PSA: I would like to put this in my blog before you start reading. Please if your are going to run with earphones, please please be aware of your surroundings, especially when crossing an intersection. With the recent occurrences of a student getting hit on the intersection N Atherton St and Park Ave, I felt obliged to put this in here.
Thousands of years ago, running was a survival mechanism, which was used by all prey to try and get away from predators that were attempting to attack them, especially humans(if you would like to know more about this, check out my previous blog). Nowadays, running is a form of exercise that many people partake in. Even though I could not find an exact number on the percentage of people that run daily, the running industry is thriving, with approximately “70% growth over the past decade(in the USA).”(Running USA) To get back on track(pun intended) to the question at hand, as I was on a run today, I found that when I played music, I felt more motivated to run faster. This occurrence got me to thinking, ‘Do people run faster if they listen music?’ Obviously, all of this thought is imaginary data and to my surprise, this question is much more complicated than I would have ever thought.
In 2003, Atkinson, Wilson and Eubank did a study which attempted to answer this question. In order to do the study effectively, they “looked at how sixteen physically active subjects responded when listening to fast-paced electronic dance music over the course of a simulated 10km cycling time trial on a stationary bicycle.1 A trial with no music was conducted as a control.”(Runners Connect) What they found was that the subjects that listened to music cycled significantly faster than those who did not. Moreover, one interesting fact that came out of the study was that the 5k and 9k splits of both participants(with and without music) were almost identical. I believe that this findings supports the idea that music gives people an extra boost when they are fatigued, which enables the participants to continue to keep the their current pace, instead of slacking off. The only negative aspect of this study is that it is done on stationary bicycles, instead of treadmills. However, the next study discussed will give a more definitive answer to the relationship between music and running.
Another study that was done by, “Edworthy and Waring, (they) tested 30 “physically active” participants in five conditions (loud/fast, loud/slow, quiet/fast, quiet/slow, and no music) at a self-selected pace for 10min on a treadmill.”(Runners Connect) The results of this study found that, “both loudness and tempo boosted the participants’ speeds and heart rates in a predictable manner. Louder and faster music resulted in the subjects selecting a faster treadmill pace than slower and quieter music.”(Runner Connect) Music has a positive effect on a runner’s performance. Essentially, that means that the louder and faster music is playing, the better generally runners perform in setting personal bests. This is no surprise to me and supports the idea I had on my run earlier. When it comes to running at a faster pace, music will almost guarantee that you set a personal best.
If you would like to know more about music and athletic performance, here is a clip from YouTube on this topic.
I definitely agree that listening to music while you run improves your performance. During all four years of high school, I participated in Track & Field. Usually, I used to put on my beats and listen to music while I warmed up for my event. There was rarely a time where I didn’t warm up while listening to music. Looking back on my races and my times, I found that listening to music before my event helped me run faster. When I didn’t warm up while listening to music, I ran slower compared to when I did warm up while listening to music. The genre of music is also a big factor in the effect it has on your running performance. An example would be that electronic music or hip hop will have a greater effect on your running performance than classical music would.
I’m not the biggest on running but I do agree with what you are talking about in your post. When I’m walking to class and I am listening to music; I definitely walk much faster than when I’m walking without headphones in. I don’t realize it until the song changes how much the beat/tempo really effected my walking. My claim is supported in this article if you are interested in reading more about your topic!