The world of podcasts has exploded in the last few years and rightly so! Podcasts are amazing. I love them. There is something about listening to a podcast that feels comfortable and relaxing. I think it’s mostly that listening in to a couple of people talking on a podcast feels relatable and so easy to do. You can just tune out and listen to someone else’s conversation (something I enjoy doing in several circumstances…)
Podcasts are great for walking, travelling, driving in the car but SO good for running – listening to someone else talk honestly helps the time pass quicker and it’s a brilliant way to distract yourself on a run. My favourite time to listen to them is on longer runs. On some of my longest marathon training runs, I could listen to two or three episodes.
I tried to find out how many podcasts existed (I know, I know, a long shot) and I got ‘over 5.5. million titles’ from Spotify, ‘Apple claims to have 2.5 million’ and ‘there are over 19 million podcast listeners in the UK’. So, unsurprisingly, all my Google search did was reiterate that there are a lot of podcasts out there.
It’s not hard to find the most ‘popular’ ones in terms of subscribers – just go to the top lists in whichever app you listen to your podcasts on. That’s a good place to start, but really you want to find the ones that YOU enjoy the most. I love listening to running podcasts whilst on a run, but I totally understand that is overkill for a lot of people. You can find a podcast about your favourite other sport, hobby, celebrity, you could even find a true crime series….
So here are 5 of the best podcast series I’ve listened to (in no particular order) and which are my go to on a run – however, know that there are so many more and I’ve love to hear any more recommendations!
Happy listening.
Let me know what you’d add to the list!
Love,
Ele x
5 of my favourite podcasts to listen to whilst out running
- How to Fail with Elizabeth Day
IG @howtofailpod
One of my all time favourite podcasts in general, but perfect for listening to on a run. Elizabeth Day honestly has the most fabulous interview style, she is eloquent and empathetic and has an amazing ability to get her guests to open up. How To Fail is all about people’s so called failures really being what teaches them how to succeed. She interviews one person at a time and they choose 3 of their personal ‘failures’ to talk about. It is a perfect way to distract yourself in someone else’s life whilst out on a run. - RunPod with Jenni Falconer
IG @runpodrunclub
This one is most definitely a running podcast! I have listened to RunPod for ages now and I love how everyone on it genuinely just vibes off running and has some fabulous experiences and advice. Jenni is a runner herself and has an addictively chirpy interview style – she’s so positive. When I trained for the London Marathon in 2021 I was interviewed on RunPod myself which was SO cool because I had listened to the podcast myself for so long. I was involved in one of Jenni’s episodes speaking to normal people….not celebs 😉 I talked about the charity I was running the marathon for, Neuroblastoma UK, and how I was feeling about it all.
You can listen to that here 🙂 - Dying for Sex
Bit more of a niche one this, and most certainly not running based BUT amazing to run to because it’s so so funny. It’s just a one season podcast with about 8 episodes, and it’s about a woman who was diagnosed with a terminal illness. Which is a little heart-breaking to start a podcast with, but the amazing angle they created with the podcast was her decision to explore and have as many sexual experiences as she could whilst she was able to. The result is some very dark humour, but seriously laugh out loud stuff. I honestly laughed and cried in the middle of runs when I listened to this. 10/10. - Well Far with Amy Lane
IG @wellness_ed
Back to the running ones. Amy Lane is the health editor xxx at Women’s Health Mag and a keen runner herself – she has some excellent conversations and great episodes about women in the running world. She hasn’t recorded many new episodes recently as she had two little kiddies now, but her existing episodes are pretty timeless nonetheless. - The Receipts
IG @thereceiptspodcast
Another laugh out loud one. Simple, classic premise – 3 mates based in London chatting and giggling their way through their episodes. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. An insight into their lives, from work to dating to friendships and just a lot of laughter. My favourite ones are when they get listeners to write in with their problems and they answer them on the podcast. A feel good girly listen for a feel good run!
chasingele.com 