Jogging / Sportunes – music for sports :: Sportunes

We get this question a lot. Running with music seems to be like a religion sometimes. We talk to people who wrinkle their noses and with contempt tell us "Running with music? Of course not. No real runner uses music!!" We have also encountered a lot of runners who like to listen to the birds, or runners who run in groups and like to smalltalk. And that's all OK.

The point is: If you don't WANT to run with music, you shouldn't.

However, if you are one of those millions of runners who enjoy running to good music and who are driven by the beat of a great song, you might as well get the most out of it. Running with music gives you many advantages, why not use them?

Photo Source: aboutpixel.de

One thing you should consider when you run with music, is running on beat. This is not always an easy task, Why not? Well, most runners regardless of fitness level and experience run naturally at a pace (Beat per Minute - BPM) between 150 and 180. Some websites will tell you that a moderate stride is also around 130-140 BPM, but be careful. Studies show that running at a very low stride rate may lead to injury (Read e.g. this article in Runner's World). So keep your focus and your pace at around 150 BPM and above.

The problem with a BPM above 150 is that most popular music is composed at around 120 BPM. So running on beat with chart music is virtually impossible

Why is running on beat so important? Well, numerous scientific studies (for example by Dr. Costas Karageorghis, 2008, Brunel University in West London) show that running on beat provides the following advantages:

Improved endurance of up to 15%
The strain of the exercise is not as prominent in the athlete's mind, when listening to music
Improved technique as the musical beat makes movement easier to repeat.
Less oxygen intake due to easier repetitions of movement.

Photo source: aboutpixel.de

And we shouldn't forget the motivational and fun factor of having a great beat to help drive you forward.

Note: Sportunes has music for runners from 150 BPM up to 200 (just in case anyone needs something reallt, really, really fast ;-)). Our lower BPM songs are mainly for walking, spinning, cool down and warm up purposes.)

That's how I started running - what about you?

Up to my 33rd birthday I was not a runner. I used to hate running. Running was hard, and after a couple of times running a few hundred meters, I was always completely tired and swearing that I'd never do this to myself again. But as you get older, you get wiser (at least sometimes - selectively, hmhm), and I started reading a little bit about running.

By coincidence I also saw a documentary - From 0 to 42 - about a eight so-called normal people training for the Berlin Marathon in one year. Among them were a couple of 50+, chubby, one-step-before-heartattack guys. The determination and the joy that these men showed after just a few weeks of training was very inspirational. So I had to take a hard look at myself, and realised that I had to do something. If they could do it, so could I.
So I started making my own little training plans according to the beginner's programs that I found in many running forums, and after a few weeks I could run 3 km without having to walk. Another month and I was at 5 km. Woohoo. I felt like I was on top of the world.

The feeling was so good that I found myself sitting next to a good colleague of mine in September of 2004 and joking about running the Berlin Marathon next year. Without knowing what really happened, we had made a deal that we would run the Berlin Marathon in 2005. Swallow!

Well, I'll spare you the details of the many kilometers going into the training, the hours on Sunday morning overlooking fields and country roads and being away from the family. I'll also spare you the details of the actual run in Berlin, except the feeling of victory when I ran through Brandenburger Tor and into the finish area. I cried like a baby. Because I did it. I did it for myself, and no-one can ever take away the memory of this experience.