Everyone has a preference about how they run. Some will prefer the silence of running without music, or conversations, others though will find it more motivating having something else to engage with as you run.When I first started running about 4 years ago I would run along to music, but within the last year or so I pretty exclusively run along listening to a podcast. I love having a good podcast on and just listening to the hosts chat about topics that I find interesting or just having fun. However, finding podcasts that are good to listen to can be a struggle. To help with that search I’m sharing a few that I listen to as I’m running. Feel free to add your suggestions at the bottom to.
Marathon Talk
This podcast is pretty much my go to when I do a run. It comes out every Wednesday night (here in the UK), and sees the hosts talking about all the things that have been going on in their running lives recently. On top of this they also talk about running news stories, which at the moment feels filled of race cancellations, and always have a lengthy interview with someone from the running field. These range from record breakers, to physios, to influencers, and race directors. They showcase the variety of people running through their podcasts, allowing everyone to share what they’ve learnt through running. The main hosts Tom and Martin have a lot of experience in the field of running and always try to look at everything very objectively sharing bits of evidence and things they’ve experienced to help other runners. I feel a little bit like an imposter listening to the podcast having never done a marathon before, but everyone is welcome and you will definitely learn something and be motivated to run. I also tend to listen to this as I do one of my cycle commutes as they’re quite long, about 90 minutes. There’s quite a backlog of episodes and interviews (over 500), I would suggest starting from the current date and just going back to other episodes if the interview takes your fancy, as half the podcast is based on current events.
No Such Thing As A Fish
Completely unrelated to running, this podcast is my usual go to on a Monday morning run. 40 minutes of running through random facts that the QI Elves have picked up in their week of research. I must admit that I don’t retain many of the facts that get talked about but it is quite nice to have heard them and the conversations that each fact promotes. The hosts are all really good friends (or at least make it seem like they are) and as such the conversation of the facts feels very easy and just flows smoothly. It may also seem pretty dry listening to a factual podcast, but they are continuously cracking jokes and just having fun with facts. Occasionally the podcasts become live recordings as they tour their live show, in these they try to give location based facts to help the audience connect a bit more. There is quite a back log to this podcast too with over 300 episodes to listen to, some have been moved onto their website.
Run Pod
This is Jenni Falconer’s running podcast sharing the joy of running. As a host Jenni is very charismatic, used to talking to a microphone as she’s a radio presenter most days. Now a little disclaimer here, I listened to this podcast when it first came out, then never really came back to it after their first season break. I found this podcast great at making me feel calm as I ran, it’s a little shorter at just 30 minutes, which is the main reason why I stopped listening to it, I needed a couple of them to listen to every time I went out. Now I’m running shorter distances though, I’m sure I’ll be back. Every episode has an interview, often with someone from they tele who you may never have known that they run. The podcast goes through their journey in running, what they’re hoping to achieve and their highs and lows so far.
Pretty Basic
This podcast is definitely my guilty pleasure. Two mid-twenties social media influencers talking about their work, it feels a little bit ‘trashy’ if I’m allowed to say that in a positive way. Remi and Alisha came to fame with their solo YouTube channels but have grown to now have massive teams behind them and lots of business experience. The contents of this podcast changes every week as they talk about whatever topic they choose. Some episodes are simply about dating, but others are about mental health or business advice. It’s just quite nice listening to people of my generation doing the best they can to be positive influences on others. Showing that we don’t always get everything perfect the first time round, but with some willingness to learn from mistakes we can all improve.
Off Menu
I’ve fallen slightly out of love with this podcast, mainly as it was my Parkrun podcast. At just over an hour in length it covered my cycle to the start, the run, and the cycle back all very neatly. Without Parkrun I just haven’t really found the time to listen to it. The podcast is hosted by Ed and James, both British comedians, each week they ask their interviewee, often another comedian, what they’re dream 3 course menu would. The premise is that any food goes, from any time period or from any closed restaurant. This is a great podcast for any foodies as they talk about lots of food styles, and discuss new and sometimes fancy ingredients. There is pretty much never a mention to running, but there is plenty of comedy to accompany on your run. Be warned though not much of the food is particularly ideal for anyone sticking to a strict plan, and you my feel the urge to eat lot of ice-cream!
So there’s 5 of my top podcast picks to listen to as you get your miles in. I would love to hear what podcasts you like listening to as you run, leave them down below so I can check them out. Or find me on Strava or Instagram to interact a little easier with me.
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