Many runners and trail runners like to hit the trail with music in their ears. It can help with motivation, to fend off boredom on the long runs or even to keep your pace on tempo runs. And there are a ton of songs about running to choose from for those who like to stay on theme. However, not all running songs are necessarily that motivational. And some might even make you want to sing your heart out to the hills, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on which angle you come at it from!
Running playlists are such a personal thing to each individual that it would be crazy to even attempt putting together a universally appealing set of running songs. I tend to like upbeat and cheery running songs that keep me driving forwards with rhythm and pace. But, depending on my mood and also the location of my run, I also like high production songs with sonorous string sections, moving melodies and crushing crescendos.
My point is that running playlists rarely feature songs about running! They’re usually packed with tunes that do something for the runner that only said runner can understand.
All that said, some people don’t know what sort of music floats their boats when running. They’re the types who are open to suggestions and often end up with eclectic mixes that flit from heavy rock to delicate classical with the swipe of a finger. And some runners just need some fresh ideas to mix up their audio running routine.
Songs about running
This list of songs about running is based on the theme of running. It’s an ideal playlist for a running club social or a birthday party of a running obsessed friend. And there are also some songs about running that might make even the most running-averse plodders want to get their trail shoes on and hit the road!
- Running Up That Hill — Kate Bush
“It doesn’t hurt me (Yeah, yeah, yo). Do you wanna feel how it feels? (Yeah, yeah, yo)” - Keep On Running — Spencer Davis Group
“Keep on running, keep on hiding. One fine day I’m gonna be the one to make you understand, oh, yeah, I’m gonna be your man” - Born To Run — Bruce Springstein
“In the day we sweat it out on the streets of a runaway American dream. At night we ride through the mansions of glory in suicide machines” - Run To You — Brian Adams
“She says her love for me could never die. But that’d change if she ever found out about you and I” - Middle Distance Runner — Seawolf
“Well I’m so sad tonight and the words won’t come out right. It’s been a long day on the track
and its stamina that I lack” - Runaway — The Corrs
“Say it’s true, there’s nothing like me and you. I’m not alone, tell me you feel it too. And I would runaway. I would runaway, yeah” - Runaway Baby — Bruno Mars
“Well, looky here, looky here, ah, what do we have? Another pretty thing ready for me to grab” - Runnin’ With the Devil — Van Halen
“I live my life like there’s no tomorrow. And all I’ve got, I had to steal. Least I don’t need to beg or borrow. Yes I’m livin’ at a pace that kills” - Run — OneRepublic
“When I was a young boy living in the city, all I did was run run run run run” - Run To The Hills — Iron Maiden
“White man came across the sea. He brought us pain and misery. He killed our tribes, he killed our creed. He took our game for his own need” - Run For Your Life — The Beatles
“Well, I’d rather see you dead, little girl, than to be with another man. You better keep your head, little girl, or I won’t know where I am” - Running — The Temptations
“You just can’t keep on running. You just can’t keep on running, hey. Like a stranger passing by. You won’t settle down for just one guy.” - Run Rabbit, Run — Flanagan and Allen
“On the farm, ev’ry Friday. On the farm, it’s rabbit pie day. So ev’ry Friday that ever comes along, I get up early and sing this little song” - Run On — Moby
“Lord God almighty let me tell the news. My head got wet in midnight dew. Great God I’ve been down on my bended knees. Talking to man from Galilee” - Running — Dua Lipa
“Now I’m running for my life. Been too many miles. Tryna find the road to you. ‘Cause you, you just wanna drive with no place in mind. Where the hell we going to, oh?” - Runnin’ Down a Dream — Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
“Yeah, runnin’ down a dream that never would come to me. Workin’ on a mystery, goin’ wherever it leads. Runnin’ down a dream.” - Run — Lighthouse Family
“And I I want to run away with you, I want to run away with you.” - Run Through the Jungle — Creedence Clearwater Revival
“They told me don’t go walking slow, the devil’s on the loose. Better run through the jungle. Better run through the jungle.” - Send Me On My Way — Rusted Root
“I would like to reach out my hand. I may see you, I may tell you to run (on my way, on my way)
You know what they say about the young.” - Keep On Running — Stevie Wonder
“Some gonna get you. Some gonna grab you. Some gonna jump out of the bushes and grab you
Whole lotta folks, you better run faster.” - Run Run Run — Kelly Clarkson
“And you waited on the rain. Through tears, my heart has caged. And we fall through fate. And we rise and rise again. And I run, run, run, run, run.” - Take It Easy — Eagles
“Well, I’m a-running down the road tryin’ to loosen my load, got a world of trouble on my mind. Lookin’ for a lover who won’t blow my cover. She’s so hard to find.” - Run Devil Run — Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins
“Run devil run. Devil run. Devil run.” - Run — Snow Patrol
“Louder, louder. And we’ll run for our lives. I can hardly speak I understand. Why you can’t raise your voice to say.” - Run Boy Run — Wookid
“Run boy run! This world is not made for you. Run boy run! They’re trying to catch you. Run boy run! Running is a victory. Run boy run! Beauty lays behind the hills.” - I Think We’re Alone Now — Tiffany
“Running just as fast as we can. Holding on to one another’s hand.” - Running Free — Iron Maiden
“Just sixteen, a pickup truck, out of money, out of luck. I’ve got nowhere to call my own, hit the gas, and here I go. I’m running free yeah, I’m running free. I’m running free yeah, oh I’m running free.” - Running Against The Tide — Emma Longard
“And we’re running against the tide. We’re running against the tide. We’re running against the tide. We are going no where. We’re running against the tide.” - Running — Jessie Ware
“Then I’m ready to run. Ready to fall. Think I’m ready to lose it all. Then I’m ready to run. Ready to fall. Think I’m ready to lose it all. Keep me running. You keep me running.” - Running in Circles — Mat Kearney
“I can’t get no peace. You keep me running, running in circles. Can’t get no relief. You keep me running, running in circles.” - Running Away — Bob Marley & The Wailers
“Ya running and ya running. And ya running away. Ya running and ya running. And ya running away. Ya running and ya running. And ya running away. Ya running and ya running. But ya can’t run away from yourself.” - Running — No Doubt
“Running running as fast as we can. Do you think we’ll make it? We’re running, keep holding my hand. So we don’t get separated.” - Run — Amy McDonald
“He said I don’t know what you’re living for at all. But I will run until my feet no longer run no more. And I will kiss until my lips no longer feel no more.” - Running — James Bay
“When my heart is ready to burst. When the world spins in reverse. I’ll keep running. To the place where I belong.” - Run — Foo Fighters
“Wake up. Run for your life with me. Wake up. Run for your life with me. In another perfect life. In another perfect light. We run. We run. We run.” - Running — John Newman
“And I keep, keep running. And I keep, keep running. And I keep, keep coming back for more, oh-oh. Keep running. And I keep, keep running. And I keep, keep coming back for more, no.” - Run — Gnarls Barkley
“Runaway. Runaway. Run children. Run for your life. Runaway. Runaway. Run children. Here it comes. I said run. Alright
.” - Run — Air
“Holy girl. Don’t get up. For running. Stay with me. I feel sad. When you run, run, run, run, run.”
Whether you’re in training for your next race, hoping to transition from road to trail or just enjoying the many benefits of running and trail running, our list of songs for running ought to have something for you to keep them feet keepin’ on!
