The Best Running Songs | Complex

Whether you just joined a new gym or have hundreds of miles of runs under your belt, running can feel like a chore. The prospect of getting up early to put your feet to the floor or coming home after a long day of work only to hit the road can be, frankly, pretty damn exhausting. There are plenty of days when not even the strongest motivational speech can get you going. 

That’s where music comes in. Putting together a perfect playlist to take your mind of the act of running makes getting out the door or onto the treadmill that much easier. So, after you’ve stocked up on a closet’s worth of athletic gear, posted up your routine pre-workout photo to Instagram, and finally laced up the newest pair of running sneakers you just bought, you’ll also definitely need to queue up a playlist that will get help make what could be a reluctant trudge into your best run the yet. 

There’s no formula for making a great running soundtrack. But a booming bass line and a killer chorus never hurt. Bonus points if the songs you pick have ever been included in an action movie montage, have the word “run” in the title, or immediately send a rush of blood to the head and boost your heart rate. Think Jay-Z’s “Run This Town.” Timing your steps to the beat and aligning your breaths throughout the verses tends to throw even the most experienced runners into a trance. Before you know it, you’ve racked up more miles than you ever meant to, picking up the pace every step of the way. 

The playlist can be the difference-maker between a personal best and a gym session that just crashes and burns. From Eminem’s “Lose Yourself” to Future and Drake’s “Jumpman,” these are the best running songs.