Static on treadmill

so I have had a problem with static while running on the treadmill recently.  It seems to build up really quickly and I constantly have to touch the handle bars to discharge the static (or else I get a big surprise later.)  I just bought new headphones and I had the static zap me in my ear 2x on my last run.  Any ideas on what to do to reduce the static?

Does it happen when you wear a different pair of shoes?

Make sure your treadmill is grounded.  There is a little wire on the bottom that is used for this.  When I moved my treadmill last year, the wire became loose and the static caused my treadmill to short out (I ended up having to get a new one).  We didn't realize the grounding wire had become loose until we took it apart to throw it out to make room for the new treadmill.  Also, you can buy a mat to put your treadmill on top of that will help reduce static.  Healthrider makes one.

I did NOT know there was a grounding wire on treadmills! When we had it in our old condo, I couldn't wear headphones from the stereo, or it would zap me in the ears! Well, that sucked. Using an iPod I was OK though. I haven't noticed static on the treadmill where we have it in the house, so apparently we inadvertantly grounded it properly?