Over the past few months, I’ve been training for the London Marathon, so most weekends I’ve been out running more than 20 miles at a stretch. I carry the usual bits to make these long slogs vaguely civilised – energy gels, a water bottle, a couple of fruit pastilles. They help, of course. But there’s one thing I absolutely cannot do without: music. 

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Non-runners sometimes ask if I ever feel like giving up and trudging home. And honestly, the only times that’s happened is when my AirPods have died and the music – my invisible pacer, my emotional support DJ – has suddenly vanished mid-run.  This makes sense, according to Victoria Williamson, a researcher and lecturer in music psychology and the author of You Are the Music. She says that hundreds of studies show music improves endurance by around 15 per cent and reduces perceived exertion by around 10 per cent. For context, caffeine – the darling of the endurance world – only manages about 3 per cent for endurance and 5 per cent for perceived exertion. Although your energy drink is doing its best, it’s simply no match for a properly timed chorus. 

I’ve never fancied........

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