Jog or Run and Jam to the Beat at Your Own Pace

How to run to the beat and improve your pacing intuitively

Running through the wind, my earphones piped rhythmic music to a 12-minute mile. My run is more of a jog, okay? Back in 2011, about a year after birthing our second bébé, I realized I needed to clear some headspace.

Clearing my headspace wasn’t happening with a toddler and baby and my role as a stay-at-home mom and wife.

There was a running store with elite running shoes near our home. The only fancy shoes I like are comfortable ones. Having an adult conversation with someone besides Hubs was appealing. The elite running store offered a free running group.

Sold.

“Royals” came on the ole-fashioned car radio today, and it jogged (pun intended) my memory about a playlist I’d created for running.

This playlist + jogging brought countless delightful grins to my face. It’s 2023, and we no longer have the account where I saved that list. The only song I remember was “Royals” by Lorde, still one of my faves.

Did you know you can search songs by running pace on Spotify? That’s how I found the songs to curate my list with.

Do you run to a beat? Or will you try it now?

I’ve compiled a group of sample pacing playlists from 6 to 12-minute miles. There are multiple lists you can look through.

Get your groove on, get moving, and rock your run or jog.

For you Swifties

This list features a mix of classic rock and new tunes. I like the outlaw songs since this is for y’all who’d make fast escape artists. There’s Bon Jovi’s “Dead or Alive” and Steve Miller Band’s “Take the Money and Run.” Fast, fast, keep up that 6-minute pace while you’re running to “Broken Glass” by Annie Lennox.

The newer songs have some of my new faves, like Childish Gambino. There’s also Outkast and Drake on this list. It’s probably good for the eclectic music listener. There’s no T-Swift on this list, but you make up for that with your speed.

Get Your Beats While You Move Your Feet

This list is more rap, hip-hop, and soul dominant. Lizzo, Kesha, Kendrick Lamar, Black Keys, and Ariana Grande are a few more artists featured on this peppy list.

Get Your Strut On

Wait, what? “Royals” by Lorde is on the 8-minute pace list, so oops! I guess it pushed me to run faster than my usual 12–13 minute mile. It’s still one of my favorite songs.

This list is curated by someone different from the first two and has almost 70 songs to sift through. Songs like “Could Have Been Me” by the Struts. Musicians range from Mumford and Sons to Evanescence to Jay-Z and Eminem. T-Swift makes an appearance with Kendrick Lamar, too.

Bruno Mars' “The Lazy Song” Will Put the Pump on Your 9-Minute Mile

It’s fitting that “The Lazy Song” ends this list, so you can finish your run on a strong note and feel prepped for a shower and/or nap if you so choose. Umm, Lorde’s “Royals” is on this list too. So, I’m not sure how accurate the pacing is, but it feels pretty spot-on in general. I’d love to know what you think if you try out a list.

Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Aerosmith, Mumford and Sons, Greenday, and Sia are part of this almost-60 song curation.

Run Fast

Run fast for your mother, run fast for your father Run for your children, for your sisters and brothers Leave all your love and your longing behind You can’t carry it with you if you want to survive

— Songwriters: Florence Leontine Mary Welch / Isabella Janet Florentina Summers

That one time I ran a 10-minute mile felt like a once-in-a-lifetime achievement. It felt great. The songs are a bit slower now, but the beat kept me on pace in a way that only relying on my brain did not. I would’ve felt powerful leading off with the song that leads off this playlist: Florence and the Machine’s “Dog Days Are Over.”

Blues Traveler will keep you on foot, on pace. There are also several fun classic songs here, like Queen, Elton John, The Beach Boys, and AC/DC. Lunge into the list below.

Shed Your Tension With a Moderate Jog

This list lightens you up with the tunes and lyrics while you run to the easy beats. “Take It Easy” by the Eagles works its way up to a 10+-minute Marvin Gaye live recording. You’ll find Britney Spears, T-Swift, Pharrell Williams, and The Counting Crows here. It’s a short list, under 15 songs, and one of the poppier of this roundup.

Push It, You Can Do It

When I began practicing, it was slow-going, from a slow walk to a fast walk to alternating walking and jogging to jogging for a mile+.

It’s fitting to have Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” because us slow runners — we work really hard to make it to that pace. There’s quite a bit of Rihanna on this 30ish song curation.

Even though I no longer run, I’m interested in listening to all these playlists. I may start using the slower ones for my walking pace cuz that’s what I’m up to now.

Now, get that “boom boom” on with your bad self.

Since humans aren’t always perfect at analyzing anything, including run pacing with music, I’m adding a link to free running apps. Many, if not all, have pace trackers. I used MapMyRun quite a bit when I ran to keep me on a steady pace.

Safety was also a concern when I ran. Here’s a roundup of tips to keep you safe while running.

Peace, love, and jams, ~Aimée

Aimée Brown Gramblin is practically a superspy because that’s basically what writers are, right? She dabbles in nonfiction articles, emits poetry, and lives her life as a WIP writer and human learning to live at her own pace.

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