It’s October so that means it’s officially Fall marathon season! This month there are TONS of marathons – Chicago, Marine Corps, Mowhawk, Hartford, Twin Cities, Baltimore, Steamtown and Detroit, just to name a few. Although I didn’t run a Fall marathon this year, I’ve been so inspired by all of the runners on social media. They have been putting in hundreds of miles of training all throughout the hot and humid summer and now it’s time for their victory lap.
If you’re like me, you love to listen to music during a run or race. Honestly sometimes music is the only thing that keeps me motivated, especially during a long run or race when I’m running for hours. For me, music helps to keep the negative thoughts and self doubt at bay. Also I can get lost in a song and not focus on my pace or any pain I may be feeling. I did a playlist for each of my three marathons and here are some tips you can use to build your marathon playlist.
Miles 1-6.2
I call this the “get in the zone” phase. I like to use these miles on settling into a pace and zoning out. When I say “zoning out” I really mean just running on cruise control. Here are some of my favorite songs for this part of the race:
“In My Feelings” by Drake
“Humble” by Kendrick Lamar
“Give It Away” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
Miles 6.2-13.1
The “get hype” phase! Basically I want to smile and enjoy this part of the race because I know the pain cave may be coming up in the next segment lol. Some of my favorite songs for this section are:
“Party Up (Up in Here)” by DMX
“Special Delivery (Remix) by G. Dep and various artists
“Get Low (Remix)” but Lil Jon & the Eastside Boys, Elephant Man, Ying Yang Twins and Busta Rhymes
Miles 13.1-20
This is when I tend to go back to cruise control mode. I know I’m halfway through the race at this point so it’s all about trying to maintain that same pace and keep pushing through. I like to mix up this section by including a lot of fun and energetic songs:
“Mi Gente” by J Balvin and Willy William
“Beautiful Day” by U2
“Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO
Miles 20-25.2
The final stretch. If you’re in the pain cave, this is when you need a lot of motivation. Those songs that give you a little extra fight and the ability to dig deep. Here are some of my favorites:
“Lose Yourself” by Eminem
“Soldier” by Eminem
“Fighter” by Christina Aguilera
The Last Mile
I call this the “victory lap”. This is where you can play any song that puts a smile on your face. My personal favorite is “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.
I will play that on repeat until I cross the finish line.
Another good song for this would be “Smile” by Lil Duval. I will probably use that song for my last mile if I do another marathon.
Finally, and most importantly, make sure your phone/iPod and headphones are fully charged for race day! You wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve heard from runners that their iPod died half way through the race or that their headphones wouldn’t turn on!
Do you run with music? IF so, how do you build your race playlist?
I’m linking up with Marcia from Marcia’s Healthy Slice, Erika from MCM Mama Runs and Patty from My No-Guilt Life for Tuesdays on the Run.
I’m also linking up with Annmarie from The Fit Foodie Mama and Nicole from FitFul Focus for Wild Workout Wednesday.
Last but not least, I’m linking up with Rachel from Running on Happy, Lora from Crazy Running Girl, Marc from Train With Marc and Debbie from Coach Debbie Runs for Coaches’ Corner!
I agree with you, the final miles of the marathon call for some dig deep kind of music! There are certain songs that have propelled me to a great finish and those songs have a special place in my heart. Whenever they come on during a run, it takes me back to that moment when I persevered. Music is an amazing motivator!
Music is everything to me when I’m running. I’m convinced that it has saved me from a few DNFs!
Great advice! I love that your marathon playlists are so methodical. Honestly, I just want to hear music that I like and that keeps me hype! I do admit that I’ve had Lose Yourself come on early during a race and it kind of threw me off…I didn’t need to dig deep just yet, haha!
LOL right?! Yeah I have to reserve Lose Yourself for the second half of any race.
Definitely overdue to update my training playlist! I do have a few of these already on mine (#musictwins) but a few that I don’t and need ASAP!!
I love that we are #musictwins 🙂 I’ve found that I’m not a fan of a lot of the new music so I tend to still play songs from at least 10 years ago lol
Mine is honestly on random so it surprises me. I smiled so hard at the end of my first Half — Rachel Platten Fight Song and Taylor Swift Bad Blood. To this day I hope to hear them come on. Will be transitioning to a watch without music, so going to be interesting to get used to
Those are two really good songs for the end of a half marathon!
I listen to a lot of trash – but pop trash is just the best on the run. Shut Up and Dance With Me from a few summers ago is another favorite
I agree that some pop trash makes it on my playlist every now and then lol
I don’t really have specific playlists, believe it or not. I have a lot of “tried & true” favorites that have been there forever, and I periodically delete some “has beens” and add a few new “up and comers” now and then. No rhyme or reason to my madness LOL
Every year I do a “clean up” where I delete songs that now annoy me, lol
You have this so well thought out and I love your song picks! Silly me just lets my songs shuffle so I get whatever whenever. In Berlin my Bluetooth headphones wouldn’t pair so I was sans music. At NYCM I put together an hour’s worth of tunes and let them repeat.
Oh wow you did the Berlin Marathon with no music?! You’re a badass! I think I would have started singing songs to myself just to get by lol
I will have to add some of these to my playlist for the Philly have next month. Maybe they will help with the fact that I am so under trained 🙂
Glad you found some new songs to add to your playlist. You’re going to do fine in Philly – I just know it!
I don’t run with music, but in my last marathon in 2014, they were playing Happy on a huge speaker during mile 20 of Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego, when I was running up a 2 mile or so uphill stretch on the freeway, which was so hot and boring. As soon as the song started I felt like dancing (actually did a little 🙂 ).
I’m glad that song gave you some happiness as you were tackling that hill!
I love your song choices! I especially love Happy for the Victory Lap!
Thanks Sandra!
Thanks for the great playlist! You have a good variety of types of music here.
Thanks Laurie! Glad you saw some songs that you liked on my playlist.
Looks like we have similar taste! Music is an absolute must for me -, especially for those final miles. Can you imagine having your music die out during a marathon – yikes!
That’s one of my worse fears!
This is an amazing way to build a playlist. And apparently I build mine the same way as you! I just never had a rhyme or reason for it. Makes sense, though! Yassss to Eminem in the pain cave…
Eminem always gets me over the hump during a race!
As my runs start to get longer, I really need to up my playlist game! Thanks for the great suggestions!
No problem! Glad you found some songs to add to your playlist.
I’m so lazy, I just put my music on shuffle and call it a day. I feel like by the end of a marathon I am so disorientated and out of it I don’t really know what is going on, anyways LOL
LOL this is true. Sometimes by mile 25 I am so focused on trying to finish that I don’t really know what song is on, haha.