This is a little something I wrote last year after my first 5k running event. It's about how I enhanced the pleasure of the experience with music. I have added links to samples of the music for you to enjoy...
There I found myself, amid sub-zero degree temperatures just outside Ottawa’s National War Museum. The electricity in the air was more noticeable than the cold, or the subtle dusting of snow that fell. I had decided to better myself by taking up jogging months earlier, and had just entered myself into my very first 5 kilometer event. It was the first ever Winterman Run, an event that took us out of our warm homes in the dead of February, and onto a scenic route along the Ottawa River, which was by now, nearly covered in snow and ice. My feelings were mixed, as I wanted to do well, but was also feeling the effects of a lingering injury that might slow me down. I had already fallen behind the pace of my regular running friends. On this day, however, I had a secret weapon in my arsenal, something that would raise this gathering of over 800 runners into something more dramatic, I had Jerry Goldsmith.
I have listened to film scores for longer than I can remember, and have always enjoyed listening to them as I go about my daily activities, basking in the way they can turn your life into a movie of your own. I must say I get a laugh out of it quite often. No other form of music can generate this kind of feeling, as all others are designed to exist on their own, film scores are designed to enhance the visual of film, so why not our daily lives? People who don’t listen to film scores will never experience the odd, funny, and exciting way that life gets enhanced by walking down the street listening to the swing of John Barry’s Bond scores, or heading home at night to the sound of Bernard Herrmann’s Psycho. These lonely moments of travel are made much more exciting, and I knew the same could be said for a 5K run.
Several days before the run, I set about creating a list of music I thought would be good to listen to. Everyone has their favourites, and mine is Jerry Goldsmith. Drawing from my collection, I amassed over half an hour of music, which is how long I thought it would take for me to complete the journey.
Fifteen minutes before the start, I played two pieces to get into the mood to run. First up was It Knows What Scares You from Jerry Goldsmith’s Poltergeist, followed immediately by Rebirth, from the same album. Surrounded by nearly a thousand people, I knew this creepy, dramatic score would hit the right note and amplify how exciting it is to take part in these huge events. Without taking part, you really can’t imagine the charge you get with that many athletes waiting, and prepared to do their best. Listening to excerpts of Poltergeist only made it just that much more. The raw dramatic and emotional content of those two pieces made the event feel much more important, as if my life depended on it (okay maybe not, but it's a much safer adrenalin rush than parachuting, so I went with it).
Suddenly we all got a big surprise as the 100 millimeter cannon shot off not more that fifty feet away, and we all felt the concussive blast. We were running at the War Museum, so yeah, they were going to use artillery as a starter’s pistol! Then on cue, the race started and up came my next selection, Tryouts, and then Take Us Out from Rudy. The rhythmic build to this song went perfectly as I and my friends, emboldened by 800 others began to run. With so many people, it took a minute to reach our pace speed, and this only gave us time to enjoy the smiles and excitement that seemed to pour out of the eager multitude. By the time Jerry Goldsmith was in full swing, so were we, and since it was my first event, it was astounding. Running along with so many people, it triggers the primal parts of your brain, and I recommend anyone to try it at least once.
As we travelled the first straightaway, the music changed to Hang On from Deep Rising, just as we reached the first bend in the route. This piece of music has always been a guilty pleasure for me. It certainly came from a less than stellar film, but that never stopped Jerry from putting out a stellar score. After several minutes of melodrama, this new track brought a darker tone, to match the slush and water that penetrated our shoes. It was a very warm day for February in Ottawa, which usually sees temperatures of -20 celsius or more by then, and to top it off, a layer of wet slush fell from the sky to try and convince us to give up.
As Raid On Leonesse from First Knight began, the start was far behind, and where I was going I had no idea. It was the first time this event had been staged, so I just followed the crowd. By now I was starting to tire a bit, and wondered just how I was going to do in the end. I had only once run 5K before in my life, so I knew I could do it, but due to the pains in my leg that I had been fighting off for weeks, I was tired of running at the back of my pack. This time I wanted to come first.
As the track winded and turned, No Sale and Under The Train from King Solomon’s Mines began. The sheer adventure and enthusiasm to the music helped me not dwell on where the half-way mark was.
Then as we veered around a corner, we saw the post, and the water station that signified the turn around point. We had made it half way, and The Game and Flaming Village had begun from Rambo III. This music brought up a notch in the intensity as I felt my energy dipping. I was heading back now. Still lingering behind my friends, but managing to keep them in sight.
We winded through the riverside roads increasingly covered in slush, feeling the cold water pass through our easy to breath running shoes, and began to see the long straightaway to the finnish. Coinciding was The Scorpion, Engage, and Final Flight from Star Trek Nemesis. These cues, probably the darkest in tone from my selection (excluding the pre-run Poltergeist of course), easily underlined the struggle I was starting to feel nearing the end.
So by now I was on the long straightaway, tiring, and looking forward to the last 1 minute walk break before the finnish. My friends were starting to stray farther ahead of me, and some even vanished in the sea of bodies. As the second last cue in my list of recordings came to an end, two things happened. One, I came within sight of the finnish line, and a part of me knew it would be ridiculous to stop, now that I was so close. Second, my only exception to the almost exclusive Jerry Goldsmith playlist, came Arthur B. Rubinstein’s Closing The Mountain from WarGames.
This is a piece I had been waiting for. It is a cue that is so perfect for running that I just had to add it to my list. I had no idea how great it would be. When that cue started, I picked up the pace. I was tired, breathing heavily, and wanted to stop, but somewhere, hidden in a pocket, or a corner of my lung that I’ve never used before, came a wave of fresh energy. I was only jogging up to this point, but now I was running. I past by my friends who were expecting to make another 1 minute walk break, and immediately followed and continued.
By now I had left them behind, and spurred on this time by Arthur B. Rubinstein, I barreled along the course, trying not to bump into my fellow runners. Though I didn’t actually believe that I was trying to avert WWIII, as Matthew Broderick was in the movie, I was nevertheless enjoying the thrill the music gave me as I crossed the finnish line.
In all it was a great day, made more dramatic, and rousing with a couple of great composers along for the ride. I have modified my selection in other events since, but I have always ended with Rubinstein’s Closing The Mountain. For some reason it kicks me in the backside, and gets me moving no matter how tired I am, straight to the finnish. The day was a dramatic example of how film scores can add to the enjoyment of life, allow you to escape just a little, and make your life into a movie. If you’re going on a long commute, walking to the grocery store, or doing exercise, there is so much enjoyment to be found in letting great composers enhance your life with the score of your choice. It’s something people need to do more often, let go, relax, be a bit child-like and let your imagination go where it wants to.
