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2) "Up the Mountain" by Vince DiCola Eye of the Tiger steals all the thunder, but this short jab off the Rock IV soundtrack offers just as much power. Motivating lyric: [sweeping strings section] LISTEN NOW Courtesy
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3) "Don't Stop Me Now" by Queen Freddy Mercury embraces all the burning glory and supersonic speed of a full-out, smile-on-the-face, let-the-legs-go first mile of a sunny-day run. Motivating lyric: Yeah, I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars // On a collision course LISTEN NOW Courtesy
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4) "Breathe" by Prodigy This sneering 1997 hit from the English electronic band features what sounds like whip snaps, breaking glass, and jackals laughing. Pair that all with a menacing beat and suddenly youre running much, much faster. Motivating lyric: Come play my game // Inhale, inhale, you're the victim // Come play my game // Exhale, exhale, exhale. LISTEN NOW Courtesy
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5) "Run Run Run" by Jill Scott Claps and horns power this 2015 second-wind of a track. Its like having your own cheering sectionno matter where you are on the course. Motivating lyric: Gotta hustle and handle my business // I'll be right back when I'm done LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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6) "Running" by Gil Scott-Heron and Jamie xx Scott-Herons poetic contemplation, matched with Jamie xxs forefoot-striking beats, evokes those long miles during training runs that raise the question: Why do I do this? Motivating lyric: Not running for my life // Because I have to be running for something of more value LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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7) "Mayday" by The Go! Team Because not every run goes as planned. Motivating lyric: Introducing the SOS // Make a beeline cos I'm in distress LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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8) "Out In the Street" by Bruce Springsteen They play Born to Run at every color run, 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon, and obstacle race ever. When youre sick of it (and you will be) try this track from The Boss 1980 album The River. LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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9) "10,000 Miles" by Cam'ron Camron of Hey Ma fame, rapping over Vanessa Carltons now-iconic piano melody. No, really. Motivating lyric: [do do dodododododododo] LISTEN NOW Courtesy
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10) "Take It On the Run" by REO Speedwagon This 1980s heavy-rotation hit will have you fist-pumping as you sprint through the verses. Dont forget your sweatband. Motivating lyric: You're under the gun so you take it on the run LISTEN NOW Courtesy
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11) "Running to the Sea" by Ryksopp What starts as a slow thumping builds into a head rush of fuzz and pressure. Sound familiar? Motivating lyric: And the river flows beneath your skin // Like savage horses kept within LISTEN NOW Courtesy
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12) Shoes for Running by Big Boi feat. B.o.B, Wavves Surf-indie rockers Wavves back up the faster half of Outkast in a goose chase through politics, truth, and mortality. Whew. Motivating lyric: Shoes for running, and I'll race ya // Sun is coming, it'll chase ya LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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13) "Start the Commotion" by The Wiseguys The 1998 dance jam jangles and horn-blares through nearly six minutes of jumping, pumping craziness. Motivating lyric: Get up // Put the body in motion LISTEN NOW Courtesy
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14) "I Can See For Miles" by The Who Depending on where you slot this one into your playlist, all you might be able to focus on is the repetition of miles, and miles, and miles, and miles, and you get the point. Motivating lyric: I know you've deceived me, now here's a surprise // I know that you have 'cause there's magic in my eyes LISTEN NOW - Hearst Owned
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15) "Keep the Car Running" by Arcade Fire The caror you. Motivating lyric: I don't know why, but I know I can't stay LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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16) "Running" by Moderat This something haunting about this 2016 track off the German bands album III. Haunting in a way that propels you not from inside, but as if being chased. Motivating lyric: All this time running 'round // Legs and limbs LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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17) "Run to You" by Bryan Adams The 1984 classic-rock powerhouse is studded with drumming that fires like a starting gun and then up-tempos into a steady heartbeat. Motivating lyric: 'Cause when the feelin's right I'm gonna run all night LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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18) "Running If You Call My Name" by HAIM The LA trio delivers driving lyrics to a steady throwback 80s beat. Go on, sing along. Motivating lyric: I will run away if you call my name // And I, I'll keep running if you come my way LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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19) 8 Miles and Runnin by Jay Z, feat. Freeway Hova relays with Philly rapper Freeway on a wild, revenge-fueled ride off the 8 Mile soundtrack. Motivating lyric: Revenge is sweet honey, we run this // Young is the illest, free is the future LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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20) "Where's Your Head At" by Basement Jaxx That initial sound of a circulating saw cuts through your grey matter and opens your eyes wide awake. Then, for 4 minutes and 45 seconds, youre thrown into complete insanity. This is speed work music. Motivating lyric: Okay are you ready? // I'm ready LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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21) "Keep on Runnin" by Sheer Mag Theres not much to this 2019 guitar-centric track, lyric-wise, but whats there is really all you need: keep on runnin. Motivating lyric: On my back // They wanna see us fall // Decay, decay, decay // But I hear a distant call LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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22) "Runnin' with the Devil" by Van Halen If you feel like throwing up the horns when it charges into your earbuds, by all means. Motivating lyric: I live my life like there's no tomorrow LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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23) "Jurass Finish First" by Jurassic 5 The Los Angeles grandmasters of rap style all over this 2000 Quality Control masterclass in hip-hop. The beat bounces along, right in step. Motivating lyric: I'm searching for ways to avoid the charade // Cause when voices are laid, choices are made LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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24) "Novacane" by Beck Beck Hansen sounds like a speed-fueled trucker shouting through a CB on this Odelay track. What begins slow and ominous quickly turns into the wheels falling off. Motivating lyric: Novocaine, hit the road // Expressway, explode LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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25) "Let's Run Away" by Matt and Kim The wildest married couple in electronic indie rock go absolutely nuts on this 2016 song off their EP We Were the Weirdos. Motivating lyric: Let's run, run, run, run away // Don't bring, bring anything LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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26) "Let's Go On The Run" by Chance the Rapper Too many people talk about how much they hate running. They dont get it. Not enough people talk about how much fun running is. Chance gets it. Motivating lyric: Greaseproof, meep meep, I feel like Road Runner // I get my feet loose LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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27) "Block Rockin' Beats" by The Chemical Brothers Its best played loud, in the city, as you tick off numbered streets, but itll do you well pretty much anywhere else too. Motivating lyric: We're 'bout ready to rock steady LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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28) "Run Away" by The Real McCoy Dont pretend like this 90s banger doesnt move your feet. Motivating lyric: It's time to break free // you better break free LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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29) "Runnin'" by The Pharcyde This ones for all the haters who ask, What are you running from? Motivating lyric: So I stood up and let my free form form free // Said I'm gonna get some before they knockin' out me LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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30) "The Distance" by Cake Okay, so its about race car drivers. But a race is a race. And an engine is an engine. Motivating lyric: Because he's racing and pacing and plotting the course // He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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31) "Run Like Hell" by Pink Floyd This pulsating track off The Wall sounds a very little bit like the Chariots of Fire theme song yet doesnt conjure the same images of tiny white shorts. Motivating lyric: Don't leave me now // Don't say it's the end of the road LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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32) "Tired Climb" by Kylesa Even if youre not a metal fan, youll appreciate the long, plodding build of this opener to the Georgia bands 2010 album Spiral Shadow. Embrace the burn. Motivating lyric: Keyed up, all tore up LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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33) "The Descent" by Bob Mould Because for every grueling ascent, theres a joyous descent. Motivating lyric: Now my race is finally run // And as I tumble to the Sun LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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34) "The Runner" by Foals This stadium-rock anthem feels simultaneously wide in scope, but singularly focused. Its one runner in a marathon full of them. Motivating lyric: Step by step I'll keep it up, I won't slow, I gotta go LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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35) Run Through the Jungle by Creedence Clearwater Revival This swampy slap-and-clap Cosmos Factory jam feels like youre being pursued and the odds are against you. All you have, it seems, are your feet. Motivating lyric: Two hundred million guns are loaded // Satan cries "take aim" LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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36) Runnin by Ludwig Goransson, feat. A$AP Rocky, Jacob Banks The whole Creed II score is a force of nature, but this horn-blaring, guns-blazing, five-minute epic is the most inspiring ringside coach. Time to hit some steps. Motivating lyric: Runnin' outta breath, they gon know my name // Came up out the mud, brush the dirt off of me LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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37) The Fire by The Roots, feat. John Legend This ones for all the times you want to quit, when the lactic acid builds, and your brain cant take another footfall. Dont stop. Motivating lyric: Yeah, and if I'm ever at the crossroads // And start feeling mixed signals like Morse code // My soul starts to grow colder than the North Pole // I try to focus on the whole of where the torch goes LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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38) "Running Away" by Friendly Fires Its good for running. Its good for dancing too. Or dancing while you run. Motivating lyric: Running away, keep on running away LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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39) "Speed Living" by The Growlers Big brass blows through this meandering song, which, actually, isnt the best for speed work. Deploy it to reinforce a strong and steady pace. Motivating lyric: Cant seem to put a harness on the go // Going too fast now to jump off LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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40) "Take The Money And Run" by Steve Miller Band Yes, its a song about Billy Joe and Bobbie Sue, but its also about getting the heck out of Dodge and trying to make something of yourself. Motivating lyric: They got the money, hey, you know they got away // They headed down south and they're still running today LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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41) "Help Me Run Away" by St. Lucia With Devo-like synth beats, the indie-electronic duo stampedes along nearly five minutes of trying to quiet the dissension of the mind. Motivating lyric: Help me run away from these voices in my head LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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42) "Climb That Hill" by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Because motivation is a muscle that needs working too. Motivating lyric: Over that hill one more time // Got to get up in the morning, make my way // Over that hill again LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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43) "Escape 700" by The Chemical Brothers Off the soundtrack for 2011s Hanna (a movie with a lot of running), this hot-pursuit song is relentless. Pair it with a track workout. LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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44) "Marathon" by Rush There comes a time in every runners life where they ponder, and then train for, and then actually attempt to run 26.2. For when that time comes, Rush is there for you. Motivating lyric: It's a test of ultimate will // The heartbreak climb uphill // Got to pick up the pace // If you want to stay in the race LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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45) "When a Fire Starts To Burn" by Disclosure The stutter-step beat of this 2014 dance track is for the depths of those rough, tough many-mile runs and races. It goes well with a caffeinated gummie. Motivating lyric: When a fire starts to burn, right, and it starts to spread LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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46) "Started from the Bottom" by Drake This one is your pre-race pump-up jam. Reflect. Shake out. Focus. Its go time. Motivating lyric: I done kept it real from the jump LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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47) "Nice Guys Finish Last" by Green Day And youre not nice, are you? Motivating lyric: Sometimes you're at your best // When you feel the worst LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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48) "Personal Best" by Small Black You can see the finish line. And the clock. And all you need is one more push. Motivating lyric: I dont see us running out of time // But its true, we should've learned enough LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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49) Finish Line / Drown by Chance the Rapper, feat. T-Pain, Kirk Franklin, Eryn Allen Kane, Noname Your victory lap. Motivating lyric: Ill be racing up the stairs // Imma get to the gates LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned
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50) "No More Runnin" by Animal Collective Rest is important, too, you know. Motivating lyric: I've got to breathe LISTEN NOW Hearst Owned