Music is the only free trick that works

Almost everything sold to make you run better has a tiny effect or none. Music is the rare exception: it’s free, it’s already in your pocket, and the effect has been measured in a large meta-analysis.

How much

A little, and it’s worth putting it that way. The effect on physical performance is small but consistent, and on perceived effort it’s smaller still. Where the effect is biggest is in how you feel doing it: there it rises clearly. Fast-tempo music works better than slow.

The condition

The effect on perceived effort disappears when intensity climbs high. Music works by distracting you from fatigue signals, and past a certain point those signals are too strong to distract from. On an easy or moderate run, it helps. On the last kilometre flat out, it doesn’t.

For a beginner that’s good news: almost everything you’ll run in the first months falls exactly in the range where music does something.

What to do tomorrow

• If it helps you out of the door, it’s already done its job. That’s the big effect.
• Fast tempo for the days it’s hard to get going.
• One earbud out, or transparency mode, if you run on the street. That one isn’t negotiable.