Are metronomes legal in a race

MikeMcMahon

Hi everyone,

I saw a post from John Withrow that I thought was brilliant. If I understand correctly he was using a metronome attached to his hat to pace his running cadence and give him something to focus on during the race. I am seriously considering doing the same thing.

I just wanted to confirm:
1. That metronomes are legal to use in a half Ironman event
2. Would I be driving everybody around me crazy

I figure this can't be any worse than using a Garmin to display your running pace. Am I right?

William Jenks

There's a swim toy called a Tempo Trainer that's a metronome you stick under your cap...that's not practical for running, but i wonder if it could be clipped to teh inside of your hat.

John Withrow

Mike,

1) to be honest, I never checked to see if it was legal... I have used mine now in 2 races (NJ Devilman half-lite and Rev3 Quassy). Neither were WTC races, but they both had USAT officials at them. I have always set my bike computer to sound an alarm every 30 mins to remind me to eat. My Garmin watch also beeps every mile and displays my pace and my cadence as well. I know others who have alarms that sound when their HR goes too high, etc. so I just figured it was no different in principal than any of those things so I just assumed it was legal.

2) This might be selfish, but I really care about my race and not other people's. Some people's squeaky bike gears or heavy panting (or puking or peeing) may bother other people around them. I just figured if my beeping really bothered somebody, they should speed up a little bit or slow down a little bit as to not run right next to me. If anything, it's a small annoyance to others, and not a safety hazard. If you are really self conscious about that, though, you could always put it inside your fuel belt where you could barely even hear it yourself and it certainly wouldn't bother those around you.

MikeMcMahon

Thanks guys. Yes John - I'm kind of on the same page as you re: bothering other people. On the other side, I wonder if you have a metronome if you will become a pied piper with lots of people following you because they want to hear the beat

Joe Matchette

I recently ordered and received one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067WLHB6/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Prior to this, I was using my FINIS Metronome (the swim toy mentioned above) and it was (a) a pain to clip to my visor and (b) ridiculously large when put in the clip mechanism.

This new one has adjustable volume so I am not worried about other people even noticing, is lightweight, easy to adjust volume/tempo/beat, and (so far) works like a champ. I like it and highly recommend.

Nemo Brauch

USAT Rules Article VI Section 6.3 states:



"Permitted and Illegal Equipment. Any participant who at any time wears or carries a headset, radio, headphones, personal audio device, or any other item prohibited by Section 3.4(i) shall be subject to a time penalty. A participant may carry a water bottle on the run portion of the course, provided that such container is not made of glass. Glass containers are prohibited."



Section 3.4(i) is fairly similar but also adds terms that gives the referee some ability to deem something illegal if he/she feels it is a safety issue:



"Unauthorized Accessories. No participant shall, at any time during the event, use or wear a hard cast, headset, radio, personal audio device, or any other item deemed dangerous by the Head Referee. Any violation of this Section shall result in a variable time penalty."

There isn't a definition of "personal audio device".  I'd assume they mean mp3, radio, boom box, walkman, etc.  But an argument could be made that a thing you carry that makes an audible sound which you personally use would be deemed a "personal audio device".

That said, while I've seen many people dinged for carrying an ipod (or similar),  I don't know of anyone that's gotten a time penalty for carrying one of those little metronomes. 

MikeMcMahon

Great. Thanks Nemo.
I do agree with John - these can't be viewed as any worse than beeping to remind to fuel, garmin pacing info, etc

I think I'll risk it

John Withrow

Thanks Nemo--   I'm still planning to wear mine at IMUSA in 6 weeks...

Here's the one I have:  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Seiko-DM-50-Digital-Clip-On-Metronome-Pacer-/251176749006?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7b4d07ce

And here's what it looks like on my visor with my 910XT in the picture for scale:

I also bought the one that Joe uses and I leave it at the gym.  It is obviously cheaper which is good, and it is a bit lighter, and the volume goes a little lower on the lowest setting, but I'm am pretty sure it will not be waterproof and the spring is a little looser, so it "might" come off while running some day.  The advantage of the slightly more expensive one pictured on my Visor is that the spring is MUCH stronger, so it is much less likely to slide off of my visor during a race, but it is a tiny bit heavier as well.  And I would guess that the Seiko one is waterproof, or at least it has a slightly better chance of being waterproof or surviving being dropped on the pavement, etc.

Michael Byerts

I ran a quick google search and found this discussion on the message board that shall not be named:
http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi?post=2474358
Bottom line: unless the metronome is in your ear, it is legal.

Paul Hough

@ John - that thing doesn't look very aerodynamic! You need one that is minutiarized and made of carbon fiber to take it to the next level.

Coach Rich

Between people who are running with pacers (who aren't penalized) or with headphones (who aren't DQ'd), I could anyone would say anything about your metronome other than "hey Ronald, your fries are done!"

Paul Hough

At Rich - since you don't read ST anymore you may not be familiar with the guy who was winning the Macon HIM but was penalized for being paced out of T2 by a friend in a full Gorilla suit. It cost him the win.

William Jenks

I didn't see the whole incident, but I saw a pacing penalty being given at KS 70.3 last weekend.