Which musician will make you run faster?
Looking to increase your running speed when it comes to workouts? Music could help. But what should you listen to?
A clothing company called Pour Moi tried to find out by commissioning a study with a group of 20 runners. They analyzed 60 runs during which each of the participants listened to a different artist each time. Somehow, they figured out which artist helped these joggers run faster. Cool, right?
Well, I have BIG issues with the artists and songs they chose for the test. Why did they only test pop songs? What about those of us who run to something with serious aggression? There’s no way in HELL I would ever run to any of this music.
| Artist | Time Improvement Per mile (mins:secs) | Time Improvement For 3-mile run (mins:secs) | Time Improvement for marathon (mins:secs) | |
| 1 | Beyonce | -00:33 | -02:45 | -23:12 |
| 2 | Harry Styles | -00:31 | -02:35 | -21:42 |
| 3 | Britney Spears | -00:28 | -02:20 | -19:36 |
| 4 | Adele | -00:19 | -01:35 | -13:18 |
| 5 | Taylor Swift | -00:17 | -01:22 | -11:32 |
| 6 | Shawn Mendes | -00:16 | -01:20 | -11:12 |
| 7 | Rihanna | -00:15 | -01:15 | -10:30 |
| 8 | Ed Sheeran | -00:08 | -00:40 | -05:36 |
| 9 | Olivia Rodrigo | -00:07 | -00:35 | -04:54 |
| 10 | Justin Bieber | -00:05 | -00:25 | -03:30 |
And whatever you do, don’t listen to these artists if you’re looking to improve your 5K time.
Top 5 Artists That Make You Run Slower
| Artist | Additional Time Per mile (mins:secs) | Additional Time for 3-mile run (mins:secs) | Additional Time for marathon (mins:secs) | |
| 1 | Drake | +00:21 | +01:45 | +14:42 |
| 2 | BTS | +00:09 | +00:45 | +06:18 |
| 3 | Doja Cat | +00:05 | +00:25 | +03:30 |
| 4 | Nicki Minaj | +00:02 | +00:10 | +01:24 |
| 5 | Katy Perry | +00:01 | +00:05 | +00:42 |
Here’s the methodology:
“Findings were compiled by recording the running times of 20 runners listening to a range of artists. They each ran for a minimum of 1 kilometre per artist and recorded their speed via a smart fitness device. For each run we analysed: total distance ran (km), overall time, km split time, average pace per km, average pace difference (difference between artists). This allowed us to calculate the difference in speeds per musician. We then ranked the artists from highest to lowest (the fastest to slowest) to reveal who can have the greatest impact on your running time.”
