noise and sparks

I’m running my first half-marathon next bank holiday in Edinburgh. No, I’m not sure how that happened either. It’s certainly not been easy. I’m not the fittest individual, and as someone who was constantly teased for her weight at school, it’s been weirdly rewarding watching the distances slowly increase – from running one minute at a time to a full ten mile run last week. Now, after almost six months of training, I finally feel like I might be able to do this. But I don’t want to be the only one getting something out of it…

As a result, I’ve decided to do this one for Mind, the mental health charity. And while I’ll be raising donations via my page at JustGiving, I’ve also come up with a second way that you can help me support Mind, without spending a bean…

Firstly, a little about Mind. It might seem a bit of a contradiction, running for a mental health. However as things are, support services for those suffering from anxiety, low mood and other conditions have never been in greater need. Mind are also part of the Time To Change Campaign, to end the stigma against those with mental illness. This is a cause close to my heart, and I’d like to do my bit.

If you can spare the cash, please consider making a donation via my Just Giving page, which you’ll find at the link below.

https://www.justgiving.com/RuthRuns-Edinburgh

However, I know not everyone reading this will be able to donate. I know things are tight at the moment, and not everyone can spare the cash.

So, I’ve come up with a second way you can help me to do this – one that doesn’t involve spending any money, but will still help not only me, but Mind as well.

I can’t run without music. I’ve tried it, but turns out that when you’re running, the sound of your own laboured breathing and your feet awkwardly slapping the pavement can be about as welcome a sound as a lovesick zombie slathering sweet caresses in your ears. I understand this is how Zombies! Run! works. So running to music it is.

Unfortunately, I’ve a bit of a problem here. I’m having a hard time finding enough tunes to fill the roughly 2.5 hours it’s going to take me to run this thing. Right now, if you look at my Running playlist on Spotify, you’ll see I’ve only got an hour’s worth on my list.

Here’s where you come in. I want you to recommend me some tunes. That way I’ll be sure to have songs that’ll get me motivated and keep me going while I’m out there. Here’s the bonus: For every tune you recommend that I end up using in my final Running playlist, I will donate an additional £3 per song to Mind. Please note, I might end up increasing this, depending on how suggestions I get.

Here’s a quick guide to what I need –

1) A Good Beat.

Take a look at my running playlist, and you’ll see there’s quite a diverse list of tunes there, from Iron Maiden and TesseracT, to Jonsi and Nina Simone. The one thing that unites them all is a proper measured running beat. Basically:

Good: Jimmyeatworld – ‘Electable (Give It Up)‘, St Vincent – ‘Rattlesnake‘, 65 Daysofstatic – ‘Blackspots‘

Bad: Jeff Buckley – ‘Grace‘, Jimmyeatworld – ‘Futures‘ (Sounds great on the surface, but the middle 8’s a bit sluggish for running.), Sparklehorse (feat. Thom Yorke) – ‘Wish You Were Here‘ (Lovely version, but to run to? It makes me want to curl up in the middle of the street and cry. No no no no no. Thanks.)

2) A Good Melody.

Of course. The lyrics don’t need to be massively upbeat (‘Run To The Hills‘

‘Run Boy Run‘, ‘Run To The Hills‘, ‘Sinnerman‘… Okay, fair assumption, but it’s more that songs with the word “run” in them tend to have good beats.

4) Anything else?

Not really. I’ll pretty much take all genres, as long as I can run to the tune. If you want some hints, I’m a bit down on metal on this list – mostly because the metal I listen to is of the atmospheric/progressive kind. But remember, it’s not just the music I like listening to that I’m after – it’s music I can run to as well.

If you’d like more hints, here’s what I’ve got so far…

You reckon you’ve got a dead good song that I can run to? Great news. If you want to get a suggestion to me, you can leave a comment at the bottom of this blog, or leave me a message on Facebook or via Twitter. Remember to include your name so I can let you know if I used your suggestion!

You can suggest as many songs as you like. If you’re wanting to make both song suggestions and a donation, brilliant! So much the merrier. And be sure to check my play list to see if I’ve got your tune in there already.

The deadline for song suggestions is Wednesday 14th May at 11pm Friday 16th May at 11:30pm. Yes, I know that only gives you a week, but I need time to listen to your suggestions and sort out my final playlist. I know you can do this.

So I’m handing this playlist over to you. Meantime, I’d better get back to training. Catch you later!