Mute the Silence

Twenty six miles to run and nothing but the sound of your feet on the ground, your own breathing and the voice in your head telling you to keep running. For some, these are not the sounds they want to hear when running.

On October 4th, minutes before the Cowtown Marathon was to begin, a man was desperately asking people for help with his iPod to no avail. Knowing how music can inspire, hype up and motivate people during exercise, I went after the gentleman to offer my help. When my idea worked, and his iPod was fixed, the relieved look on his face was so telling. A look of gratitude. That if he did not have his iPod, he would not make it through the run.

I then began to notice that the majority of runners participating in the Cowtown had iPods, or some form of mp3 players. Not using an iPod or mp3 player myself, because I was running with someone, I wondered how everyone would do without their music.

Some people find it impossible to, not only run, but exercise in general, without some kind of music. Whether that music is from a personal iPod or mp3 player or a stereo system at the gym you workout at, people need it.

Is it the emotional response music elicits, or is it simply the need for background noise that provides a distraction from ones own thoughts? Either way people need it to get through a workout.

As for it being just a distraction from ones own thoughts, I would equate that to driving in a car alone without music playing, or the radio playing. That silence is deafening.

In exercise however, ones own thoughts could be saying how much pain one is in and that he or she should stop. It is easy to listen to that voice in your head and stop running because your legs hurt, or to stop lifting weights because your muscles are too tired. Music can mute those thoughts. It has that power.

While running in the Cowtown, I realized that the power music has, is almost common knowledge, and not just by people who exercise, but by everyone. This may sound like an obvious statement, but when there are people (musicians) playing on the streets for the runners it really hits you.

Musicians taking time out of their own days, waking up early (the Cowtown, and most charitable runs for that matter, all start around 7:30 am) to play for thousands of complete strangers because they know it motivates them, really drives it home.

I began to think about the other runs I have participated in, the Run to Feed the Hungry on Thanksgiving and the Miners Ravine Fun Run in Roseville; they both had music playing on a PA system or bands set up playing for the runners.

Music inspires, motivates and connects with people. Most musicians get into writing and playing music for that exact purpose, not for the possibility of fame and fortune. As an aspiring musician, who wants to make music that inspires, motivates and connects with people, witnessing its power first hand, inspires and motivates me even more to write music that connects with people.

I hope someday I can be one of the musicians runners want to listen to for twenty six miles. Who can block out that voice in their heads and mute the silence.