Rhythm & Grit
Cory WhartonMalcolm on his tunes of choice
How I use music to put a spring in my running step
WHEN I STARTED RUNNING, one of my first thoughts was – what do I want to listen to when I run? What music is going to inspire me to keep moving, to drown out the sound of my suffering as I trundle down the road?
I spent much of my late teens and early twenties jumping around in drum and bass and jungle raves, so when it came time to hit the road, I thought if I could recreate the same feeling I had in a rave, this running thing was going to be a breeze.
So off I went, wearing a massive set of headphones, my favourite banging tracks ready to go. The problem was they were all fast, which, in turn, made me want to run fast. Running fast isn’t a bad thing if that’s the plan, but it was supposed to be an easy run. So, instead of the music helping, it tired me out before I had even got started.
I headed home, slightly broken but not defeated, and started to compile a playlist that would aid me on my run. I’ve never been a DJ but I tried to approach it like a DJ would a set, with the music based on how I would want to feel or what help I’d need on the way. I decided to mix genres, starting with some old-school reggae, then R&B, hip-hop, house music, a garage anthem, then my beloved drum and bass for the final track of my playlist. I finished the run with a huge smile on my face.
As time passed, I began using drum and bass to help me with running drills, A skips, B skips, high knees, heel flicks, the lot. I created a class called Forge at the Ministry of Sound fitness studio in London, where the first part of the session was just running drills, with a packed class all moving in sync. I would typically use liquid drum and bass, which is a mellower, more vocal and little more ambient-sounding, sitting somewhere between 172bpm and 178bpm, depending on the track. One of my favourite tracks is Lost Orbit by S.P.Y featuring Diane Charlemagne – just gritty enough to make you want to dig deeper when your calves started to tingle but melodic enough to make you want to sing along.
As for speed workouts, I made sure there were no tracks that were too slow, because what you don’t need is a really slow track coming on in the middle of your last rep during speedwork, nor do you want the opposite – a fast track coming on during the cool-down or a rest period between reps.
You can also go on a fartlek run and just let the music be your guide – go easy during the verses and faster during the hook or chorus. If you want a track that doesn’t let up, try the Zinc remix of
Runnin’ (Lose It All) by Naughty Boy, Beyoncé and Arrow Benjamin. I would love to hear your thoughts: what’s your favourite track or playlist to run with?