NO HEADPHONES POLICY

Many runners ask why headphones are not permitted and will be grounds for immediate disqualification for the entire team. The reason is simple - it is for your safety.

The Green Mountain Relay is not held on a closed course - you will be running on the shoulders of the roads with traffic. In addition, the WWR course is very rural - there are wild animals in Colorado (black bear, moose, and mountain lions for example, not to mention dogs, idiot drivers, and drunks). So running down the road with your ear(s) shut off from reality is one of the most unsafe things you can do.

Permitting headphones is also against the policy of our liability insurance carrier. There have been three fatalities of relay race participants in the last several years because of their encounters with cars. Would these have been prevented if that race had this policy? We'll never know, but I am not willing to take that chance.

I know this policy is not popular with some, but triathlons, which are also held on open roads, have this same policy, and athletes accept this rule. The ONLY acceptable alternative are little speakers that clip on shirts or if your MP3 player has speakers. That's fine, but any device that is stuffed in one or both ears will be a disqualifiable offense for the entire team.