Running — with music or without?

I’m a serious runner. Like in this video:

On the I-am-a-serious-runner-I-am-so-full-of-myself scale I rank high.

But, seriously, I am passionate about running. I’ve just had the most incredible year in running, having done over 50 miles a week on average and a sub-three- marathon about which I wrote recently.

So I have recommendations!

With or without music. Why, why is this even a question?! The answer is so simple: run however fuck you want!

Actually, some months ago when I was raising my I-am-full-of-myself rating on the path towards greatness in my running, I started thinking that running with music is only for amateur runners.

Well, true to some extent. You won’t (probably) see elite runners with headphones in their ears.

I have sessions with and without music. When I have hard runs, like intervals, I don’t listen to music. It feels like a distraction, plus it’s a practical inconvenience. The phone makes the pocket of most shorts dangle. Once I’m done with my intervals, I take my phones and headphones and listen to music as I cool down. I am realizing now as I write that this setup only works on an athletic track (which is where I do my…