Playlists to Keep Your Legs Moving

By Jessica Herrington

Whether you’re a seasoned runner or an eager beginner, you might need a little boost here and there when it comes to giving it your all in a run. Winter is a time I find it especially hard to get moving. Thankfully, music can be a powerful motivator and performance enhancer; the right tune can be just what I need to push myself hard for those last 60 seconds. I’ve included two playlists—one for those who are partial to pop, dance, or hip-hop (provided by fellow runner Stephanie Chow), and one for those (like me) who like metal, rock and alternative. These are our go-to songs for a powerful run.

The ordering of songs is crucial. I put those with a slightly slower tempo at the beginning for warm-up, those that are faster make up the bulk of the list for higher-intensity running, and I again put a couple of slower ones at the end to cool down. Use one of these playlists to get your blood pumping and kick your run into high gear.

Playlist 1: Pop, Dance, Hip-hop

1. Mika – “Love Today”
2. Beyoncé – “Run the World (Girls)”
3. Jennifer Lopez ft. Pitbull – “On the Floor”
4. Ke$ha – “Take It Off”
5. Lady Gaga – “Marry the Night”
6. Rihanna – “We Found Love”
7. David Guetta ft. Nicki Minaj & Flo Rida – “Where Them Girls At”
8. Bruno Mars – “Runaway Baby”
9. Die Atzen – “Disco Pogo”
10. Girlicious – “Maniac”
11. La Roux ft. Hyper Crush – “Bulletproof (Hyper Crush Remix)”
12. Martin Solveig ft. Dragonette – “Hello”
13. Miley Cyrus ft. Lil Jon – “Can’t Be Tamed (Rockangeles Remix)”
14. Pitbull ft. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer – “Give Me Everything”
15. Rihanna – “Where Have You Been”
16. Usher ft. Pitbull – “DJ Got Us Falling Love Again”
17. Calvin Harris – “Feel So Close”
18. DJ Earworm – “United States of Pop 2010 (Don’t Stop the Pop)”

Playlist 2: Metal, Rock, Alternative

1.  Aerosmith – “Same Old Song and Dance”
2.  Velvet Revolver – “Get Out the Door”
3.  Stone Temple Pilots – “Down”
4.  Hinder – “2 Sides of Me”
5.  Hot Action Cop – “Goin Down On It”
6.  Saliva – “Ladies and Gentlemen”
7.  Three Days Grace – “Riot”
8.  Papa Roach – “Getting Away With Murder”
9.  Mötley Crüe – “Kick Start My Heart”
10.  Rage Against the Machine – “Guerilla Radio”
11.  Seether – “Remedy”
12.  Shinedown – “Devour”
13.  Volbeat – “A Warrior’s Call”
14.  Sixx:A.M. – “Lies of the Beautiful People”
15.  Brantley Gilbert – “Kick It In the Sticks”
16.  Hinder – “See You In Hell”
17.  Bush – “Machinehead”
18.  Nirvana – “In Bloom”

While these songs are tried-and-true, I sometimes find that the predictability of my entire playlist dampens my performance. I find it helpful to hit “shuffle” or add new songs and mix it up every now and then to keep my motivation up.

So, I encourage you to share your favourite running songs with me (no matter what genre) in the comments below, because they’ll be needed for another playlist post in a few weeks time! You can also reach me at jessicamarie1709@gmail.com