Marathon

When thousands of runners take to the streets for a marathon, they come equipped with a serious hunger for competition, a deep-down desire to top their personal best . . . and, of course, a need for music that motivates. Whether they're fresh off the starting line or digging it out through the last few, grueling miles, they'll need the right tunes — tracks that take hold of the mind and body, getting the blood rushing and the feet moving. While Tom Petty pumps in a full tank of adrenaline with "Runnin' Down a Dream," De La Soul injects Gorillaz's "Feel Good Inc." with one of the heart-racin'est, head-bobbin'est choruses in all of hip-hop. As for the Chemical Brothers' "Galvanize" — six minutes of Q-Tip-fortified big-beat breakdown — the title says it all.

Our Next Steps section's got the cuts every marathoner needs to kick the pace up to the next level.

Every long-distance runner has their own personal accelerator, and every marathon has that moment when punching that pedal through the floor isn't so much a choice as a necessity. Which is when some Diamond Dave-fronted Van Halen ("Runnin' with the Devil") hits the bloodstream like a dose of adrenaline. Then there's Deee-Lite — fronted by the lissome Lady Miss Kier — who remind us that "Groove Is in the Heart"…and under our feet, thanks to a rhythm track that just won't be denied. And let's not forget the Ohio Players' "Love Rollercoaster," an invitation to race until steam comes out of your ears, and Bowie's "Rebel Rebel," rolling like syncopated thunder — practically daring you to stand still.

It's time to head into the home stretch, so reach out for those Dixie cups, down the contents, and dig in with our Deep Cuts.

You're nearing the finish line, and your legs are beginning to feel like rubber, your heart (which has somehow climbed up to your skull) is pounding like a jackhammer, and you're in need of some Rocky-caliber sonic motivation. Welcome to our Marathon Deep Cuts, where Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders take it to the pavement right alongside you in the "Middle of the Road"; where Wreckx-N-Effect drop a big-bottom beat onto the Saturday night goodness of "Rump Shaker," driving your rump straight ahead to its destination; and where Fine Young Cannibals' "Good Thing" is an utterly irresistible call to beat the odds (or to ignore the odds) and keep on moving. Feel those beads? That's good sweat.

Look, if you're willing to step up to a marathon, the mother of all physical endurance challenges, the least we can do is cook up the mother of all marathon playlists — 75 tracks of pure, uncut music-as-motivation designed to propel runners over 26 miles of asphalt at a steady clip. Whether it's your first marathon or you're looking to beat last year's best time, our Marathon Essentials is riding shotgun all the way, pumping out four hours of locomotive, trunk-rattlin' protein-packed tunes — all the songs you'll need to send you flying through the finishing line tape, accomplishing one of the biggest feats of your life.