Listening to music via your iPod when you run is more than just multitasking or an opportunity to listen to music you simply enjoy. There’s actually a science behind how music can motivate and inspire a runner to greater achievement.

Recent research has shown that although music does not reduce the perception of effort during high intensity runs, it does improve the experience of the run. So while listening to music will not necessarily make a run any easier, it’s likely that the overall experience will be pleasurable, and may even trick the mind into believing that your body is not as fatigued as it really is.

Costas Karageorghis, a sports psychologist at Brunel University and head of the Music in Sport Research Group, has been investigating the influence of music on exercise performance for almost 20 years. He is so convinced of the positive effects of music while running that he has helped mastermind Run to the Beat. This unique, half marathon race will take place in London on October 5 which aims to be the first race of its kind that will play carefully selected music at 16 points along the event’s 13-mile route in order to motivate and inspire runners.

“Our research has shown that lively, upbeat music stimulates the part of the brain associated with locomotion - the motor cortex,” says Costas Karageorghis. “It also needs to have a strong rhythm and, ideally, should have some association with physical activity, either through the lyrics or by association.”

Simply listening to fast music on its own however won’t magically make you become a fast runner. To really benefit, runners should listen to music with a tempo similar to the pace at which they intend to run, so that a runner’s stride can be synchronized with the rhythm of the music. A perfect example of this was when two-time 10km Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie, from Ethiopia, reputedly listened to the song Scatman by Scatman John when Gerbselassie broke the world indoor 2km record 1998. This song has around 135 beats per minute.

So next time you’re preparing your playlist in iTunes before you go out on a run, make sure your music is carefully selected. Good tunes with the right bpm might not only make your run more enjoyable, but may even shave a few extra seconds off your personal best.

More information:
Run to the Beat race site
Tune in, work out (The Guardian newspaper)