The Best Running Songs of All Time

It’s cold, it’s raining, and you don’t want to be out in this. The wind is blowing you everywhere except forwards. Each step feels twice as hard as it should and you gave up avoiding puddles ages ago when you realised it made no difference to your already sodden shoes and socks.

The thought of tea, cake, and a nice warm bath has been keeping you going for the last 30 minutes and you know you only have a mile or two to go before you get home. It seems a lifetime away though, like you’ll never finish. But, at that moment you shuffle your running playlist and that song bursts through your headphones.

And suddenly, with each chord and rhythm the clouds are beaten back (metaphorically), and the welcome radiance of the sun heroically wards off the lashing rain and the embers from your dwindling fire is rekindled (see previous parenthesis). Your legs are re-energised, you feel a foot taller. Your cadence picks up and like a new-born gazelle full of swagger your stride lengthens and you are suddenly eating up the ground towards home. Okay, okay, I might of got a little carried away there, but creative license aside, you get the point. What is your go-to piece when the going gets tough?

Best Running Songs: Our Selection

This is our selection of the best running songs, in no special order (and yes, I like Rocky films). What’s your go-to tune?

Eye of the tiger – Surivor
No Easy Way Out – Robert Tepper
Somebody Told Me – The Killers
Superhuman Touch – Athlete
Titanium – David Guetta
Burning Heart – Surivor
Hearts on Fire – John Cafferty
Sky Full of Stars – Coldplay
Pompeii – Bastille
Feels so Close – Calvin Harris
We’ll be Coming Back – Calvin Harris
You’ve got the Love – Florence and the machine
Long Road to Ruin  – Foo Fighters
Times Like These  – Foo Fighters
Breath In – Lucie Silvas
Live Forever – Oasis
One Horse Town – The Thrills
Empire State of Mind – Jay Z
Every teardrop is a Waterfall – Coldplay

Obviously the Spice Girls are noticeable by their absence, but have we missed any other classics? Let us know your best running songs, we’ll give them a listen and see if they need adding to the list.