The Ultimate Running Playlist for Endurance

Deborah McConnell
Life Fitness Academy 
www.lifefitness.com

According to master trainer for Chicago-based Life Fitness Academy Deborah McConnell, music can play a significant role when you’re training for or participating in an endurance event. "First, we know through research that you get that runner’s high when you’re running some of these endurance races, but that same high doesn’t always come through when you’re training. So, you need to supplement with some tunes that get you to feel that endorphin rush. A song like “Happy” by Pharrell will just get you to smile and urge that runner’s high to come regardless of whether you’re participating in an event or just training."

McConnell says it's likely that you'll be doing interval workouts and some songs are perfect for this. "The first one that comes to mind is Avicii’s 'Wake Me Up' because it has a great beat that can help you to pick up the pace during those faster intervals. It’s a great way to push up the intensity. If you’re training in a group, this song is also great because it picks up the cadence of the group to match the beat where simple conversation will not suffice to distract the athlete through the interval." McConnell should know - she's the Training and Education Manager at Life Fitness Academy which boasts 80 trainers around the globe. Each trainer counts various exercise science and fitness degrees among his or her arsenal as well as more than five years of experience as a trainer or fitness pro.  

When it comes to the race itself, McConnell loves a tune like  “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift. "This is the type of song that you listen to when you want to quit and it can help a runner let that desire go and press on. Everyone feels differently when they run but when you are finished with a challenging part of a hill and start to feel that fatigue you start to mentally refocus and let go of that negative vibe and stay relentless. Literally shaking off the fatigue."

With 15 years of fitness industry experience and a passion for sharing new information about health and well being, McConnell counts running among her favorite ways of working out although you'll see her throwing in some trendy interval training, too. Here are her best choices and reasons why this makes a perfect playlist for endurance.

Jacky Runice has been a columnist with the Daily Herald Chicago since grunge music and flannel was the new black. Her fingers and gray matter have been busy as travel editor of Reunions Magazine; penning a column that was syndicated around the nation via Tribune Media Services. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.