What do you listen to when you run?
And why? Does music get you in the zone? Maybe a nice podcast about running is your thing? And check out the updates from the Run Club Culture event.
Big Q: What do you listen to when you run? And why?
I don’t listen to anything at all. When I started running again in my early 20s, I was working as a music journalist. If I was awake, I was listening to music. I was either at a concert (4+ shows per week!), or I was listening to an album over and over again in order to review it. I also listened to music for fun. I still do that, or maybe I do that again. I did get rather sick of having to listen to music, rather than getting to listen to music, to draw a parallel with that cliche about running.
Anyway. That time I spent running was my time away from music. I always called it my quiet time; my meditation time. I was still thinking about music, of course - I am an obsessive when it comes to things like that/this - but finding that stillness of mind was something that I identified very early on in my running life, and it’s a big reason why I run now.
I get time away from the hubbub to think about how to fit my various projects into my schedule. I get time to think about how my body is feeling. What is that tightness? Is there a new injury brewing? Running city streets, I am also mindful of absent-minded drivers pulling out of driveways onto the sidewalk, through me. That split-second being able to hear a car has certainly helped me avoid being run over thus far.
How about you? Do you listen to music? Podcasts? Take an out-of-breath call? Focus on the birdsong and road rage around you? Allow the pounding in your head to thunder through your ears?
And be sure to read more about the stillness of mind that running can afford you in my piece with Brendan Leonard from 2023 below.
Last week on Running Sucks
Last week I spoke to Tasha Thompson of Black Girls Do Run UK about building a space for people to come together and celebrate their identity. It’s a space where something as simple as seeing another black woman running is enough to inspire others from the community to take their health more seriously. Take a read.
Tasha will be joining the panel for Run Club Culture: a conversation in London on August 8th. Tickets are selling way faster than I had anticipated (Eventbrite has labeled it a hot ticket!), so if you’ve been waiting, don’t. Maybe it’s the cool graphics I keep designing?? Maybe it’s just a sick line-up of incredible people (plus me).
You’ll find out about the final panel guest on Thursday, and it’s another 10/10 person.
Last year on Running Sucks
This is the result of my conversation with filmmaker and author, Brendan Leonard. As you can tell, I’ve had an intermittent focus on the creativity that running can allow to flourish in your life for some time. It’s something I’m trying to develop further in this series. Have you fostered your creativity through movement?
Running Sucks Haiku of the Week
25-mile weeks…
I didn’t really plan them.
Time to train harder?
Everyone around me has always been in a training block for a marathon, a 10k, an ultramarathon they’re traveling for days to get to. My last big race was a half marathon in November 2017. Since then, I’ve just been running to run. I run for my health, and I run with my friends, but I just ran a couple of 25-30-mile weeks without really planning. Maybe it’s the result of the itch I got after that very fun relay race a few weeks ago, but maybe it’s time to… do something again (in the Masters category). Let’s see.
Housekeeping
WIN - I give away a $50 Janji gift card every single week. Why? Because I think you’re swell. Go to the Competition page and fill in the form. That’s it! Doesn’t matter if you live outside of the USA. Just win it.
$$$ - If you would like to help me hire a stage for the Run Club Culture event, buy some Running Sucks stickers or a HAT or upgrade your subscription for $50 ($1 A WEEK!) OR tip a one-off $5 OR etc etc. Help me do cool sh*t :)
RUN CLUB CULTURE: a conversation - GET YOUR TICKETS for the Aug 8 event in London. I’ve gone from, “I cannot wait,” to, “Ooh, this is a bit scary.”
CONNECT - Instagram / Strava / Discord / LinkedIn
Thanks for reading
- Raz
Music is mandatory when I'm on the treadmill, and I often use cadence-based playlists to keep me on pace. Outside, earbuds feel sacrilegious, but... my mental jukebox is full and playing in the background most of the time. I prime it in the weeks before a race to make sure I have the right music on-call. (My playlists are here: https://open.spotify.com/user/jacalvsc?si=bba3b04a6c05482e).
I put "everything around me", but it's really all over the map. Often I really do just listen to nature if we're on a remote trail. My wife can tell I'm listening to the "Nobody Asked Us" podcast because I'm always laughing. Des Linden and Kara Goucher are a crack up! Sometimes I listen to the Bible. Sometimes another audio book. After I ate a granola bar Saturday, I wanted to hear Neil Diamond's "Crunchy Granola Suite" so I then listed to the "Hot August Night" album. I started the run out listening to music my 20s son likes (Grizzly Bear and Glass Beach).