5 Great Songs for the Last Mile from Melissa Grant
Melissa Grant, Morning Edition Producer.
I usually run a marathon a year and it´s a tough, but rewarding hobby. There´s nothing like crossing the finish line after spending more than half a day checking out the scenery of a city while literally POUNDING the pavement. Running 26.2 miles doesn´t come easily or quickly(in my case.) Sometimes you need a good soundtrack to pull you through. So here´s mine…
1) Running Up That Hill : Placebo (Meds, 2007 digital remaster) – Beautiful remake of a Kate Bush song… despite being slower than most of my running tunes, it is propelled along by subtle percussion that sounds like a heartbeat.
2) Born to Run : K-os, (Atlantis-Hymns for Disco) - Definitely not ”Born to Run” by the Boss. It starts off with heavy breathing, which usually matches my own at the end of a marathon. Good for keeping a consistent jogging pace at the beginning, slows to walking pace at the end.
3) Fool´s Gold : The Stone Roses (The Stone Roses) – A “time-to-pick-up-the-pace” tune. It´s a long one too-more than 9 minutes—so it could take you all the way to the finish line.
4) Map of the Problematique : Muse (Black Holes and Revelations) – Something about this song just makes me want to run faster and faster…´rockin´ despair by the lads from Devon.
5) Run : Gnarls Barkley (The Odd Couple) – Almost there….adrenaline is flowing…you can see the finish line clock flashing red just a few yards ahead of you. You tell yourself that when this is over, you can have a steak and a baked potato (every day of the next week) and not worry about counting calories. Clap and sing along with Cee Lo as you stomp on the finish line mat that records your chip time. Yay!!! It´s over!!! You did it!!!!
