On Sunday 13 September, thousands of runners took part in the Sure Run to the Beat event at Wembley Park, London.
For those not familiar with the event, it’s a 10K race with multiple music stages on the way, with the view of keeping you pumped and energetic.
Featuring on the stages this year among others, was; former JLS band member Marvin Humes, BBC Radio 1 DJ’s Danny Howard and Jameela Jamil and Capital Xtra’s Jay London.
When there’s not a music stage, a downloadable Deezer playlist is available to you, along with a free 30-day premium trial.
Once you finish the race, the after-party’s only getting started.
We catch up with Danny Howard on how he found the day:
Q: How have you found Sure Run To The Beat today?
A: It was the weirdest/best/earliest gig I’ve ever done. You know, 9.30am on a Sunday morning, usually I’m just getting in, so to actually be here up and ready and playing, it was fun and also I didn’t know what to expect. I played in Dundee last night so I was up at my hotel room having a full English breakfast at 04.50 in the morning, got a 06:30 flight to be here at 08:30, so I was a bit tired, a bit grumpy, but then when I saw everyone really up for it, and the energy around the place, it just put me in a good mood. I got to start the race, sound the air horn, play some good tunes so yeah, it was really good.
Q: You were on the warm up stage, did you find there were any particular songs that got people excited and got them moving?
A: I think there wasn’t one song in particular that got people moving but, I turned up with not having a clue what to play, I didn’t know what to expect, whether there would be people there or what to play at a running event so I just kept it familiar, played lots of commercial, upbeat, energetic tracks and that seemed to do the trick! When I was looking over at the starting line people were nodding along and jogging on the spot to the tunes so that was good enough for me.
Q: What’s your standard workout routine like?
A: Have you heard of Barry’s boot camp? I went to that on Friday, it took me about 10 minutes to sit on this chair, it was so intense! I’ve got a severe case of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). So on Friday I finished this really intense, army style boot camp training session and I thought “oh, I’ve got away with it”, I’d not done any exercise for weeks but then I woke up Saturday a little bit achy, and then I woke up this morning and oh my gosh, the DOMS! But yeah, so in terms of my stance on fitness and running, I do try to keep a good general level of fitness. With touring around and DJing a lot it is hard to get something regular going but, as and when I can I go to the gym or go for a run or go to Barry’s boot camp – I think it’s really important.
Q: What’s your best 10K time?
A: Well, it was after two hours sleep the night before but, it was 52 minutes! I was quite happy with that!
Q: Going forward, would you ever consider doing a marathon?
A: Yeah, I’ve definitely considered it, I nearly signed up for one last year actually. I looked at my schedule and I looked at what marathons were on across the whole year and I think it was Chester or somewhere that fit. I nearly signed up, but then I backed out last minute because a few other gigs came up. I think when I do a marathon, I want to do it properly, because at the moment I’m just so busy that I’ve only got time to do it half-heartedly. But, it’s definitely an aim, it’s definitely something I’m going to tick off eventually.
Q: How important do you think it is generally to lead a healthy lifestyle?
A: I do think it is very important to lead a healthy lifestyle. For the start of this summer, when I was doing my gigs, I was partying a lot to get involved with the crowd and towards the end of the summer I was like, ‘I need to just slow down a bit,’ so now I don’t drink at gigs, I always make sure I eat healthy food. I’m always making sure I’m eating healthily and doing what I’m there to do as a DJ but, also making sure I look after myself as well so I’m able to keep up this busy schedule.
Q: What influence do you think music has on you when you work out?
A: That’s something I looked at whilst at University a lot, and for me personally, when I work out with music it just gives you that little bit extra. I think, people say it gives you that extra 10-20% which is probably true but I don’t know the exact percentages but it definitely, definitely helps as opposed to not working out. People have different methods though, people say training with a partner is better; I personally like to train on my own because I like to go in and get it done at my own pace. People like to train without music and have a chat, it’s different, and I think each to their own really. But, if you want to really push yourself then I think that little bit of music will help.
Q: Do you have any particular songs or playlists that you have on when you’re working out or running?
A: No, I use the gym as an opportunity to listen to promos of new music. But, I load them all on to my phone and always make sure they’re something high energy or catches my ear. I always make sure when I’m working out that I’ve got something with good energy; something upbeat that’ll keep me going.
