In a 2005 study at Brunel University, 36 runners cut an average of half a second off their 400m times when they listened to music in a certain tempo range. Choose tunes in the bpm sweet spot – 120 to 140. To kick into high gear when you need it most, pick one fast-paced song (at least 130 bpm) whose lyrics fire you up and position it to play at the point during your run when you usually feel like crap – whether during the warm-up or at the fifteenth kilometre. With an iPod Nano and a Nike + Sport Kit, you can programme your power song to play at the press of a button.

Harder to Breathe – Maroon 5

SOS – Rihanna

Firestarter – The Prodigy

Another One Bites the Dust – Queen

Girlfriend – Avril Lavigne

Pump It Up – Elvis Costello

B.O.B. – OutKast

The Rockafeller Skank – Fatboy Slim

Here It Goes Again – OK, Go!

She Wants to Move – N.E.R.D.

Runnin’ Down a Dream – Tom Petty

Around the World (Radio Edit) – Daft Punk