, had it planned down to the minute; if she crossed the finish line at her goal time, she said, Carrie Underwood’s “The Champion” would mark the moment. Lindsay Barnes, of New Jersey, who was running with the Kathrine Switzer-founded women’s running network 261 Fearless, said she’d taken inspiration from 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden’s pump-up playlist and put Macklemore’s “Glorious” in the rotation. Glenique Frank, of the United Kingdom, who incorporated a blue, pink, and white transgender pride flag into her race outfit, had DJ Paul Glazby’s “Live in South Africa” cued up. “It’s house music, so it has a constant beat,” she explained.
Others were simply planning to hit shuffle on race-friendly mixes. Carrie Devonshire, of London, bounced to Katrina and the Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine” over the PA as she prepared to board the bus. On her playlist? “Sex on Fire,” by Kings of Leon, she said. What else? “Everything.” Hana Nah, of New York, was listening to the comedy podcast “SmartLess” while she waited to head to the starting line, but her race mix, which was around eight hours long, included ’80s hair metal and Kpop. “It sort of depends on whatever comes up,” she said.
In an email to the Globe, a Boston Athletic Association spokesperson confirmed that headphones are discouraged for safety reasons. If volunteers or officials need to make an announcement, or if a runner tries to pass another, the association wants runners to be able to hear that without interference. “When you have 30,000 participants on course, we want everyone to be safe.”
Many other road races, including the New York City Marathon, also take the same approach. When USA Track and Field — the governing body for long distance running and track and field events in the United States — adopted a blanket ban on headphones at its sanctioned events in 2007, the rule proved both unpopular and impossible to enforce. The following year, the rule was amended; now headphones are only against the rules for professional runners competing for medals and prizes.
Can listening to music actually improve athletic performance? Much of the research on the subject has come from Costas Karageorghis, a professor of sport and exercise psychology at Brunel University, in London. Listening to the right music, whatever that is, can improve athletes’ moods; it can also make them feel as if they’re not exerting themselves as hard as they actually are, which accordingly leads to better performance, Karageorghis claims. In a 2012 paper with coauthor David-Lee Priest, he wrote that “music can be thought of as a type of legal performance-enhancing drug.”
For optimal performance, Karageorghis recommends runners listen to songs with a strong beat in the 120-140 beats per minute tempo range, so they might synchronize their individual strides with the rhythm; a Spotify playlist he created for runners includes Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” (139 bpm), Salt-n-Pepa’s “Push It” (130 bpm), and Reel 2 Real’s “I Like to Move It” (123 bpm). Asked about their music choices, Monday’s runners were less focused on the numbers and more so on the personal significance of songs. Laura Giesler ,of Texas, planned to listen to Christian music, while Katie Lewis’s playlist included songs that reminded her of her children. Capria Cole, of Hamilton, said she was planning to listen to Coldplay’s “Sparks” on repeat.
“I picked one of their most depressing songs!,” the 18-year-old said, giggling.
But not every runner was planning to bring music along. For Katie Martin, of Washington, D.C., the music of cheering spectators was much more appealing than anything she could have put through her headphones. “I’ve been told the crowd is electrifying,” she said.
Whatever gets them over Heartbreak Hill.