The Newport marathon 2026 playlist

Music is very important to me when I run. I know some people run without it, but I’m not one of them! If I’m running on my own, with my husband, running parkrun (unless I’m pacing) or in a race, I’m listening to music. For short runs, I’ll listen to an album. But for anything over eight miles, I like a playlist.

I normally make a new playlist for every big race (half marathon upwards). There are a lot of similarities in my playlists. Every single one of them has The Funeral by Yungblud. And every one since Stick Season by Noah Kahan was released in the UK has had Stick Season. Apart from that, there is a bit of a variation!

For Newport marathon, I knew it needed to be good. For starters, it needed to be more than twice as long as my half marathon playlists. When I ran the marathon in 2024, I went for nearly all punk. This time, I decided to chill out slightly on the punk, but it got more punk towards the end. And some of the tracks from my favourite artists I chose weren’t my favourite songs, they were the ones which I felt would motivate me by being quite heavy with a good beat.

I actually started assembling my playlist a few months ago. I’ve listened to some new albums over the last year, which I wanted to make sure were included – Idols by Yungblud (of course!), More by Pulp, Antidepressants by Suede, Britpop by Robbie Williams and I’m Only F**ing Myself by Lola Young. I initially went for three Robbie Williams songs from Britpop, but I’d forgotten two absolute playlist classics – Screamager by Therapy! and Zombie by The Cranberries. I don’t listen to anything else by these two artists, but I absolutely love those tracks and they work brilliantly for running.

My running coach, Fi Barnes of Run Cotswolds, is also a big believer in the power of music for running. She persuaded me that I needed to start on a happy track. So I went for a last-minute change and started the same way I did in 2024 – What a Beautiful Day and World Freakshow, both by Levellers. This was the only time I played two tracks by the same artist consecutively. She said I should repeat my ‘happy song’ at 20 miles – or play another equally happy song. She said it’s OK to have punk unless the words are depressing eg if a song was about being hurt or in pain, it can mess with your head and put you in a bad place.

The songs I like are angry rather than miserable, so I felt confident with my choices. I was also happy with my 20 mile song when it came on and thought I must remember to tell her I’d chosen a good song. Then I forgot what it was!

In the last two weeks before the marathon, I had a musical palette cleanse. I avoided listening to any of the tracks on my playlist, which is easier said than done for me. I had a nice couple of weeks listening to Simon and Garfunkel, Kaiser Chiefs and Suede (from all the older albums.)

It took me a long time to sort the order of my playlist out. It’s not perfect, but I think I got it just about right. It kept me happy and running to my target pace for 26.2 miles around Newport. So here it is in all its 90s punk pop glory…

• What a Beautiful Day – Levellers – my favourite band and a reminder that I’ve trained long and hard for this, it should be a beautiful day!
• World Freakshow – Levellers – the first song off the first album always feels like a good place to start
• Hello Heaven, Hello – Yungblud – another first song, this time off Idols, Yungblud’s most recent album. An absolutely epic nine minutes of rock
• Broken Music for Broken People – Suede – a fantastic track from the new album. My coach probably wouldn’t agree with references to ‘broken people’
• Do You Remember the First Time? – Pulp – generally I prefer Different Class, but this from His ‘n’ Hers is great for running
• Memories – Yungblud – lots of drama make it perfect for running (although possibly should have had a slightly bigger gap between Yungblud tracks)
• Spies – Robbie Williams – the best track from Britpop, but there are lots of good ones
• Welcome to the Cheap Seats – The Wonder Stuff – really rousing and fun, one of their best
• I Have No Answers – Levellers – not a favourite track, but works really well for running
• Spiders – Lola Young – one of the most beautiful, angry rock songs I’ve heard for a very long time
• Flowers in the Window – Travis – my favourite Travis track. Most definitely not punk or rock
• Machine Gun (F**k the NRA) – Yungblud – classic Yungblud anger is just what I need when running
• Disintegrate – Suede – another brilliant track from the new album. Possibly my coach wouldn’t agree with me listening to a song about disintegrating while running
• Hot To Go! – Chappell Roan – fun, with loads of attitude
• Subvert – Levellers – another Levellers track which isn’t my favourite, but is just what I need when running
• Here Comes Everyone – The Wonder Stuff – possibly my favourite Wonder Stuff track ever. It’s not one of their better known ones, but is totally anthemic
• Tina – Pulp – the second best track on More is really good fun
• Vagabonds – New Model Army – I first heard this when I was clubbing underage. Really rousing and angry. Sometimes I forget how much I love New Model Army
• Lovesick Lullaby – Yungblud – I have mixed feelings about this one. I’m not sure if I like it as much as his other songs, but it is fun for running
• The Likes of You and I – Levellers – anthemic and beautiful. One of my favourite Levellers tracks, which they never play live
• Come Out 2 Nite – Kenickie – brilliant girly, teenage punk from the 90s
• Babies – Pulp – the words are fun and dramatic and it’s good to run to
• Don’t Feel Like Feeling Sad Today – Yungblud – don’t feel like feeling sad today has got to be a good message, right? Just the right level of anger for my running
• The Fear – Levellers – a really good beat, some anger and more words my running coach probably want me to listen to while running
• Antidepressants – Suede – does contain the word ‘happy’, but not really a happy song. Also contains the words ‘there’s shit on the walls’
• Zombie – The Cranberries – absolute classic anger. Can’t beat it for running
• Smells Like Teen Spirit – Nirvana – no words needed.
• What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? – REM – fun and upbeat. I realised a while ago that the rest of the album (Monster) is virtually unlistenable for me in my old age
• Change – Yungblud (not to be confused with Changes) – the most beautiful and underrated song on the new album, in my humble opinion
• Spike Island – Pulp – the best Pulp track since Common People. An absolute modern classic
• Feminonmenon – Chappell Roan – anger and nonsense to a slightly crazy beat. Love it
• d£ealer – Lola Young – love the track, love the words. Contains the words ‘f*ck all the running’, which makes me laugh
• Supermoon – Yungblud – anthemic track from the end of Idols (well, it was the end until he released some more tracks to complete the album in February)
• Better Than Them – New Model Army – drama and a haunting voice which just makes me think of a miserable town in the winter in the 1980s. Exactly what my coach wouldn’t want me thinking of while running!
• June Rain – Suede – anthemic and the most peaceful of the Suede tracks on my playlist
• Bicycle Race – Queen – because there isn’t a song called Running Race
• Zombie – Yungblud – I’m the biggest Yungblud fan and this is absolutely beautiful, but is it the best or second best track called Zombie?
• 15 Years – Levellers – one of the best (and best-known) Levellers tracks
• Common People – Pulp – one of the best songs ever full stop
• Pink Pony Club – Chappell Roan – the best Chappell Roan track and great for lifting the spirits
• War – Yungblud – lots of drama from Yungblud’s latest album
• On the Ropes – The Wonder Stuff – I’d forgotten all about this song, then fell in love with it last year and it has been on every playlist since!
• What You Know – Levellers – nice fast pace for running, another track that I wouldn’t generally think of as a favourite
• Punka – Kenickie – absolutely brilliant female punk pop with lots of attitude
• The Funeral – Yungblud – one of my favourite songs ever. It was this which got me listening to Yungblud in the first place. I listened to the album pretty much non-stop for three months at the end of 2022
• Stick Season – Noah Kahan – not sure how these two classics ended up together on my playlist, but this was obviously a high point in the race
• Radio Ass Kiss – The Wonder Stuff – one of my favourite Wonder Stuff tracks with a bit of a 90s indie kind of rap in it, which is quite rousing!
• The Game – Levellers – a classic popular Levellers track from Levelling the Land
• Turn – Travis – my second favourite Travis song, which is much more rock than Flowers in the Window
• Strawberry Lipstick – Yungblud – everything I love about Yungblud
• Carry Me – Levellers – the very first Levellers song I ever heard (underage clubbing again) and still an absolute classic
• Caught in My Shadow – The Wonder Stuff – a nice, dramatic and uplifting song
• Losing My Religion – REM – a lot less punk! Just a beautiful track
• Mr Brightside – The Killers – too obvious? Maybe, but it is brilliant to run to
• 21st Century Liability – Yungblud – really shouty, just what I needed towards the end of my race. Featuring the word ‘bollocks’ in two subtly different contexts. What’s not to love?
• Liberty Song – Levellers – another absolute classic Levellers songs
• Golden Green – The Wonder Stuff – fun song with a country vibe. Should probably have used this one earlier on the playlist!
• Breakthru – Queen – this is a brilliant song to run to, especially near the end of the race. The words ‘Breakthru these barriers of pain’ are perfect for helping me pick up my pace at the end of the race. Another song by a favourite artist which isn’t actually a favourite track
• god save me, but don’t drown me out – Yungblud – the most fantastic, sweary Yungblud song, which gave me the inspiration for a predominantly punk playlist back before I ran the Newport marathon in 2024
• Screamager – Therapy? – punk brilliance. I love the words and the attitude. It makes me feel like I’m 19, not 52
• Angels – Robbie Williams – a classic ‘end of the night’ song from my clubbing days seems appropriate for the end of a run. Although I didn’t actually get to hear it as I ran too fast!
• One Way – Levellers – this absolute classic is the perfect song for approaching the finish line for a huge Levellers fan, even though I didn’t actually get to listen to it
• We Are the Champions – Queen – because what else would I cross the finish line to? (Although I didn’t actually. I listened to it when I was picking my bag up!)

So that’s my niche and nerdy playlist and the reasons behind my choices. What tracks do you like to run to?