Win a free pair of running speakers!
I’ve gotten such a positive response from people that are using and even just seeing the running speakers for the first time that I’ve decided to give a pair away for free.
The race director of the Fit for Life half marathon liked the running speakers and he even asked if he could post the video I made to his website. Do you remember Jeremy, you know, the guy that made the biking helmet cam video on my blog? He let his fiance run in them for the same 10K race on Saturday and she loved them.
Some guy even came and asked me about them after the race and tried them on. He mentioned a lot of the same frustrations about headphones, training and races that I heard during the survey about running with music, and was really impressed with how light they are and how they sound.
So, while I’m still working with the inventor to let Maintain Fit members have a first shot at them, I decided to GIVE AWAY a pair for FREE.
Here’s how it will work. I want you to tell me about the biggest benefit that you get from running with music and how the running speakers would enhance that benefit. The trick is that you have to be able to say it in 150 - 300 words. I’ll go through the responses and choose the best one and send him or her a pair of running speakers, for FREE.
Here’s how to submit your entry. To enter your short essay, simply post it as a comment on this blog post, and make sure to leave your e-mail address (I have my blog configured to never show your e-mail address, but if you win I need to contact you to get your address and ship you the speakers).
Just come up with the biggest benefit to running with music and explain how the running speakers would enhance that benefit, then explain it in 150-300 words as a comment on this post. That’s it!
Some contest rules:
1. I am the sole judge and jury. 
2. Entries must be posted by 7:00 PM EST eastern time on July 17th to be considered.
3. I reserve the right to changes the rules if there’s something I haven’t thought of.
That’s it for now so get busy!
July 14th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
I absolutely love to run. I especially love to run with my spouse. He helps me keep up my pace and it keeps it interesting. However, we now have children so someone has to stay home while the other one runs.
To make running alone more appealing, I have turned to music. The music helps me keep my pace going. I find that when I run all alone, it is easy to think I am going at a good pace. Sometimes I am only going slightly faster than a walk in reality. With some good paced music, I keep my feet moving to the rhythm. I don’t slow down if the music keeps going. It also keeps me thinking while I am running. Since having children, I only listen to children’s music at home. It can be quite dull. Running with music gives me a chance to escape this and listen to stuff that interests me. Combining running with music is a great way to escape daily life and come back refreshed.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
When I first began running, I assumed it was a purely physical exercise–move legs, move arms, breathe deep, repeat–little did I know how much more I was in for. I can run virtually anywhere, anytime, but it’s that extra stimulation of the senses that truly makes a difference.
I recently moved from a rural city on the shores of Lake Superior to the outskirts of a metropolitan area. My first runs were accompanied only by songbirds and the sound of the water gently lapping the shore. A few months later, I arrived to my new city home to find I was running slower and tiring sooner. What was causing my decline? The city noises, the traffic, the busy streets…I had lost my focus and what’s more, I was bored without the scenic beauty of the lake to keep me company.
So I went out and purchased the one gadget I’d sworn I would never buy: an MP3 player. This tiny contraption saved my workouts; I can now pace my runs to the music and tune out the city’s chaos by focusing on the songs. There’s just one little problem–those pesky earbuds whose cords get in the way and fall out at the least convenient moments. Fortunately, a solution is imminent, and that solution? Running speakers.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Until recently, running was a struggle for me. I have never before considered myself particularly athletic, but during the last year I felt strongly that I needed some strong physical activity in my life to keep my stress level down and keep myself fit and strong. By comparison, music has always played an integral part of my life. This year I discovered the combination of running and music, and with that I have discovered a successful key to health, rejuvenation and overall well-being.
My heart beats music and my blood pumps the rhythm as I run. Music acts as the metronome and pulse of the movement in my body and feet. It pushes me forward and motivates me to continue when I feel I can’t. I have a very physiologic response to the music from the moment I step out my front door and put my ear phones in: my heart rate increases, my mind starts to focus, and I feel my energy begin to pull me forward. I often become so lost in the pulse of the combination of music and movement that I find myself home sooner than I am ready to stop running. I have run an extra lap around the block to complete a song on many occasions!
Music and running are intrinsically related. The beats, the cadence and the movement may be exhibited by different mediums, but essentially accomplish the same purpose. Both allow the body to become more alive and the mind to become more vibrant. There are few equivalent experiences that provide the same amount of pure organic joy and exhilaration. When the two work in tandem, it is truly a whole body experience. This is why I love running with music.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
For the last couple years I’ve changed my running “Tunes” to audio books. When I started doing the math, I could easily listen to an abridged book in less than a week or an unabridged book a month, just on my morning runs. Now that gas is $4.00/gal I try to bike to/from work at least twice a week which gives me about 1.5 hours a day to listen to my ipod, not counting a run at the end on some days. I love to read, but with three children and a demanding work schedule it is tough to chip out the time. However, with audio books it takes time that I would normally just let my mind wander, and put it to good use for either self-development or just fun reading. The best books I’ve listened to the last 12 months include: 7-Habits (Covey); Confessions of St. Augustine (St. Augustine); Sword of Shannara Series. I don’t think you can beat the effective multi-task of body and brain fitness.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
I love free stuff, anything from gum to ice cream, but the problem with that sugar is that it makes running more difficult. I need those speakers to help work off the extra free stuff I’m carrying around. Since my cadence monitor recently retired from actively functioning, music helps keep my cycling pace up. Besides, with speakers, will be less embarrassing when I suddenly feel compelled to sing as I run or pedal. I’ve ripped through 4 pair of phones for my ipod and so I’m excited to try the speakers as they won’t be attached to my head. I look forward to hearing from you with my new free pair of speakers.
July 15th, 2008 at 1:53 pm
Running….It means so much to me. Three years ago I was 45 lbs over weight and being in the military that was not a good thing. So I started going to the gym, then I started jogging/running, man was it tuff at first. A few months later I entered my first 5K race and finished 3rd in my age group from then on I have been hooked. Most of the races I have competed in I have finished in the top 3. Now at 51 I feel it is more important to continue to run and music plays a BIG part of that. When I’m listing to my music I get into a zone and it helps to set my pace and it also helps forget about all the crazyness going on that day at least for the time I’m running. So running and music are my life.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
I love running with music because it allows me to escape. Whether you’re sprinting like a rockstar to your favorite heavy metal jam, or jogging like you’re dancing with your favorite celebrity to a love ballad, music has a way a sweeping you away from the extra pounds between your thighs or all of those unkind years of gravity suddenly showing up in the most unflattering places. That’s how it works for me anyway. From the deep insight of Dave Matthews to the politcal hip hop of Tupac, from the lyrical genius of The Beatles to the sound sensations of Fall Out Boy, each step gets lost in translation and before I know it I am rounding the corner and back on my street. My random shuffle kharma always seems to send me the right message for my mood. Add that to the calming sensation of getting all of the way back into the driveway without stopping and there you go one amazing combo. Now all of this would be grand if I could actually hear the music. As it stands, only one of my earpieces actually works and when it falls off, you can imagine that my mellow becomes totally harshed. There is nothing worse than having your jam session get interrupted by an unruly earpievce whose volume barely goes higher than a whisper anyway. I will definately survive if I don’t win the speakers, but my mojo will take a serious hit. Please be the one to save my mojo, help me keep my groove going. What’s a girl without her groove thannnng?
July 15th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
For many years I have been a runner…not for enjoyment necessarily, but because I had to to maintain my status in the active Army and currently in the Army Reserve. I ran because I had to.
I had tried to be motivated and had participated in shorter runs, 5 and 10k’s, but thought that was my limit. But, as years passed and I got older and started looking at my “Life’s to do list”, I put running a marathon on that list and made a goal to run one before I turned 40. A few more years passed and at 39 I found myself struggling to pass (barely) my Army PT test in the running portion. It was time to train! I bought a portable armband radio and earphones, grabbed my dog, and we were off. I couldn’t run a complete mile without stopping at first, but within months of dedicated effort was doing eight miles with ease. My rural home with a good mix of gravel and asphalt roads made for great training grounds. The music and scenery made each training run more and more pleasurable. I felt “in the zone” alot of the time as they say. Then, I turned 40. I’d missed my goal from my list. I was determined and paid the money to run a marathon. In Oct. 2003 I completed my first (St. George) marathon at 40. And another in 2004.
2005 sent me overseas to the war zone. I had to bow out of the marathon that year but I continued to train on a treadmill with my tunes on a new MP3 player. 2006 rolled around and I continued to do the treadmill thing (dust and 100 plus temps aren’t great for training) and returned in time to do the 2006 St. George marathon. I stumbled in my training in 2007 but I’m back at it for 2008!
I’m so grateful for the chance to be healthy enough (now at 45) to continue to run and enjoy it. Music is a supreme motivator for me to forget life’s challenges for a short time and run! I’m now training with my new daughter-in-law for her first marathon and we’d love to have a new set of speakers to use for motivation (and conversation) instead of earbuds.
Thanks! Bartman
July 15th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
The truth is, I haven’t been able to get myself to go out and run regularly. I really want to, and with the weight of two pregnancies still hanging on, I desperately need to, but I can’t seem to do it all by myself. When I run it’s hard to tune out the voice in my head that says I’m really tired and want to stop. So then my runs don’t end up being very long and I feel like it isn’t worth it.
In high school I ran cross country—I wasn’t fabulous at it, but I was in great shape. Man I miss that! I also miss the help of a coach demanding that I run, and how far. Well ok, maybe I don’t really miss the forced workouts, but I miss having a discipline in place to get me to run and keep me going. Music is similar to the role of a coach. It can designate how long I run (by running for the duration of a segment of music). And it encourages me to run by giving me a beat to keep up my pace, and getting my mind off the monotony and pain of running. The best time I’ve ever run a 5K was because I had a song stuck in my head so clearly and powerfully that it DROVE me to the end of the race. Music has a powerful influence on me and will make running much more enjoyable and doable.
I love the feeling of being in shape, and I really want to become a runner again. As of yet I don’t have a music source to help me run. I’m hoping these running speakers will be the catalyst to get me running and in shape again.
July 15th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Running and music are huge parts of my life. At high school track meets it was a given that I would listen to Metallica before getting on the track for my 400 yard sprint. My friends and I had to hear the heavy beats and awesome lyrics to get pumped for the race. Unfortunately, like Robie Creek, the track officials wouldn’t let us listen to tunes while we ran.
I had to stop running when I broke my ankle at 17 from playing sports. The music didn’t stop though. I would still listen to the classics and new metal while rehabilitating myself. (At least my arms grew strong carting my weight around in crutches!) When I got the cast off after the surgery and could finally walk again, I made the resolution to also start running again. The first time out I again listened to Metallica. I made it 100 yards before the pain became too much. But I kept running and I kept the music playing. It helped me get through the pain, the frustration of learning how to run again.
Running continued to be my outlet in college. I would put on my headphones and pop in either the music I wanted to listen to – or the music I had to listen to in order to pass my music classes. (You’d be surprised at how motivating monk music can be!) Each year the running became easier. I got rid of the ankle supports. I added more miles to my training routines. And I added more music to my collection. From cassettes, to CDs, to now my iPod, my music, my stamina, and my passion for running have improved!
Running for me still today is an everyday part of my life. I’m never without my running shoes and my iPod. I can crank up my favorite songs and run in stride to the beats. My trusty iPod even helped me run my first marathon last year. Running for me is my meditation, my release, my religion. Having my own personal soundtrack just adds to the whole experience. I am most at peace when I am running in the foothills or on the greenbelt and I am not even aware that I am actually moving. The music, the beautiful world surrounding me, and the rhythms of my own body and mind are all that exist. There is no greater feeling.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Don’t breathe. Wait for it.Wait for it.Think of taking a fresh breath of air–except don’t do it. As your face turns blue and your head feels like its going to explode, I want you to imagine how good it would to take a breath. If you’re still alive, I would like you to let it out now. And suddenly the air never tasted so sweet. Just like you need to breathe, well, I need my music. I guess you could call me a natural born runner. I don’t do it because I have to, I don’t do it to fit in those skinny jeans (though, that’s an added bonus). I do it because it’s fun and excruiatingly relaxing. They say you can’t run from your problems, but I do that everyday–for a little while. I also run from Mrs.Gentry’s Doberman and that overzealous girl scout. Putting my two favorite things together would just be–awesome.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I’m a runner but I’m also an aerobic instructor, I could not even imagine not having music in my classes! Music is my #1 motivator!!! When I’m running, it gets me to the next hard level! I need to hear music everyday whether if I’m in the car, at the gym, doing housework etc. The running speakers are a great asset because you are aware of noises all around you(traffic, people, animals). When I run, I always have one ear bud out of my ear so that I can listen to my surroundings. I also like the red safety lights on the running speakers so when you are running in the early morning or at dusk, cars can see you. I would love to have a chance of using these great running speakers and being the first kid on the block!!!!!
July 16th, 2008 at 8:27 am
Here is a poem for you, it is not a Haiku
The alarm clock sounds, my head it pounds
I arise and out the window I contemplate…
my neighbor who runs is already through the gate!
I lace up my tennies… they were on sale from Penneys
I reach for the pod,
(gotta have tunes to help to shape the bod)
I hit the pavement…”and the blood starts pumpin,”
Dolly sings, “Out on the street, the traffic starts jumpin.”
When music is playin, fire in me is ragin.
You can do this!….One more mile!…I shout
But those darn ear buds keep falling out!
I change to the other side of the street
But ‘cuz I can’t hear, I’m almost squashed by a jeep!
I don’t seem to feel the heat,
only the rhythm of these great beats
Gee, my life would be more complete…
if only there were a better, safer way
Yes, even better … if I don’t have to pay
‘You gotta try these running speakers,’ said Dan
‘They will enhance your sweatin in sneakers, man!’
Are they for real? Is it a clue?
With Jeff’s ingenious invention strapped to my back,
All my fitness goals, hopes and dreams will come true!
July 16th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Motivation. Motivation. Motivation. You should know, I love to run… however, I am not a runner (if that makes sense). I need motivation to run. Sure I can run without music, but eventually my self-talk becomes stagnant. I love listening to upbeat music. It keeps my mind distracted from the daunting, yet exhilirating, task I have ahead of me.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I would love a pair for doing some mountain biking and some back packing. I am not much of a runner, but i know I need to be. My wife would like them too because of safety reasons. She doesn’t want to be distracted with earphones, and not able to hear her surroundings. They look sweet!
July 17th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Let’s be honest. Nobody really (I mean REALLY) enjoys running. Not the running part, that is. Running is all about the feeling you have when you’ve finished a run, and the fact that you generally feel better and you’re more healthy when you run regularly. That’s why we listen to music while we run—it’s to forget about the fact that we’re running!
July 17th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I have to admit that I have never liked running. In high school, the worst part about tennis practice was having to run to warm up. Now I am trying to get myself back into shape, and running is an all-around good work out for me. I have gotten some great results from it. However, that doesn’t make me like it any more than I did before.
I find that when I’m running without music, I tend to think too much. Not only about how much I don’t like to run, but about all the problems that I have in my life. I have heard that running helps others to clear their mind, but this has never been the case for me.
My entire life I have used music as a tool of comfort. When I listen to music while running, I can think about something else. I can focus on the lyrics or the chord changes, and this is comforting to me. The music becomes my running partner, and lets me escape to somewhere else. I can honestly say that I cannot imagine myself ever running without listening to music to keep me going.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
Hi Daniel-
I’ll be honest. I don’t have a lot of motivation to run right now and with a new baby, my wife and I aren’t spending money on new gadgets. Did I mention I like gadgets? I’m thinking that this might be the motivation I need to get off the couch and out into the fresh air. I used to be a decent runner…now, not so much. Plus I’m going to need to be in better shape when I have to start chasing after the little one!
Good luck to all the entrants…
Jon