What do you listen to while running? - Couch to 5K

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What do you listen to while running?

lusmo profile image
lusmoGraduate
16 Replies

I'm getting close to the finals, so I would like to ask:

Do you know if there is an application with Laura's instructions,

where it would be possible to listen to own music or perhaps an audiobook?

Or how do you do it?

Thanks for the reply/tips/help.

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lusmo profile image
lusmo
Graduate
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16 Replies
Folkylass profile image
FolkylassGraduate

Hi lusmo. For me I listen to my music on iPlayer. I have downloaded my music from my CDS and just listen to those. I also listen to the radio. On my iPhone too.

lusmo profile image
lusmoGraduate in reply toFolkylass

Thanks a lot for the reply.

I have to say that I need Laura's encouragement and I also want to have an idea of what stage I'm at in my run. So I'm thinking of extracting Laura's instructions and adding either an audiobook or my own music to the file. But it's a lot of work to do this for every run, so I wanted some advice before I start.

I tried running two audio programs on my iPhone at the same time, but that failed after a while and I was in the middle of a run with no audio.

That's why I wanted to ask if anyone has already solved this somehow. :-)

SueAppleRun profile image
SueAppleRunGraduate

Just start your music then start the run in the app and the music will fade as Laura speaks. 😁

lusmo profile image
lusmoGraduate in reply toSueAppleRun

Thanks and what app are you referring to?

SueAppleRun profile image
SueAppleRunGraduate in reply tolusmo

The C25K app, I found if I started my music, I use Spotify first then started C25K second it worked well, I do the same with Nike Run Club

CBDB profile image
CBDBGraduate

The NHS/BBC C25k app exists both as a podcast or a smartphone app.

If you download the app (rather than the podcast) you should be able to both choose Laura as your coach (and get the same encouraging words as with the podcast) as well as use your own music (Spotify or apple music or similar).

Hope that helps.

C

nowster profile image
nowsterGraduate

Once I graduated I switched to listening to spoken word podcasts and radio shows (mostly off BBC iPlayer).

lusmo profile image
lusmoGraduate

Thank you all. I just had a problem with playing the mp3 with Laura and then the iRadio and both turned off after a few minutes and the whole phone froze up so I had to restart it. This caused me to lose my running measurement. Maybe it was just a fluke, I'll try again.

For now, I've cut Laura's instructions from the mp3 and pasted them into my files, so I can only play one mp3.

But it's unnecessarily complicated, so I'll try your suggested method again. Thank you! :-) 👍

lusmo profile image
lusmoGraduate

So unfortunately the C25K application from the NHS is not available in my Apstore. 😪

CBDB profile image
CBDBGraduate in reply tolusmo

A shame.

I think the next best things in my opinion are:

- Runkeeper: Runkeeper is a tracking app with prompts and audio guided stats. Not quite as good as Laura, but you’ll get a French-accent “you went fast!” or a “well done” at specific times. The voices are actually quite funny. And Runkeeper is in my opinion the best tracking app.

- Nike Running Club, has audio guided runs, but we have heard from others that this might also be country dependant.

I did actually change the country setting of my phone to get access too much more runs on NRC, so maybe that might work for you as well.

There are some other audio guided running apps, such as Zombies, Run, which is a very fun immersive world you will be running through.

Hope you find something that works for you!

Cmoi profile image
CmoiGraduate

Hi lusmo , I think that (like me) you're outside the UK? If so, you can't get the app.

Personally I don't enjoy audio-coached runs, so was happy to ditch Laura once I'd completed C25K. I listen to music, podcasts, or nothing at all other than the sounds of the environment where I'm running.

Lots of people are fans of the free Nike Run Club (NRC) app, which offers a variety of guided runs. However, be aware that it too varies from country to country. Living in France I can only get the French version, which isn't a problem for me linguistically, but isn't the same as the English language version.

Another option would be to use an app such as Strava with voice prompts for distance. Hope you find something that suits you!

Jamesrunsforlife profile image
JamesrunsforlifeGraduate

Depends what mood I’m in sometimes heavy metal at the moment is Karl Pilkington /Ricky Gervais podcast on Spotify and I use AirPods Pro 👍

NovemberRain16 profile image
NovemberRain16Graduate

I’m using Time to Run with Apple Fitness Plus and am enjoying it, though I’m not sure if that’s what you’d be looking for.

They are guided runs, including a playlist of music fitting the theme of the session as well as info on sights, fun facts and other curious things about the location.

So basically a mix of guidance, music and audio book

MrBassmanjazz profile image
MrBassmanjazzGraduate

I've used Soptify all the way through. You can find a slightly harder Laura on Strength and Flex.

I went to NRC. (A lot of the ladies sem to like Coach Bennet).

Freecloud profile image
FreecloudGraduate

You can actually download directly from NHS site

nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/r...

Just download the week your on. I think it has music with it. This is what I did for my c25k and consolidation runs.

I then went into podcasts and then playlists or NRC guided runs. I'm now listening to audiobooks so I can enjoy a good run whilst reading a book at the same time 🥳

lusmo profile image
lusmoGraduate in reply toFreecloud

Yes, thank you, I do that too.

I would probably be fine running the C25K app (without music) and any music or audiobook in the background.

But the C25K app is not available in my Apple Store.

I remember it was there before, I even found it on my phone.

But it wouldn't start and couldn't even update.

I'll try to look up the NRC, but I wanted to use Laura's encouraging words for a while longer. I'm sorry it's not possible.

And I don't want to jailbreak or try geographically different AppStor for it (it would turn off again anyways).

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