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Before the Big Sur International Marathon in April, I was on a seminar and one of the runners in the crowd asked whether she was allowed to wear headphones the next day. I responded by saying that I wasn't sure, but that regardless of what the rules said, she would be cheating herself out of an amazing experience if she chose to run with headphones. (I later looked it up and found that the race discouraged their use but didn't ban them outright.) We were about to run down an unbelievably beautiful stretch of the California coastline on a highway closed to traffic. It was going to be an epic experience that could only be fully appreciated by using all of the senses. To block off the sounds of the environment would be limiting her immersion into that incredible experience.

As I'm not someone who runs with music often, what she said next surprised me: “But I ran with music in all my long runs; I'm not sure that I can run 26.2 miles without my headphones.” I told her that it was, of course, up to her, but encouraged her again to run without them. The next day after the race, I spotted her at our RW Challenge tent and asked how the race went. Her first response was to enthusiastically thank me for my suggestion; she left the headphones in her hotel and enjoyed the calm auditory beauty.

Although everything turned out well for this runner, it could have gone badly, I realized much later. One of our biggest suggestions to runners is, “Nothing new on race day.” It's great advice. It might even be the best single piece of marathon advice out there. And yet I had suggested that this runner try something completely new on race day. I knew from personal experience how amazing the marathon experience without headphones could be, but because I never relied on music to get me through long runs, I couldn't know what effects the change in audio input from training to race day would have.

Don't get me wrong. If I had to give that advice again, I would still say the same thing. But what I really wish is that, a few months before the race, I could have told her to get some of her long runs in without headphones so that she'd know how to run for hours without music. Well, guess what? I have the chance to tell you all that now, so that's what I'm doing.

Last week, Meghan Kita, one of the RW editors headed to MCM, posted a comment NYC Marathoner Ran Home After Chemo about headphones in response to a course tips thread. It got me thinking about the seminar, the headphones, and ultimately led to this post. The Marine Corps Marathon might not have coastline, but it does have us running by some of the most impressive landmarks in the entire country. It also has a couple stretches–such as the Wear Blue Mile–that are incredibly emotional. Just like with Big Sur, you would be robbing yourself of a chance to experience these fully if you block off one of your senses.

There's also the safety angle. With more than 27,000 other runners out there with you, it's important that you're able to hear what's going on. And in addition to the runners, MCM has a large group of wheelchair and hand cycle participants along with plenty of rolling hills. You need to be able to hear the athletes on wheels when they're coming downhill (much faster than you're running).

So even if it's not your normal habit to run without headphones, I recommend that you go for at least a few of your long runs without them so that you'll be ready to run tuneless on race day. And, who knows, you might just end up a no-music convert.

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Robert is training in preparation for the 2015 Marine Corps Marathon with the Runner's World Challenge (soon to be Runner's World VIP). To learn how you can be part of the RW VIP program, visit runnersworld.com/vip.