Training

A marathon playlist is a pacing tool, not background noise. How to structure music for all four phases of 26.2 miles, rehearse it in training, and pin your best songs to the course itself.

A route-based playlist ties each song to a physical spot on your running or cycling route instead of a position in a queue. Here is how to build one, step by step.

Strava tracks the workout. On Cue Music Player plays location-triggered music along the same route. Here is how runners and cyclists run both apps at once — recreate your loop, pin songs to the spots that matter, start both, and go.

Learn how BPM matching works for runners, why tempo alone falls short, and how GPS-triggered music delivers better timing than beats-per-minute playlists.