The idea that 180 steps per minute is the most efficient rhythm for runners goes back to a study at the 1984 Olympics. The study found that all the elite middle and long distance athletes were running 180 steps per minute or more. Since then, a general consensus has emerged that shortening your strides and increasing their number will help you improve performance and avoid injury.
I put the theory to the test as a relative newcomer to running, increasing my rhythm from 140 to 180 steps per minute - and haven't looked back since. I can now run further, faster with less aching during and after.
To help me do that I went searching for 180 beats per minute rhythms and tried metronome clicks, Spotify and beat measuring apps with variable accuracy. So then I decided to start making music specifically for the purpose, combining an old love of writing music with a new one of running.
These tracks are free for you to download or stream, and I'll keep adding more - so come back now and then or keep an eye on the blog or feed.
Unlike some other options, these tracks are guaranteed to be exactly 180 bpm. And rather than the four-to-the-floor hi-nrg stuff you tend to hear blasting out of gyms, the emphasis is more on getting you in the rhythm for longer runs: being carried along in that slightly numbed state, feeling light and floating on air.
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
- Haruki Murakami