Run, Karla, Run!

Baby You’re Much Too Fast: Running Prince Playlist

Oh, Prince. I don’t normally wax poetic when celebrities die, but this one hits close to home.

I’m a bona fide Prince fanatic. Apparently, I’m the first person my friends and family think of when they think of Prince, as I learned upon the news of his death. His music is the soundtrack to my life. I’ve followed him through vinyl, cassette, CDs and digital downloads, often rebuying his music in each new format. I still own Purple Rain, 1999, and Parade in vinyl. I could never bring myself to part with them.

My Purple Rain record

Prince first came on my radar in 1982 with “Little Red Corvette.” I loved the song for one simple reason: I was a kid and my dad happened to have a red Corvette. Listening to the song in his red Corvette? I thought it was the coolest thing in the world.

Of course, I had no idea what the song was really about, but it was the beginning of a love affair that would last my entire life. 25 years later as an adult in an ’80s cover band, I insisted we cover The Purple One, adding “Kiss,” “Raspberry Beret,” and “Let’s Go Crazy” to the set-list.

Prince was my first crush, the first man I wanted to marry. I was 6 when Purple Rain came out and I thought we were MFEO because we both loved purple. Purple Rain was the first album I picked out for myself. I even got in trouble in Catholic school for adding “When Doves Cry” to a picture of the dove of peace that I printed on a school dot-matrix printer. It’s still my favorite color and Prince is still my favorite artist.

My fave: Sign ‘O’ The Times

Purple Rain still holds a special place in my heart, but my favorite Prince album is probably Sign ‘O’ The Times. Every song just crushes it.

I saw Prince in concert twice, and wore purple each time. He remains the most electrifying performer I have ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of the legends—Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Robert Plant, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, Whitney Houston, George Michael, and more—and contemporary artists like Lady Gaga, Beck, Wilco, and more.

So in honor of His Royal Badness, here is my Prince playlist for running in the Purple Rain. I’ve also included a Warm-Up and Cool-Down set to sneak in all of my faves.

So slap on some purple and hit the road with Prince. After all, he did sing: “I wanna be the only one that makes you come running.”

The Ultimate Running Prince Playlist

• Soft and Wet, For You, 1978
• I Wanna Be Your Lover, Prince, 1979
• When You Were Mine, Dirty Mind, 1980
• Uptown, Dirty Mind, 1980
• Controversy, Controversy, 1981
• Little Red Corvette, 1999, 1982
• 1999, 1999, 1982
• Delirious, 1999, 1982
• When Doves Cry, Purple Rain, 1984
• Let’s Go Crazy, Purple Rain, 1984
• I Would Die 4 You, Purple Rain, 1984
• Raspberry Beret, Around The World In A Day, 1985
• Kiss, Parade, 1986
• Girls & Boys, Parade, 1986
• New Position, Parade, 1986
• I Could Never Take The Place of Your Man, Sign ‘O” The Times, 1987
• U Got The Look, Sign ‘O’ The Times, 1987
• Housequake, Sign ‘O’ The Times, 1987
• Alphabet St., Lovesexy, 1988
• Batdance, Batman, 1989
• Thieves in the Temple, Graffiti Bridge, 1990
• Get Off, Diamonds and Pearls, 1991
• Sexy M.F., , 1992
• Pope, The Hits/The B-Sides, 1993
• Hot Wit U, Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, 1999
• Illusion, Coma, Pimp & Circumstance, Musicology, 2004
• Musicology, Musicology, 2004
• Chelsea Rodgers, Planet Earth, 2007
• Art Official Cage, Art Official Age, 2014
• Funknroll, Plectrumelectrum, 2014
• Stare, HITNRUN Phase Two, 2015

Read the rest of this entry →

Koss FitClips

I asked and you answered: What are your favorite running songs?

Thank you to everyone who shared their faves and to everyone who entered my Koss Fit Series earbuds giveaway!

Rafflecopter has chosen two winners at random, who will each get a pair of Koss FitClips and FitBuds, courtesy of Koss.

But first, I put all of your favorite running songs into a playlist for easy sampling. (Except for Girl Talk’s “All Day,” which isn’t on Spotify. So I added a different Girl Talk mash-up instead.) Maybe you’ll find something new or something you forgot about to add to your playlist.

Your Favorite Running Songs

Koss Fit Series Giveaway Winners

Read the rest of this entry →

Rocky cheers on runners at the GORE-TEX Philadelphia Marathon. (Photo: Philadelphia Marathon)

The 2014 GORE-TEX Philadelphia Marathon on Sunday, November 23 is a little over 10 weeks away. I’m running as a guest of GORE-TEX, my second tango in City of Brotherly Love. The 2012 race is where I ran my current marathon personal best of 4:28. I’m looking to put a huge dent in that number. So far, all my training and racing points to “Yes!”

To help me get excited and inspired to run the streets of Philadelphia (see what I did there?), I put together a Philadelphia Running Playlist with 20 songs about the Birthplace of America that make for good running company. Use it for any Cradle of Liberty race you might be running: GORE-TEX Philadelphia Marathon and Half Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon, Blue Cross Broad Street Run or any other event.

Enjoy and please list in the comments any great Philly running songs I may have missed!

Philadelphia Running Playlist

1) “Gonna Fly Now” Bill Conti

(Photo: ©Scott D Welch/Flickr via CC BY 2.0 license)

No Philadelphia running mix would be complete without the theme from Rocky.

2) “I-76″ G. Love & Special Sauce

Hands down, this ode to the Philadelphia 76ers and the highways of Philly is my favorite song about the City of Brotherly Love. It will help you find your running groove for sure.

3) “Summertime” DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince

It wouldn’t be a proper Philadelphia playlist without some Will Smith. For more comic effect The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire theme song would work in a pinch. But I’ve always liked the laid back vibe of Smith’s ode to hot summer days in West Philly.

4) “Streets of Philadelphia” The Fray

Yes, The Boss’s version is the original and I’m sure many will disagree with me, but I prefer The Fray’s rendition. It feels a little more raw and running friendly. Either way, lyrics like “I walked the avenue, ’til my legs felt like stone,” don’t get any better for marathon training.

5) “Philly Night” Berry Jones

A 2010 retro dance pop number from Philly collective Berry Jones, it’s the perfect song when you need to pick up the pace. Read the rest of this entry →

Singing with The FADES. (Photo: Phil Hospod)

Looking to keep your running playlist fresh? “Monday Music” is here to help. As the lead singer of an ‘80s cover band, I truly heart music. With “Monday Music,” I share a song, album, artist or playlist that I love running to.

This week: Hear me sing with The FADES’ Chris Potter. It’s a song great for running, written and performed by runners.

Singing With The FADES

I love the ’80s. I love the ’80s so much that I’m in an ’80s cover band, The FADES. I sing a lot and play keys a little and shake some tambourine.

Being in a band has been a really fun way to keep up my passion for music and performing. We play weddings, parties, corporate events and the occasional bar. We even got a nice mention on Lonny.com last month.

But being in The FADES also fuels my passion for running—five out of the six members of The FADES are runners—fast runners. With a 4:28 marathon personal record, I’m the slowest of the bunch. The fastest FADE clocks in at 2:37. Read the rest of this entry →

If you’re like me, you crank the radio full blast and start fist pumping when you hear “I Love It” by Swedish music duo Icona Pop from their EP Iconic. It’s a great song for a running playlist, and probably the song I will forever associate with the summer of ’13.

But Icona Pop is just the latest in a string of Swedish imports since ABBA to storm American radio waves.

In honor of loving “I Love It,” the first installment of “Monday Music” is dedicated to artists from the land of Ikea.

Looking to keep your running playlist fresh? “Monday Music” is here to help. As the lead singer of an ‘80s cover band, I truly heart music. So every Monday, I share a song, album, artist or playlist that I love running to. This week: Swedish Running Playlist. Read the rest of this entry →

Mickey Miles Podcast

A podcast all about all things runDisney? You bet!

Check out the latest episode of the Mickey Miles Podcast when I chat with hosts Mike and Michelle about what makes runDisney events so much fun.

We also talk about how I got started running. If you don’t already know the story, it’s pretty crazy. I share my favorite runDisney moment, talk shop about “On The Run,” the new Dopey Challenge, the Walt Disney World Marathon and lots more.

Mickey Miles Podcast featuring Run, Karla, Run!

Listen online, in itunes or here.

New runDisney Page

Also, be sure to check out my new runDisney page, where you can find all of my Disney running stories in one place, including race reports, costume guides, features on celebrities like Drew Carey, tips from Jeff Galloway, a behind the scenes look at runDisney, news and more.

Check it out here! Read the rest of this entry →

Jenny Simpson is one of many Olympians and World Champions visited by “On The Run.” (Photo: NYRR)

“The Marathon Show” is a great podcast for anyone who loves to run, especially folks who love to run marathons. It’s a fantastic listen during a long run, car ride or any other time you have a few minutes to spare.

This week, I was a guest on “The Marathon Show!” I chatted with host Joe Taricani about “On The Run,” the New York Road Runners’ web show I started hosting this fall. We also talked about the upcoming ING New York City Marathon. So if you’re running that race or will be watching it on TV, you’ll definitely want to give a listen.

You can find The Marathon Show on BlogTalkRadio, download episodes on iTunes, or listen below.

The Marathon Show: A TV Show For Runners

Ever wonder about television coverage of the ING New York City Marathon, London Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Chicago, LA Marathon, and many other races around the world?

The Marathon Show with Joe Taricani did an excellent interview with Steve Mayer, executive producer for IMG Media, which produces the television broadcast for the ING New York City Marathon in cooperation with ESPN and New York Road Runners, the organization that puts on the race. Mayer and IMG Media have produced broadcasts for many marathons around the world including LA and London.

In this episode of The Marathon Show, Steve and Joe chat about the ins-and-outs of marathon coverage, feature stories on the docket, and what the new ESPN partnership means for the event. Read the rest of this entry →

There are lots of runDisney races out there—the Walt Disney World Marathon, the Tinker Bell Half Marathon, Disney’s Princess Half Marathon, the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon and many more—and thousands of people who run them. If all those Disney runners are anything like me, I’m guessing they’ve got a few Disney tunes on their iPods to help get them in the mood. What are your favorite Disney songs to run to?

In the spirit of sharing, here are mine. These are the Disney songs that have gotten me into the Disney running spirit, and made me feel like a kid again as I’ve trained for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon. Read the rest of this entry →

I listen to a lot of music from the ‘80s—a lot—especially when I run. Since I’m in an ‘80s cover band, The FADES, I’m often learning “new” tunes. Running gives me extra time to drill them into my head. But more than that, I love the ‘80s as a musical genre (otherwise I wouldn’t be in an ‘80s cover band), and there are many, many, many songs from the ‘80s that are great for running. I even listen to ‘80s tunes that The FADES don’t cover.

So I thought I’d share my favorite ‘80s music running mix. You can download all the songs via the iTunes affiliate links provided. Enjoy! Read the rest of this entry →

Photo by Joris van Rooden

With only four days until the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7, my excitement is ramping up exponentially. So I made a New York City mix—a love note to the city I adore, and love to run. These are my favorite songs about New York. There are lots of standards, some show tunes, rock songs, folk, rap and more. It seems everybody loves to sing about New York.

Happy listening, happy running, and when you’re facing the Queensboro Bridge at mile 15 of the marathon, just remember what Simon and Garfunkel sang in “The 59^th Street Bridge Song” (another name New Yorkers use for the Queensboro): “Life—I love you. All is Groovy!”

If you have a favorite New York City song, list it below! Read the rest of this entry →

Tune into The Marathon Show to listen to a panel of runners, including Karla, discuss the ING New York City Marathon. The show is available for streaming or download on BlogTalkRadio and iTunes.

You know them instantly—those songs that always pump you up on a run, the songs you never skip when they pop up on your iPod, the songs that somehow get you to push just a little harder, even if for only three and a half minutes. I’m talking about power songs.

On Sunday, I subjected myself to almost four hours on an elliptical trainer in lieu of my last 20-mile long run before the ING New York City Marathon on Nov. 7. I’m flirting with a knee injury and my doctor told me to play it safe. If not for my iPod and tried and true power songs, I might have gone mad.

So I began to wonder: What are the awesome, amazing power songs other runners turn to when they need an extra boost? Read the rest of this entry →