What other qualities about specific music can help running?

Therefore, it’s no wonder many people listen to tunes while they’re running. But there’s a little more to it. Tempo and other qualities of the song can make a huge difference to your speed, rhythm, and fatigue.

Also, sadly, these qualities don’t seem to work at high intensities like sprinting (beyond 75 percent of our Vo2 max, if you know what that is), at those effort levels we’re still going to feel super tired quickly. But even where we don’t get the same magical results as we do with mid-intensity running, music can colour the way we feel fatigue. So we might say something is 10/10 hard whether there’s music on or not, but with the headphones in we might feel less “Stop right now, thank you very much” and more “burn baby burn, disco inferno!”.

To sync or not to sync?

There’s two ways to use music when running. You can use it “synchronously” which means you run on the beat, or you can use it “asynchronously” which is when you just stride however you please and the music sits in the background for you to enjoy.

When you master synchronised running, it can help your workout in ways additional to lowering your perceived exertion. If we run to music, it can influence electrical activity in the brain – our brainwaves. “[Music] can influence respiration rate. It can influence our heart rates, and it can also influence our stride rate. For recreational runners, this is enhanced by as much as 15%.” Says Prof. Karageorghis. Essentially, it makes us more efficient at running.

But if you don’t want to feel reliant on the tunes during your run, rather you just enjoy having music on, to help you keep focussed and less able to think about any fatigue you may be feeling, choose to run to it asynchronously.

Tempo

Of course, if you’re a synch-er, you’re going to be thinking about matching the tempo of your run to the tempo of the music. All well and good, but there’s a sweet spot. 120-140 beats per minute (BPM) is optimal across all running intensities. The slower end of that is ideal for warming up, and the higher end is for really smashing through the last part of the run,

“What's interesting is that music and the tempo range of 125 to 140 is inherently energising regardless of the exact intensity of your run, so if you are working at a moderate to high intensity as a runner, then based on the science, you should really be using music of 125 BPM or above when using the music asynchronously,” says Prof Karageorghis.

Vibes (tonality, and genre)

Vibes are important, always. Here, specifically, the vibes should be uplifting and energising. You could find a funeral march at the right tempo, but that’s not exactly going to spur you on, is it? Generally, look toward major keys, the happy keys (Happy by Pharell Williams is in C# major, for example). They’re going to be the songs that help to perk you up.

To add some complexity, sometimes music you know you run well to, like electronic dance music (EDM) is almost entirely in minor keys (Sandstorm by Darude is in E minor). Here though, Prof Karageorghis explains that it’s partly because you like that music, which counts for something. But also those booming kick drums and warm basslines are very energising in their own right, which is why they work well for many.

“There's no such thing as the best genre for running. One person's music is another person's noise.” Says Prof Karageorghis. So generally, choose tunes you love within those tempo ranges and you won’t go too wrong!

Lyrical affirmations

This is also sort of vibes, main character vibes, anyway, where you’re listening to something that feels reflective of the moment you’re in. If you’re running to a song that has empowering lyrics like “don’t stop moving”, “it’s coming up” or even “simply the best”, it can give you the motivation to keep on keeping on.

The playlist

If you want to guarantee you vibe with every song, you now have all the knowledge needed to make a playlist of your own! However, if putting a playlist together is yet another thing on your to-do list, woo has put together a playlist in line with the science. Designed for a long mid-intensity run, all of this playlist’s songs fall in the 120-140 BPM range; they're actually listed in order of tempo, too, which is ideal for pacing those long races. They start slow, allowing you to get a feel for things, before building into your ideal marathon pace. Ending with the more upbeat and uptempo tunes to give you every ounce of motivation to fight off the perceived fatigue, and to stride over the line. The playlist is four and a half hours long, roughly the average pace of a marathon worldwide.