This weekend I finally got back to working on my first day cover project. I uploaded about 100 new covers and decided to re-work the structure of the collection online. Instead of a huge text listing on one page, I’ve divided it into yearly pages with thumbnail pictures that can be clicked to view a close-up of the stamp.

There are still literally hundreds left to enter, but I like the framework much better now.

Check out the new pages here:

2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999

Slowest. Get in Gear. Ever.

• 2002 - 1:07:04 (10:48 pace)
• 2003 - 1:00:32 (9:45)
• 2004 - 0:55:41 (8:58)
• 2005 - 0:57:43 (9:18)
• 2006 - 0:55:28 (8:56)
• 2007 - 1:07:49 (10:55)

It was a beautiful day, though–sunny and about 65 degrees with a light breeze. This was my first outdoor run of the year, so I can’t be too disappointed with the time. These days, just finishing without injury is a success.

I ran with my Nike+iPod setup (sans headphones). The distances were off by about one tenth of a mile, so I’ll need to recalibrate that soon. When I uploaded the data afterwards, I received a nice surprise:

This race is well-run, but they still had a couple of recurring issues. Water at the finish line is still located too far away and the lines for food take forever to get through. The addition of “hero pops,” though, more than made up for those things–they tasted great after a hot run!

Looks like the other shoe has dropped. Today I received my 2007 Twin Cities Marathon entry in the mail and they are following the lead of Grandma’s:

“USATF rules prohibit the use of headphones, cell phones, and similar devices on the course. This rule will be strictly enforced at all TCM, Inc. events.”

I just emailed them a similar note to what I sent Grandma’s earlier this week. No more TCMs for me either, I guess.

The people who run USATF need to get in tune with the technology and realize that non-elite runners participate for different reasons and have different needs than those trying to qualify for national titles and spots on the Olympic team. Race organizers also need to look at who their primary market is and meet their needs or risk losing the bulk of their participants.

Not a big fan of the man and his rules…

UPDATE: Here is the response from TCM:

David,

Thank you for your email. We have actually banned the use of headphones, iPod’s, MP3’s etc since 2002. This year it is a rule backed by USATF.

We will continue enforcing our policy in the same way that we have since 2002. Please look for more information on this on the website in the future.

We hope that you will reconsider running with us, we would love to have you.

Thanks & Happy Running!

Lindsey Altermatt
Twin Cities Marathon, Inc.
763-287-3888 ext 10

That has me a little confused, as I always thought their rule was headphones strongly discouraged, not banned. There were plenty of people with them last year and I saw no enforcement taken against anyone.

When we ordered the pool table for the office, we also bought a ping pong topper so we could use it as a conference table. I hadn’t actually played ping pong since college and forgot most of the rules (more at Wikipedia). Late last week, we set up the net and it’s been non-stop ping pong during break times since then. It takes more skill and physical effort than I remember, so not only is it fun, it’s good for you!

In response to my email and post yesterday, I received this reply from Bob Gustafson, the PR Director for Grandma’s Marathon:

David,

Thank you for your email. We understand and appreciate your concerns regarding the new USA Track & Field (USATF) rule prohibiting headphones. Hopefully the information below will provide some assistance.

Our races are sanctioned by USATF. Therefore, we are required to abide by USATF rules, regulations and guidelines. In late 2006, USATF approved the banning of all portable music devices at all of its sanctioned road races in an effort to provide increased safety for every participant. So, in accordance with USATF rules we will begin enforcing this new rule at our 2007 races.

Again, thanks for your email and I hope this information answers your questions.

Bob Gustafson
Grandma’s Marathon
Public Relations Director
P.O. Box 16234
Duluth, MN 55816
Phone (218) 727-0947
Fax (218) 727-7932
www.grandmasmarathon.com

So I went to the USATF website and found the rule changes from 2006. Here is the relevant section:

Item 22 – Submitted by George Kleeman, Rules Committee, on behalf of Mark Winitz, Men’s LDR
Amend Rule 144.3(b) as follows:
The visible possession or use by athletes of video or audio cassette recorders or players, TV’s, CD or DVD players, radio transmitters or receivers, mobile phones, computers, or any similar devices in the competition area shall not be permitted. ((In long distance running, this is not a mandatory rule, but is a strong suggestion as a guideline for safety reasons.))
Reason: The huge proliferation of MP3 players and other audio devices using headphones by road race participants constitutes a safety hazard. These devices can prevent runners from hearing critical instructions from course monitors, police, and other race officials. Many race directors are reluctant to prohibit these devices in their races for fear of losing entrants. A firm prohibition by USATF will make it easier for these directors to justify bans on these devices in their races.

The section is double parentheses was removed.

I don’t know what to say, other than I guess my marathon count will end at ten. Or maybe this is a good reason to look at some international races. Either way, this may be my last Grandma’s medal.

Sad…

My running season is about to begin next weekend at the 30th Annual Get in Gear 10K in Minneapolis. I’ve basically done nothing but sit on my butt since last fall’s Twin City Marathon and I’ve got an extra ten pounds to prove it. That needs to change, so now I’m much more motivated to run. Plus it’s warm out–I’m definitely a fair weather runner.

I’m very conflicted about which races to run this year, however. Grandma’s Marathon has decided to ban headphones in all of their races this year as part of the USATF rules for certified races. I don’t agree with this policy and won’t run there again unless the policy changes. Here is what I wrote to them today:

To whom it may concern:

My name is David Kingsbury and I have completed four Grandma’s Marathon races over the past ten years. I love the race and the support given by the City of Duluth and its residents. It has been the highlight of my running year each time I have entered. It saddens me, however, to see that you have decided to enforce the no headphones rule this year. With products such as the iPod+Nike device, these items are not only helpful training tools, they can give useful in-run statistics such as pace and distance remaining.

I have never personally seen an instance where someone around me wearing headphones endangered my run. I believe that these tools help people train more often before a race and can help inspire those running to finish stronger during the race.

My guess is that this decision was forced on you by the USATF in order to be a certified race. Grandma’s has a reputation for being one of the elite races, but I hope you do not lose sight of the “everyday Joe” runners who run for fun, not records. I was surprised to see your field was not full yet, but I’m guessing a lot of average runners like me have decided to stay away.

I hope you will reconsider for the 2008 event.

It looks like TCM is threatening to do the same (that has always been their policy, but they never actually disqualified anyone). So it looks like I will just run the Get in Gear and the Heart of the City Half Marathon June 2 in Burnsville.

My brother let me know he plans to run the 2008 Walt Disney World Goofy Races in Orlando next January. This is the one where you get to run the half on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday. I thought of maybe joining him, but the field of 3,000 is already full.

Well, at least we got to see the best game of the series. My daughter and I attended game four of the first round series between the Wild and the Ducks. My voice was hoarse from yelling at the refs, but the team did a great job of overcoming those obstacles and getting the 4-1 win.

Unfortunately, they did themselves in last night in Anaheim. It was too bad they didn’t have the services of Johnsson and White, but the Ducks were just the better team this year. The vastly superior power play was too much for them to overcome.

The Wild had a great year and we are proud of them. Every player and representative from the organization that we met this year was fantastic–friendly and very kind to my daughters. They are a first-class operation and we can’t wait until next season. We are still in the warming house and are anxious for the next select-a-seat event to see if we can get those upper level seats for next season.

Cheers to the men in red, white and green. Go Wild!