I’m doing Glasgow’s Great Scottish Run. I know, I must be a glutton for punishment after last year, right? Well, maybe that’s true – I’ve been in training for a few months now and, well, real life hasn’t made that an easy task, frankly. However, all those difficult weeks are starting to pay off now, as I’m hitting the long distances. And this time out, I’ve got some extra motivation from the reasons why I’m doing this run.
I don’t want to be the only one getting the benefit from all this training. So I’ll be running in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, and the magnificent work they do with both sufferers and their loved ones. I’ve set up a JustGiving page for donations, if you’re able to do make one. And if you can’t, I’ll be telling you how you can help me support Macmillan without spending a penny.
First, here’s why I chose to run for Macmillan Cancer Support – Carol Laird. Carol is an inspiration. Her warmth and bubbly personality were a joy to everyone around her – and through her cancer diagnosis, right through her many treatments, she remained undaunted and undimmed. She is a light to those who were lucky enough to know her.
Noone tackles cancer alone, and in the case of Carol and her wonderful husband Alan, they had Macmillan. Their nurses provided support for both Carol and Alan – not only helping out in the house, but with advice, respite care, and more. It’s easy to forget that it’s not just the person suffering from the disease who needs help, but their loved ones as well. And when Carol and Alan needed them, Macmillan were there. The Macmillan nurses were such a wonderful support to the pair of them that I wanted to give a little something back, to support their amazing work.
If you can spare something for this worthy cause, please consider donating at the link below:
http://www.justgiving.com/RuthRuths-GSR
There’s a second way you can help too. I know that not everyone can spare the cash for a donation right now. So, I’ve come up with a way you can help me to do this without spending any money. That’s right – I’m running another Half-Marathon Playlist.
See, I can’t run without music. I’ve tried it, but it’s sort of like having my own personalized Run! Zombies! app. Except the faster I run, the louder the breathing gets. So music it is.
Unfortunately, it isn’t that straightforward. See, I need enough tunes to fill the roughly 2.5 hours it’ll take me to run this thing. That’s quite a while, and I’ll get easily bored with the same old songs on repeat. That’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 I use to Macmillan Cancer Support. If I don’t use your song/s, I’ll still donate £3 for your effort.
Here’s a quick guide to what I need –
1) A Good Beat.
Take a look at my running playlist further down the page, and you’ll see there’s quite a diverse list of tunes there, from Iron Maiden and Weezer, to Ben Folds and Nina Simone. The one thing that unites them all is a proper measured running beat. Basically:
Good: Iron Maiden – ‘Run To The Hills’, Commodores – ‘Machine Gun’, Pharrell Williams – ‘Happy’
Bad: Jeff Buckley – ‘Mojo Pin’, Jimmyeatworld – ‘Futures’ (Sounds great on the surface, but the middle 8’s a bit sluggish to run to.), 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.)
2) A Good Melody.
Of course. The lyrics don’t need to be massively upbeat (‘Run To The Hills’ is about the massacre of Native American populations during the colonization of the New World). But the tune needs to keep me motivated and moving when I get towards the 2 hour mark and The Wall looms on the horizon.
3) No, it doesn’t have to have the word Run in the title or lyrics.
Okay ‘Run Boy Run’ was on last years, and ‘Run To The Hills’, ‘Sinnerman’ – fair assumption. But there’s also a song about hairdressing on the current playlist. So don’t worry about it.
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 tips, I’d love some more female artists on here, if you can think of any good songs. Also I don’t have any electronica or dance this time round, so I’d welcome some good mixes. But remember, it’s not just music I like listening to that I’m after – what’s important is that I can run to it.
If you’d like more hints, here’s what I’ve got so far…
You reckon you’ve got a well ace song that I can run to? Great news! If you want to get a suggestion to me, you can leave me a message by email, 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! It’s all going towards Macmillan and the great work they do. And be sure to check my playlist to see if I’ve got your tune in there already.
The deadline for song suggestions is Sunday
So I’m handing this playlist over to you. In the meantime, I’ve got some training to do…
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