A little while ago, Real-buzz asked a whole heap of marathon runners (myself included) which songs they found motivated them whilst training for the London Marathon.
I know I’m not alone when I say that I have my favourite running tracks and I really enjoy combining music with training. So, I was curious to see what the most popular running music was.
‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor shot straight in at Number 1. This isn’t the first time it’s featured in the top 10 as it’s been popular for the last four years. Some classic tracks made it onto the list but with a couple of newcomers this year. Black Eyed Peas ‘I Gotta Feeling’ featured alongside ‘Chariots of Fire’. Interestingly, ‘The Trap’ by Ron Goodwin, appeared at Number 9 – this is the inspiring music that the BBC play over their TV coverage of the London Marathon that brings a lump to my throat every time I hear it.
Here’s the full Real-buzz Top Ten Motivational Running Tunes for the London Marathon:
- ‘Eye of the Tiger’ – Survivor
- ‘Keep on Running’ – Spencer Davis Group
- ‘Chariots of Fire’ – Vangelis
- ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ – Queen
- ‘Don’t Stop Believing’ – Journey
- ‘Gonna Fly Now’ – Theme from ‘Rocky’ Bill Conti
- ‘I Gotta Feeling’ – Black Eyed Peas
- ‘Sex on Fire’ – Kings of Leon
- ‘The Trap’ – Ron Goodwin
- ‘Proud’ – Heather Small
Do you agree with the Real-buzz list? Leave a comment with your own suggestions and I’ll compile our own Top Ten Running Tunes from Joanna’s Marathon.
I am very fond of ‘Parallel Realities’ by Pat Metheny as a great running track. Also ‘Radar Love’ by Golden Earring, obviously, and ‘Anonymous’ from Focus III.
Hi Gavin,
Apologies for not noticing your comment earlier .. not sure what happened..perhaps gremlins are at work.
OK, so you’ve got me stumped .. I’m not familiar with any of the music you are fond of. It’s always interesting to learn about what influences other people though and I’m really glad you stopped by.
Regards
Joanna
I love this! I love anything upbeat while I am working out. I have to say that Black Eyed Peas song gets me going everytime. Great List!
I agree, Angela, anything upbeat and I’m raring to go. Great music really seems to help motivate particularly on a cold, rainy day!
Joanna
Hi Joanna,
I used to run to the theme from Rocky, absolutely hate the theme to Chariots of Fire (LOL!), and have not heard most of the songs on your list, and will be sure to check them out! I’m pretty picky about my running music & for me, sometimes its a difficult task to find something that I really like, that will motivate me to push myself and keep going. I appreciate you sharing
Christine
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Hi Christine,
Music is so personal. Sometimes I find inspiration from some of the great classical composers, particularly Elgar (one of my favourites). My tastes in music are rather eclectic and this morning’s run consisted of inspiration from: Daughtry, Nickelback (big fan of both), Bill Withers (Lovely Day), Guns & Roses (Live & Let Die), Cheryl Cole (Fight for this Love), Katrina & The Waves (I’m Walking on Sunshine), Muse (Supermassive Black Hole – brilliant and used in the film ‘Twilight’), Ray LaMontagne (3 More days) and a few tracks from Billy Joel, Taylor Swift, Elton John & Pink. All rather random. Do you use ‘Spotify’? Great way of discovering new music (www.spotify.com)
Always great to hear from you Christine.
Joanna
Eye of the Tiger! One of my all time favorites not only when I’m working out but any time I want to get pumped up! Can’t go wrong with some Van Halen or Bon Jovi either!
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Hey Joanna,
This is a great list of tracks, apart from the Heather Samll Track lol. Still we can’t all have the same taste in music. I also love the Chain by Fleetwood Mac always gets me going.
Beth
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Amazing tracklist! This was just the kind of music i was looking for. Does anybody know about podcasts specifically for runners?
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Thanks for stopping by and glad you liked the tracklist
Have a listen to my favourite podcast MarathonTalk available from iTunes. Nice site btw 