Gillian Deacon, broadcaster and author of the recently published There's Lead in Your Lipstick : Toxins in Our Everyday Body Care and How to Avoid Them , loves to runs trails, often singing as she goes. (She's got a great voice; in her 20s, she sang in bands.) And whether she's running solo or with friends, those musical miles offer welcome distraction from the stress of daily life.
When did you start?
"I started running at 38 because a friend and I decided to work up to a marathon at 40. Since then, she did the marathon; I did a 10K and two half-marathons."
Where do you run?
I run through the Don Valley Trail in Toronto, and in nicer weather on the weekends I go through the ravine system off Glen Road bridge to Moore Park. I run a couple times a week in the mornings for about 40 minutes, weekends over an hour.
What song gets you started?
A ukulele song by Elliott Brood called The Valley Town; it makes me forget the circumstances I'm not happy about. This track is chirpy and energetic acoustic folk rock. A guy plays an overturned suitcase for drums, so it's got a busker-type vibe. It builds from a single riff to harmonies, and there's a nice release where the singer throws his head back singing "I long for her still" - it's uplifting.
What song gets you up a tough hill?
The Step and The Walk by The Duke Spirit is rock with interesting female vocals and a driving groove that makes me feel like dancing.
What track gives you an energy boost?
Delivery by Babyshambles has urgent guitar strumming that pumps me up the hills, and then there's an interesting harmonic thing in the chorus. For long runs, Hard Road by Sam Roberts is perfect for that open ribbon of road. I love its poetry; it's a song that celebrates without denying the challenges along the way.
What tune concludes your run?
Melanie Doane is a friend, and Sweet on Youfrom her new record is upbeat. Or Little Bit of Feel Good by Jamie Lidell - funky, playful, and the lyrics reinforce the physical feeling "Whoa, I did it," an affirmation that I did something hard.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
Special to The Globe and Mail