Update on Headphones: The USATF changed its ruling governing the wearing of headphones.

Well, it looks like all you runners who like to wear headphones during a race have gotten a break. The USATF changed its ruling recently that governs the wearing of headphones in races so it applies only to the competitive athletes who are racing for national titles, U.S. team berths or awards, medals or prize money. Rule 144.3 has been modified to enable race directors of USATF-sanctioned events to make the decision to allow or prohibit the use of headphones by runners in non-championship races. The rule stems from an IAAF statute that prohibits athletes from wearing any mechanism that would allow interaction with coaches during competition. The end result?...Look for both headphone-free starting waves at big races and more races that promote the Nike+ iPod technology. Hmmm, do you suppose Nike had anything to do with the rule change? Personally, I don’t like to see the iPod or headphones used during races. Not that I dislike them – I use an iPod when running alone on a long run on the Rail Trail. When running a road or trail race, the runner needs to be aware of the surroundings and to be able to listen for instructions from race course officials and course volunteers. In an emergency situation headphones are a distraction. They can put the runner - and the other runners near them - in harm if instructions cannot be heard. Just for the record….any race I direct will not allow headphones.

In other News:

The YRRC is looking to fill the V.P. Merchandise position. If anyone is interested in filling the post, please contact Jan Workinger at (H) 755-1856 or email at jan.workinger@hillmangroup.com

YRRC Newsletter cut-off dates: June 15th; Aug. 17th; Oct.19th and Dec. 21st

Below is the YRRC meeting dates for the remainder of 2009: June 1 st; Aug. 3 rd; Oct. 5 th and Dec. 7 th.

The YRRC Executive meetings are always open to our club members and non-members to express ideas and/or concerns you might have. However, so that we can schedule time accordingly to hear your message, it’s always appreciated if you contact me ahead of time so we can schedule you into our meetings. We start our meetings promptly at 6:00pm and finish at 8:30pm.

Note: Unless otherwise posted on the YRRC website, all meetings will be held at:

The Wellspan Center
915 Indian Rock Dam Road (corner of Indian Rock Dam Road and Richland Avenue)
York , PA 17403

Run safely!
Best Regards,
Jan Workinger