Long time no see! It’s been a while since I last checked in — thanks for sticking around! In this new iteration of Running Up That Hill, I’ll be publishing monthly interviews with artists and other music folks about running. For paid subscribers ($2 a month!), I’ll also be writing a column, Racing Thoughts, along with a running playlist each month. Stay tuned for the first iteration :)
In case you’re new here: I’m Arielle Gordon, a music journalist and (very) amateur runner. Running Up That Hill is a newsletter in which I try to connect those two things by interviewing runners in the broader music world about their habits, tips, and tricks. Read past issues here.
On the run with Dazy
James Goodson may not have grown up running, but like self-producing, home recording, and songwriting, the natural autodidact picked up the sport maddeningly quickly without any formal training. As Dazy, the Richmond, Virginia polymath writes fuzzy, glittering earworms that get lodged in your head for days. His last LP, 2022’s OUTOFBODY, took his songwriting to ecstatic new heights, the perfect accompaniment to a long drive or, better yet, the 10K that Goodson is training for this April. For Running Up That Hill, Goodson talked about staying motivated, taking things slow, and listening to his own in-progress mixes on runs.
When did you get into running?
I guess I’m pretty new to actually being “into” running! I would have periods of doing it regularly when I was in my early 20s but would always fall off and never took it very seriously. It wasn’t until June of last year that I decided to give it a try again and actually started really liking it. I owe a lot of that to my friend Gordon (he plays in the band Downhaul), he’s a really legit runner and when he got wind that I was trying to jump back into it he pushed me to get on Strava and has helped me stay motivated and keep progressing.
What’s a typical running schedule for you in a given week?
I try to run five days a week, sometimes six if I’m really feeling it. I usually try to do at least two longer runs and then the rest are shorter. Running definitely helps to clear my head in a big way so even aside from the exercise it’s become a pretty essential part of my day.
Do you run on tour?
I’m about to find out! We’ve done a couple tours since I started getting more serious about running but I haven’t attempted to run on tour yet, but every time I’ve gotten home I’ve been really keen to get back to it. We have a pretty lengthy tour with Narrow Head and Wishy coming up in May and I’m already trying to plan out how I can stick with running while touring. I recently switched from running at night to running in the morning and I think that’s gonna be the game changer than makes running on tour possible. Wish me luck!
As a musician, do you find that knowledge of music theory, meter, or measure helps at all with keeping a pace while you run?
I wish I had any substantial knowledge of music theory and I wish it helped me run! I definitely got into playing music through the classic punk route where technical skill is not the most important factor—so if there’s any connection there to my running approach it’s that I have to be careful not to accidentally rush every song while playing live and not to rush too much while running…
What’s the longest distance you’ve run? Do you have any running goals?
I signed up for a 10k in April, so I’ve been getting ready for that and so far the longest I’ve ever run is that 6.2 miles. My initial goal for the 10k was to finish in less than an hour and I actually just hit that with my run yesterday! So now I need to beat that time. Back in June the most I’d ever run was a little over three miles, and if you’d told me I’d be able to run a 10k by March I would have been pretty dubious—so I think overall though my goal is just to keep adding miles to my daily runs and stay at it.
What’s the run you’re proudest of?
Definitely that run yesterday!
What, if anything, do you listen to when you run?
I have sort of a system now where I usually start out listening to a podcast because when I’m first getting going I’m trying to really pay attention to my pace and not overdo it early. Then once I’m further into the run and getting tired I put on some music and it gives me a little boost. I tend to change what I’m listening to pretty often, just always trying to keep my mind off of feeling fatigued.
What, if anything, do you think about while you run?
A lot of times I’m just trying to focus on whatever I’m listening to, but I do find that when I’m running I kind of start to scheme a little bit. I’ll get ideas for music or some creative project and start feeling really ambitious and excited about it—I think endorphins make me want to make stuff! A lot of times I’ll get home from a run and while I’m cooling down I’ll grab a guitar and try to mess with some idea I’ve had while running. The idea doesn’t always hold up after the endorphins wear off but sometimes it’s good!
If you could go on a run with any musician, dead or alive, who would it be?
Honestly I usually prefer running alone so I gotta really think hard about who I would want to meet while huffing and puffing… There’s that legendary story about Joe Strummer running the Paris Marathon on a whim without training, so maybe I’d like to go for a run with him and see if he’s got any tips.
Do you ever listen to your own demos or masters while you're running?
Yeah I’m not gonna lie, some of my best runs are when I'm listening to my own demos or new mixes of a recording. There’s something perfect about having in-progress music to listen to while I’m running, it’s just very engaging and takes my mind off my tired legs. There’s even been times where I’ve had some idea for a change on a demo while running and recorded a very out of breath voice memo so I could remember it later.
Gearspace corner: Do you have any running gear you're super into?
Shout out to Gordon again, he gifted me a Garmin watch recently and I’ve been loving it. Definitely has helped a ton with paying attention to my pace more.
Follow Dazy on Twitter.