When it comes to choosing a good pair of headphones for a marathon, I have a few basic requirements. They must be comfortable, be able to be plugged in and charged throughout the run, and be small enough to stow in my pocket at mile 21. One headphone that passed this test with flying colors is the Beats Powerbeats, which are currently 50% off on Amazon.

Powerbeats are high-performance wireless headphones with 15 hours of playback time (which should be long enough for most training sessions or marathons). The earhooks are adjustable for a secure fit in the ear, and Powerbeats are sweat and water resistant. I also like that the two earbuds are connected by a wire; with the Powerbeats Pro (same earbud design, but no wire), I often find that one headphone is not charged or connected. Or, when taking the headphones out at the gym, one of the headphones may be dropped.

When running, Powerbeats earphones make it easy to pause the music to chat with fellow runners, turn the music volume up or down, or skip songs you find too loud. I also use Powerbeats to call family and friends when I run slowly, to make sure I am running at a conversational pace, and when I am anxious to get home after running alone in the dark. The sound quality is great and I have never had a problem connecting to my iPhone, Garmin Fenix 6S or Apple Watch 6.

I decided to wear these for the first time at the 2018 London Marathon, having worn headphones for most of my training. The design was very comfortable, and I was able to take out one earphone when the crowds got too much and not worry about losing the other earphone. It wasn't until the last few miles of the marathon that I became a little annoyed with the wire bouncing against my neck, but at that point literally everything was annoying. To avoid this bouncing, I opted for the Beats Powerbeats Pro, which I wore for the next marathon.

Three years later, I went back to Powerbeats. Without the bag drop (in some races, the bag drop has been temporarily removed to reduce social distance), I realized that the Powerbeats Pro's 9-hour battery life might not last the entire race once I factored in my itinerary. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked running with the Powerbeats and how much I learned from my mistake and tucked the wires into my hat to avoid bouncing. [I haven't tried it, but iOS users can chat with Siri on the move. I'm also a big fan of the 5 minute recharge feature that lets you play for an hour when the battery is running low. Very handy if, like me, you forget to charge your device before you decide to go for a run, and for iPhone users, the Powerbeats can also be charged with the same Lightning cable, which is super convenient when traveling to the race site.