Top 10 Running Songs

Predictably, Chrissy turned up all prepared with an iPod bursting with music, audio books and other boredom-subduing goodies. Whilst I…did not!  Anyway, 10k later we both felt a great sense of achievement having run at a consistent and steady pace throughout. Though I vowed next time to bring my iPod!

The following week, both of us with iPods at the ready, off we go! With music in my ears, this time nothing can stop me. Now my 10k pace is fairly slow compared to a seasoned distance runner and early on I realised the few songs I had on my iPod were more intense than I required.

I found myself fighting the urge to crank up the speed just like the music was telling me to do. Well, I was only about 3.5k in before I stopped fighting the urge and gave in. “It will be fine,” I tell myself. “Push hard for 1.5k like the music says to and then you’re halfway there.” So I did and had to slow down to a walk afterwards. I estimated finishing times if I carried on sprinting and walking and decided to carry on like this. In the end I beat last week’s time by 6 minutes.

The two very different runs got me thinking about running music and what a huge effect it can have on us when we are in a mentally weakened state (“Want to stop”, ”Mustn’t stop”, ”Won’t stop”, “Really want to stop!”). If well chosen, the right song can push you harder and faster at the right time, keep you slugging on when your body says stop or keep you smiling all the way.

Below is a list of 10 of my favourite running songs and why they’re my favourites. Many of the songs you will know, some you might not. Give them a try next time you are running. 

1. “Through the Fire and the Flames” – Dragonforce

This song was the main culprit for me breaking my steady pace in the wee story above. Lead guitarist Herman Li got his birthday and Christmas present all in one here as the band let him roam free with mad solo after mad solo. Massively intense, high energy and at 7:21 long you can cover a lot of ground with this track!

2. “Little Sister” – Queens of the Stone Age

Great tune, powerful beat and sing-a-long-able. I think this one’s versatile and could pump you up for a 3-minute interval or would sit quite nicely in the middle of a long run. Try “Go with the Flow” as well. That song was made to be listened to whilst moving, be it running, cycling, rowing, driving or penny farthing.

3. “Feuer Frei” – Rammstein

Rammstein, if you haven’t heard of them, are a German rock/metal group that have been around for quite some time, and, yes, nearly all lyrics are in German. “Feuer Frei” featured in the film XXX with Vin Diesel. This track is fairly short at just over 3 minutes but packs a punch. “Du Hast” is another great running track. At a very different tempo “Sonne” works well too.

4. “Hearts on Fire” – John Cafferty

Cheesy? Yes. Does it stop me? No. Any Rocky fans will probably have been running to this one for years and years. Still a powerful song in the image it immediately conjures up … Rocky, training in the mountains in Russia, outrunning cars in the snow, lifting lots of rocks, sprinting up a snowy mountain and dead lifting that cart. If Rocky can do it so can I!

5. “Traffic” – Tiesto

Yup he had to make the list. “Traffic” is a brilliant dance track filled with energy. Very versatile as it could be a “sprint finish” track, a “keep going!” track, or a “sprint interval” track. If this isn’t your favourite Tiesto tune try “Elements of life”, “Flight 643”, “Just be”, “Adagio for strings”, “Love comes again”, “Lethal Industry”, “Dance4Life” or any other tune with his name attached.

6. “Hotel California” – Eagles

Classic for all time. Try not to sing too loudly with your earphones in whilst running. The off-tone crooning muffled by heavy breathing will probably not inspire those around you. By all means experiment with some running air guitar. This is the time to push yourself! How hard can I rock whilst running? Can I pull an air guitar face whilst running? Can the people around me tell what I’m listening to just from my rocking out? Are they jealous of my rocking out? Yes, probably.

7. “Beautiful People” – Marilyn Manson

This song has such a brilliant driving beat. The chorus is nice and powerful. Please, if you are running on a treadmill, try not to bash the emergency stop as you drum out the beat at the end. If you enjoyed this one try the first track from the Irresponsible Hate Anthem album. It’s faster , more aggressive and a real sprinting track.

8. “Cliffs of Dover” – Eric Johnson

A great track to “lose yourself” in and realise you have just run another km by the time it’s over. No vocals, just a masterful solo guitar track to a simple and infectious drum line. If you didn’t push yourself with the air guitar before, now is the time!

9. “Burn It to the Ground” – Nickelback

In all honesty I’m not a big Nickelback fan, but this track is undeniably great. Right from the start it grabs you with a massively catchy, head banging riff. Great beat and perfect tempo. The lyrics might not relate to your running mindset but you can surely go along with the “HEYY”s at the chorus.

10. The First Rebirth

OK, this one’s my wildcard. DJ Noise is a Swiss DJ and I couldn’t name anything else he has done. Heard this tune at the end of a Hardstyle mix from Holland many moons ago. It is available on iTunes (which is great) but I can’t find the actual mix I have which is faster. Big bass, quite intense and seems to be constantly speeding up. Maybe it’s just me?! Which brings me to a nice conclusion.

I think the most important factor that makes a good running song is how it makes you feel. One person’s “go-to power song” is another’s “I need to stop running so I can stop this noise song”.

I love all the songs above because they make me air guitar, head bang, reach for the lasers, think of an inspirational image or zone out. If you can find some songs that can make you do any or all of these things, you can go the extra mile and enjoy that one the most!

Photo Credit: Photo by Mike Baird http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/4529214006/