It’s Friday before a holiday weekend, so let’s have some fun with this 😃
What are you listening to lately when you run, either on the treadmill or when you run outside and have something you can’t wait to listen to? It can be music — a great album, a great song, a mix you’ve made — or it can be a great audio book or podcast.
I always love hearing your suggestions, as I find myself listening to the same stuff all the time — and it’s time for me to get out of my groove (or rut?) a little and experiment.
What are you loving that you’re listening to? Or, what is something you’ve heard about that sounds good? — Terrell
I've got this playlist curated over the years for up-tempo music that (mostly) keep my feet drumming along to a high beat: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Qt6vox3a1fw4XAc34c26W It spans a few genres and sometimes I'm not in the mood for every song. But, playing it on Random has kept it fresh for me over a few hundred miles.
I like listening to running podcasts, most recently Nobody Asked Us by Kara Goucher and Des Linden. I'm between playlists at the moment -- looking forward to trying the one linked to below by Julie Gabrielli.
I’m an “oldies” fan. Something to consider... if I’m watching a movie and I hear music or a song I like, I’ll grab my phone, find the song, download it and add it to a “running playlist”.
Usually I listen to audiobooks or the Political Gabfest to start my runs but I just got Sirius XM and have been listening to some of their "workout" stations -- the ones with music from the 80s and 90s have been kind of a fun change of pace.
I love when you do this question because I always get ideas for audiobooks. The Paris Apartment and Cormac McCarthy it is!
Currently, I am alternating between books set in New Mexico and a podcast...my very first. I listened to Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Amaya a coming of age story set in NM in the mid 1940s. It has a lot of Spanish words and a lot of mysticism, so not for everyone. The other set in NM but in the 1880s-1900, Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather is beautifully descriptive and has some historical accuracy. Loved them both.
The podcast I am listening to, and here I am making a confession of major nerdiness, is the Prancing Pony Podcast all about Middle Earth, JRR Tolkien. I'm catching up from the start of the podcast and I LOVE it!
i've been listening to NPR lately. before i had a baby and started running with him, i would listen exclusively to loud music in my headphones. now with the stroller, or alone with my dog, i have to keep my ears out so just play NPR with no headphones, sometimes a podcast and listen to the sounds (traffic) around me.
I can't do audiobooks when I run, I end up tuning out and then have to keep rewinding to the last part I heard. So I listen to my breathing instead. I read something once about a Sensory Run, focusing on what you see, hear, smell etc on a run. On long runs I do that to distract me when I'm struggling.
A lung infection put me down for six months and I've just started running again. I've made music playlists for how I'm feeling when I start off... slow and mellow to hard rock. I've just started to learn the violin. I've recorded music on how it should sound, not like what I currently sound like.
Audio books for me....mostly thrillers....keeps me out there because that is pretty much the only time I listen. When I’m at home I usually read a different book. Recently came across Frieda McFadden...she writes psychological thrillers. I will listen to music on shorter runs or like someone said earlier “ to take the long run home!” Usually it’s oldies with a good beat! Can’t wait to try The Paris Apartment!
Hi all, I had to chime in on this, I use the time I spend running in mediation. I used have to have something in my ear but I learned that it is hard to listen to the people that way.
“Tubular Brass,” which is exactly what the name implies: “Tubular Bells” (aka the Exorcist song), played by a brass ensemble (also helpfully called Tubular Brass). Takes a song many of us have experienced as scary (see: Exorcist) and reframes it as a font of joy and exhilaration.
I can't imagine listening to just the my surroundings for long runs. I need the rhythm to push me along, and I also have certain songs carefully placed throughout my playlist for when I am getting up in miles. I also live in suburban NY, so the sounds are not as soothing or interesting as those in some of the more scenic areas of the country. For my next long run, I am going to try an audio book or podcast. Something that will make the time go by. I'm definitely looking into those Zombie runs!
I prefer not to listen to anything! I always get distracted anyway when I run while listening to a podcast. I prefer to use running as a time to think or daydream.
This is such a great topic! I’ve been in a rut listening to the same few podcasters and I’m now excited to try some of the suggestions here. I also added a couple of the suggested music playlists to my Spotify. Thanks for all the great recommendations, and I plan to check back here for more. I’ll wrap this up with an amusing story. Last week I was out of town running in an unfamiliar park. I was about 2 miles into my run when I realized I forgot my headphones and wasn’t listening to anything. I literally burst out laughing when I realized this. The lesson learned is that it might only take a new route to break up the tedium of a long run. Visual distractions instead of audio distractions!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/2023/birds-song-nature-mental-health-benefits/ As the article details there is a wonderful impact from tuning into our natural surrounding's. As such I have avoided any tech while running. Listening to the birds, the sound of my feet, the pulse of my breath and heart reinforce my place in our ecosystem. There's also a safety issue I am concerned about after losing a dear cousin in a hit n run 10 years ago. I do use a very nice bluetooth speaker, NoxGear 39g, when I cycle - which I pin on my cycling jersey. This way I have some music in the background and can remain alert to my surroundings.
Great thread of comments. I mostly listen to nonfiction audiobooks but have been known to toss in a Jonas Brothers' song here and there. (This is a "what's said here stays here" type of comment thread, right?)
I have a Spotify playlist called Get Happy. It includes rock classics, punk, rap, hip hop, etc. I’m happy to share it to anyone interested. It’s gotten me through a lot of mile 8s and 9a on the Half Marathon!
I love these threads....They are so interesting (You've got the BEST community.). Okay--1) After being sidelined for close to two years with profound back issues, fingers crossed, I'm running again. ("Running" is a generous descriptive at the moment.) So right now, I'm listening to the very annoying "Constance" telling me when to jog versus walk briskly on the Couch to 5K app.
But otherwise--it depends on where I am. For example, I used to go to the west coast of Ireland (specifically, Connemara) every Christmas. My favorite run there traverses the "Bog Road"--a lonely stretch of--you guessed it--bog--where it's just you and the sheep. So of course my playlist was filled with U2--and specifically, One Tree Hill for when I needed a little push to get me through the last few miles.
Audiobooks are really fun—I like murder mysteries or thrillers while running because the right ones can really keep you going. (But there's a bit when the climax is building or you're about to find out who the villain is and sometimes it seems like everyone on the path has disappeared and you're the only one running... super spooky.)
I’m a huge podcast fan but I find I need music to push me along when I run, and I hate listening to my own breathing. So I have searched for a bunch of running and workout playlists on Spotify, but I admit I’m getting tired of some of those. Most of them are either classic rock or 80s stuff that was popular when I was in high school or younger. And some 90s and 2000s stuff. But they’re repetitive, so I’m following this to see if anyone shares any good playlists. I might make my own, but I haven’t had the patience or time yet to sit down and do it.
In my first year or two of running, the delightful storytelling of the “Zombies Run” app kept me going. It tells the post-apocalyptic story of “Runner 5,” with voice actors who come to feel like family, or at least neighbors. I stopped at some point after season 7--because I ran out of episodes or the storyline no longer kept me interested, or I felt like I needed to be more ‘present’ in my running? (My last ZR run, according to the app, was four episodes over 32km, possibly my last long run before the NYC Marathon.)
When coming back from a medical issue earlier this year, I used the Zombies Run 5k to restart. And there are several more ‘seasons’ of stories, plus several new and completely different (non-zombie) storylines to explore, including the new “Marvel Move!” series, which I supported as a founding member. The stories seamlessly integrate with my playlists, so I get the best of both worlds: the music that syncs my cadence, and the stories that give me a fictional ‘why’ to keep running when it’s hard.
I quit using “Runner 5” on my race bibs a couple of years ago, but the Six-to-Start team and my cadence-based music playlists still help me get through my runs.
i have never listened to music on a run. earplugs don't really stay in my ears and i just think it would bug me. prefer to listen to the outside sounds and whatever i hear in my head.
At the risk of doing an old man repeat, I having been listening to The Real Life runners. I found it when my standard go to had not yet released a new episode. I enjoyed not only the content but the banter between the husband and wife team doing the cast. Decided to start at the beginning and haven’t stopped yet. It. Is almost Si Fi like to listen to when you already know what their future has been like. Especially right before the pandemic. I know I’m weird.
Yes my youngest daughter Elizabeth is also a runner. At my old age of almost 66 and my leaky heart valve and A-Fib issues I can no longer keep up with her, but she still slows down to run the annual Turkey Trot 5K with me and runs with me once a month outdoors when it gets cooler in South Florida.
Hi Terrell, I don't listen to music when I run...well the birds. :) I do though for strength training...it motivates me to do it. Thunderstruck by AC/DC — #1 to pick up those weights.
Terrell I also read the book and had it autographed by Raven. Yes I did run with him once. Since I don't drive my younger daughter took me and ran with us as my birthday present a few years ago.
I’m also an audiobook listener. But lately, what with the heat and humidity, my runs have been “struggle runs,” and I’ve been listening to music. I have a playlist that hypes me up. And yesterday, for the first time since I started running, I listened to one of the “guided runs” on Nike Run Club. I friggin’ love Coach Bennett and I needed his kind and inspirational words, I guess. I’ve been toying with the idea of having 3 “listens” available for my long runs: 1) the kind of meditative coaching of Coach Bennett for the warmup 2) audiobook for the bulk of the run and 3) music to bring it home. But that seems overly complicated. Heh.
I listen to the world when I'm out in the world, either on foot or on my bike. But at home I fill my brain with music that comes back to me when I'm out and about. This morning it's Keb Mo.
Since I live in Southeast Florida in Southwest Ranches I listen to the country music of Robert Raven Kraft. For those of you who don’t know him he has run 8 miles on the sands of South Beach every day since January 1, 1975. Over 2500 different runners have joined him.
I always listen to audiobooks. This week I began listening to The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy after I inadvertently listened to the first book it the series Stella Maris last week.
Lately I revisited Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run! I believe that surely suffices the thread
I've got this playlist curated over the years for up-tempo music that (mostly) keep my feet drumming along to a high beat: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Qt6vox3a1fw4XAc34c26W It spans a few genres and sometimes I'm not in the mood for every song. But, playing it on Random has kept it fresh for me over a few hundred miles.
I like listening to running podcasts, most recently Nobody Asked Us by Kara Goucher and Des Linden. I'm between playlists at the moment -- looking forward to trying the one linked to below by Julie Gabrielli.
I’m an “oldies” fan. Something to consider... if I’m watching a movie and I hear music or a song I like, I’ll grab my phone, find the song, download it and add it to a “running playlist”.
Usually I listen to audiobooks or the Political Gabfest to start my runs but I just got Sirius XM and have been listening to some of their "workout" stations -- the ones with music from the 80s and 90s have been kind of a fun change of pace.
I love when you do this question because I always get ideas for audiobooks. The Paris Apartment and Cormac McCarthy it is!
Currently, I am alternating between books set in New Mexico and a podcast...my very first. I listened to Bless Me Ultima by Rudolfo Amaya a coming of age story set in NM in the mid 1940s. It has a lot of Spanish words and a lot of mysticism, so not for everyone. The other set in NM but in the 1880s-1900, Death Comes to the Archbishop by Willa Cather is beautifully descriptive and has some historical accuracy. Loved them both.
The podcast I am listening to, and here I am making a confession of major nerdiness, is the Prancing Pony Podcast all about Middle Earth, JRR Tolkien. I'm catching up from the start of the podcast and I LOVE it!
I like the MTA podcast
I enjoy not being bombarded by updated news, and items that are just ridiculous that are now called news.
Running is time to let my thoughts wander uninterrupted and unstructured.
It is time to enjoy nature with all its’ wonders.
I listen to drum and bass mixes, running in time to the music which is usually around the 175bpm mark.
Listening to podcasts, I’ve found 2x speed keeps me focused on my tasks, and if I miss a bit that’s fine too!
i've been listening to NPR lately. before i had a baby and started running with him, i would listen exclusively to loud music in my headphones. now with the stroller, or alone with my dog, i have to keep my ears out so just play NPR with no headphones, sometimes a podcast and listen to the sounds (traffic) around me.
I can't do audiobooks when I run, I end up tuning out and then have to keep rewinding to the last part I heard. So I listen to my breathing instead. I read something once about a Sensory Run, focusing on what you see, hear, smell etc on a run. On long runs I do that to distract me when I'm struggling.
Steve absolutely correct running on the beach is a more intensive and difficult workout.
A lung infection put me down for six months and I've just started running again. I've made music playlists for how I'm feeling when I start off... slow and mellow to hard rock. I've just started to learn the violin. I've recorded music on how it should sound, not like what I currently sound like.
Audio books for me....mostly thrillers....keeps me out there because that is pretty much the only time I listen. When I’m at home I usually read a different book. Recently came across Frieda McFadden...she writes psychological thrillers. I will listen to music on shorter runs or like someone said earlier “ to take the long run home!” Usually it’s oldies with a good beat! Can’t wait to try The Paris Apartment!
Hi all, I had to chime in on this, I use the time I spend running in mediation. I used have to have something in my ear but I learned that it is hard to listen to the people that way.
“Tubular Brass,” which is exactly what the name implies: “Tubular Bells” (aka the Exorcist song), played by a brass ensemble (also helpfully called Tubular Brass). Takes a song many of us have experienced as scary (see: Exorcist) and reframes it as a font of joy and exhilaration.
I can't imagine listening to just the my surroundings for long runs. I need the rhythm to push me along, and I also have certain songs carefully placed throughout my playlist for when I am getting up in miles. I also live in suburban NY, so the sounds are not as soothing or interesting as those in some of the more scenic areas of the country. For my next long run, I am going to try an audio book or podcast. Something that will make the time go by. I'm definitely looking into those Zombie runs!
For long runs, I pick a Grateful Dead concert and just listen to the music play!
I prefer not to listen to anything! I always get distracted anyway when I run while listening to a podcast. I prefer to use running as a time to think or daydream.
This is such a great topic! I’ve been in a rut listening to the same few podcasters and I’m now excited to try some of the suggestions here. I also added a couple of the suggested music playlists to my Spotify. Thanks for all the great recommendations, and I plan to check back here for more. I’ll wrap this up with an amusing story. Last week I was out of town running in an unfamiliar park. I was about 2 miles into my run when I realized I forgot my headphones and wasn’t listening to anything. I literally burst out laughing when I realized this. The lesson learned is that it might only take a new route to break up the tedium of a long run. Visual distractions instead of audio distractions!
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/interactive/2023/birds-song-nature-mental-health-benefits/ As the article details there is a wonderful impact from tuning into our natural surrounding's. As such I have avoided any tech while running. Listening to the birds, the sound of my feet, the pulse of my breath and heart reinforce my place in our ecosystem. There's also a safety issue I am concerned about after losing a dear cousin in a hit n run 10 years ago. I do use a very nice bluetooth speaker, NoxGear 39g, when I cycle - which I pin on my cycling jersey. This way I have some music in the background and can remain alert to my surroundings.
Loving Avery Trufelman’s Articles of Interest, a podcast about what we wear and why we wear it. Many fun topics on clothing and apparel.
Great thread of comments. I mostly listen to nonfiction audiobooks but have been known to toss in a Jonas Brothers' song here and there. (This is a "what's said here stays here" type of comment thread, right?)
Silence
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/76HLuVhpeqUXRJ8Hs7EFyv?si=c06a5b6a0d854d2b
I have a Spotify playlist called Get Happy. It includes rock classics, punk, rap, hip hop, etc. I’m happy to share it to anyone interested. It’s gotten me through a lot of mile 8s and 9a on the Half Marathon!
I love these threads....They are so interesting (You've got the BEST community.). Okay--1) After being sidelined for close to two years with profound back issues, fingers crossed, I'm running again. ("Running" is a generous descriptive at the moment.) So right now, I'm listening to the very annoying "Constance" telling me when to jog versus walk briskly on the Couch to 5K app.
But otherwise--it depends on where I am. For example, I used to go to the west coast of Ireland (specifically, Connemara) every Christmas. My favorite run there traverses the "Bog Road"--a lonely stretch of--you guessed it--bog--where it's just you and the sheep. So of course my playlist was filled with U2--and specifically, One Tree Hill for when I needed a little push to get me through the last few miles.
Audiobooks are really fun—I like murder mysteries or thrillers while running because the right ones can really keep you going. (But there's a bit when the climax is building or you're about to find out who the villain is and sometimes it seems like everyone on the path has disappeared and you're the only one running... super spooky.)
I’m a huge podcast fan but I find I need music to push me along when I run, and I hate listening to my own breathing. So I have searched for a bunch of running and workout playlists on Spotify, but I admit I’m getting tired of some of those. Most of them are either classic rock or 80s stuff that was popular when I was in high school or younger. And some 90s and 2000s stuff. But they’re repetitive, so I’m following this to see if anyone shares any good playlists. I might make my own, but I haven’t had the patience or time yet to sit down and do it.
In my first year or two of running, the delightful storytelling of the “Zombies Run” app kept me going. It tells the post-apocalyptic story of “Runner 5,” with voice actors who come to feel like family, or at least neighbors. I stopped at some point after season 7--because I ran out of episodes or the storyline no longer kept me interested, or I felt like I needed to be more ‘present’ in my running? (My last ZR run, according to the app, was four episodes over 32km, possibly my last long run before the NYC Marathon.)
When coming back from a medical issue earlier this year, I used the Zombies Run 5k to restart. And there are several more ‘seasons’ of stories, plus several new and completely different (non-zombie) storylines to explore, including the new “Marvel Move!” series, which I supported as a founding member. The stories seamlessly integrate with my playlists, so I get the best of both worlds: the music that syncs my cadence, and the stories that give me a fictional ‘why’ to keep running when it’s hard.
I quit using “Runner 5” on my race bibs a couple of years ago, but the Six-to-Start team and my cadence-based music playlists still help me get through my runs.
i have never listened to music on a run. earplugs don't really stay in my ears and i just think it would bug me. prefer to listen to the outside sounds and whatever i hear in my head.
At the risk of doing an old man repeat, I having been listening to The Real Life runners. I found it when my standard go to had not yet released a new episode. I enjoyed not only the content but the banter between the husband and wife team doing the cast. Decided to start at the beginning and haven’t stopped yet. It. Is almost Si Fi like to listen to when you already know what their future has been like. Especially right before the pandemic. I know I’m weird.
Yes my youngest daughter Elizabeth is also a runner. At my old age of almost 66 and my leaky heart valve and A-Fib issues I can no longer keep up with her, but she still slows down to run the annual Turkey Trot 5K with me and runs with me once a month outdoors when it gets cooler in South Florida.
Hi Terrell, I don't listen to music when I run...well the birds. :) I do though for strength training...it motivates me to do it. Thunderstruck by AC/DC — #1 to pick up those weights.
Terrell I also read the book and had it autographed by Raven. Yes I did run with him once. Since I don't drive my younger daughter took me and ran with us as my birthday present a few years ago.
Podcasts -- You Must Remember This, How Did This Get Made, Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend, Another Mother Runner, How Was Your Run Today?
I always run outside and music keeps me from being aware of my surroundings. With podcasts I can still hear traffic and people and dogs.
Less than an hour "Frampton Comes Alive". 2+ hours I created a Spotify playlist "Half Marathon Mix". Rock, Hip Hop, some Metal
I’m also an audiobook listener. But lately, what with the heat and humidity, my runs have been “struggle runs,” and I’ve been listening to music. I have a playlist that hypes me up. And yesterday, for the first time since I started running, I listened to one of the “guided runs” on Nike Run Club. I friggin’ love Coach Bennett and I needed his kind and inspirational words, I guess. I’ve been toying with the idea of having 3 “listens” available for my long runs: 1) the kind of meditative coaching of Coach Bennett for the warmup 2) audiobook for the bulk of the run and 3) music to bring it home. But that seems overly complicated. Heh.
I listen to the world when I'm out in the world, either on foot or on my bike. But at home I fill my brain with music that comes back to me when I'm out and about. This morning it's Keb Mo.
Since I live in Southeast Florida in Southwest Ranches I listen to the country music of Robert Raven Kraft. For those of you who don’t know him he has run 8 miles on the sands of South Beach every day since January 1, 1975. Over 2500 different runners have joined him.
I always listen to audiobooks. This week I began listening to The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy after I inadvertently listened to the first book it the series Stella Maris last week.