Apparently my written absurdness when it comes to music is a hit1, because the people have been asking for more, and as a man of the people I feel inclined to give y’all what you want. In case you’re new to the program (that’s rude of you, but you can redeem yourself by catching up), the first was introducing the world to the tunes spinning inside Norbella HQ, the second was remixed for the holiday season, and now I’m back again for round three, this time dropping knowledge for the most epic running playlist imaginable in preparation for the Boston Marathon.

As a Boston-area resident for close to a decade before fleeing to sunny San Diego this past fall, I can honestly say that Marathon Monday is my favorite day of the year, and as we know, these blogs are actually all about me. Here are two nuggets to show just how much I love the Boston Marathon and all the excitement surrounding it:

I would place Marathon Monday above the day that Rihanna’s ANTI was finally released (still waiting on you, Frank Ocean) and for those that know me, that was a big deal.

I made sure to be back from Norbella’s Left Coast office as to not miss it.

Before we make it any further, let me be clear about one thing – I am NOT running the marathon, rather purely a spectator. I’ve spent enough 3rd Mondays in April down around mile 25 in Kenmore Square (and have a reasonable level of common sense) to know that it takes a long time to complete. Me attempting to run that far would be a sad and pathetic sight, and this list would probably need to be twice as long.

As with my previous forays into the music blogging sphere, I’m a big fan of making these lists in an extremely biased fashion, so that’s what you’re getting again. I’m also a big fan of structure, so below you’ll find the parameters I imposed on myself prior to curating the musical journey you’re about to embark on.

• Playlist Duration: 4 hours, 22 minutes. Everyone runs at a different pace, so I used the average time to complete a marathon – 4 hours and 21 minutes (thanks, Google!). It was hard to get it exactly right, and what’s one minute when we’re talking about this much heat coming out of your earbuds? The amount of time needed also makes this list significantly longer than my previous gifts to you all, so yes, it will take you longer to get through it. Deal with it, I promise you won’t be disappointed (and if you are, I don’t really care).

• The playlist was compiled from four ‘genres’. This is to provide some variety. I mean, variety is the spice of life, is it not?

  • EDM Bangers – bass heavy, beat dropping tracks for when you need a boost

  • Up-tempo Pop Jams – top 40 singalongs to keep your mind off the fact that you’re running from Hopkinton to Back Bay

  • Rap-alongs – quick and well known rhymes to bring out your inner rap god

  • Rock Classics – for ‘Rocky at the top of the steps’ type moments, aka the finish line

• One song per artist. In an attempt to appease the masses (more accurately my own varying tastes in music…again, it’s all about me), artists are not repeated. There are some exceptions here, but I’m making the rules here so I can do whatever I want. Here’s the breakout for getting multiple entries in:

  • Music royalty (my own personal opinion, obviously)

  • Collaborations between artists

  • Artist with more than one song too hot to pass up

Without further ado, and because it’s going to take roughly the duration of Heartbreak Hill to read through it, here’s the list for your viewing (and hopefully listening2 pleasure). One final note, the list is alphabetized by song for two reasons:

1. I’m a crazy person and love when things are alphabetized

2. I didn’t want to list by artist, then you’d immediately know who I think is music royalty. This way if you really want to know, you’ll have to hunt around for it, boosting the overall time spent on our page.

Nate’s Songs to Get You to Boylston Street (assuming you run at an average marathoner’s pace):

There you have it, folks. Over four hours of straight fire to get you through the Boston Marathon, whether running, cheering, or boozing through it. It’s so good, it would work for any of those activities.

Godspeed. See you on the route…

Footnotes: 

            1. See what I did there? Damn, I’m punny.

            2. This playlist actually exists in Spotify. I’m a crazy person and made it in Excel first, but it’s there. Spotify. Holler at me – n8leach.

            3. #FreeKesha

            3. It wouldn’t be a Nate Leach original without a mention of Kanye. I’m telling you, the man is a genius, but he needs to leave Taylor alone. She’s way more             famous than you, bro.