Everything You Need to Run With Music

From motivational tunes for chasing PRS to distracting podcasts on more leisurely plods, music's run-boosting powers are well documented.

- By Kieran Alger

THE EXPERT

Forty-three-time marathon finisher and cofounder of The Run Testers, a YouTube running gear reviews channel, Kieran Alger has been testing the latest running gear for more than a decade. A minor running tech obsessive, he is also experienced (okay, old) enough to remember life before Strava, Spotify, and smartphones.

Researchers have found that the right backing tracks can delay fatigue, boost mental toughness, distract you from discomfort, elevate your mood, reduce perceived effort, and even support recovery. Music's impact can be so profound that one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of exercise music, Professor Costas Karageorghis at Brunel University London, described it as a type of legal performance-enhancing drug.”

Soundtracking your runs has benefits beyond race-day performance, too. Matching your playlist's beats per minute (BPM) to your cadence (how often your foot strikes the ground) or target heart rate can help improve your running form and manage your training intensity. For example, choose mellow tunes for easy days and go upbeat for intervals. Also, try matching song duration to your intervals and recoveries, which can help you take your mind off your watch.

Track choice is important, says Professor Andy Lane, a sport psychologist at the University of Wolverhampton in England. Music is very personal, so it's good to have principles that go into selecting music, Lane says. During a marathon, for example, he suggests choosing music with positive meaning for an added boost when you need it most. Pick the music you like and music that connects with positive emotions, he says. And save it for when you think you're going to need them.