Whether you’re running outside or just best running songs, Published: Nov 01, 2024 9:28 AM EDT blown goal. That’s why we’re putting together 90-minute playlists each month chock-full of songs with enough of a beat to keep you moving. For even more tunes, check out our list of the best running songs.
It would be nearly impossible to top the kind of day Dakotah Popehn (Lindwurm) experienced on August 11, 2024. Not only did the 29-year-old professional turn out a superb performance at the Olympic women’s marathon in Paris (she finished 12th as the top-performing American), but also afterward got engaged to her boyfriend now husband, Montana Popehn.
“When he got down on one knee, I felt like I was on another planet,” she told Runner’s World. “I feel like I almost blacked out. The whole day is a blur because it was just so many highs.”
Of course Popehn’s performance in Paris was built on years of training. The Minnesotan has run several marathons, and she has amassed a pretty impressive resume, including back-to-back wins at the 2021 and 2022 Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota. Earlier this year, she placed third at the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials with an impressive 2:25:31 and somehow managed to sneak in a half marathon PR of 1:08:04 over the summer.
Perhaps part of her Paris performance, however, can also be attributed to smooth jazz saxophonist Kenny G. Regarding the morning of the Olympic Marathon, Popehn recalled, “We started at the village and they put us on a bus to the start line. I was listening to Kenny G, like smooth jazz. I have a very all over the place taste in music.” There’s nothing to calm prerace jitters quite like the dulcet tones of an alto sax.
With Paris in the rearview, Popehn is currently gearing up for her third marathon of the year: The chatted with Popehn over the phone in early October, she was just getting ready to enter the. When Runner’s World chatted with Popehn over the phone in early October, she was just getting ready to enter the taper phase of her training.
“I am still full force through the end of this week,” she said regarding her training. “It’s been going really well. Paris was a really difficult course, and it definitely took a toll on me, but I’ve been feeling better every week, which is exactly what you want.”
Running New York this year is a little bit about redemption for Popehn, who dropped out of the 2022 race. For those who don’t remember, that was an incredibly MARATHONER: What to Expect When Training for and Running a Marathon. “And oddly enough,” Popehn said, “one of the coolest falls we had in Minnesota. Coming from like 30-degree weather and snow, I really was not prepared for the heat.”
This year, she’s been getting in a sauna more, so hopefully she’s ready should the sun come in hot. “I’m older and wiser now,” she added, “So I think I can handle a hot day a bit better.”
In honor of her Olympic achievements and her return to New York, we’ve asked Popehn to guest DJ our November running playlist.
While she, like most pros, don’t always run while listening to music, she said she uses music as a little treat. “If I’m feeling like I really don’t want to go out for my afternoon double,” she said, “I use it.”
In addition to Kenny G, Popehn’s running favorites include Taylor Swift and “slower, long ballads that build throughout. There’s something about really emotional music that I enjoy when I’m running.” She’s also been listening to the Minnesotan band Hippo Campus “on repeat.”
While crafting her playlist for Runner’s World, Popehn certainly leaned into the emotional ballads, adding songs from LÉON, Hozier, and Enya to those of Swift and Hippo Campus.
And of course, when she texted over the final product she wrote, “Including a couple of my favorites from Kenny G!”
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Dakotah Lindwurm Is Top American at Olympics MARATHONER: What to Expect When Training for and Running a Marathon, published by Rizzoli Publications. His writing has appeared in Runner's World and BuzzFeed All About 75 Hard “P.S. You’re Wrong: A Pop Culture Podcast.” Originally from Michigan, he now lives and runs in New York City, where he is pursuing a career as an expert chicken tender taster.
