10 Songs I’ve Experienced on Shuffle While Running

By Lewis 'Pedro' Anderson Gowans

Before anyone says it — yes.
All of these songs are liked by me on Spotify.

This is not a denial of responsibility.

However.

There is a time and a place for emotional devastation, and 4km into a 5km run when I’m already hanging on is not it.

Shuffle has no concept of context. It doesn’t care that you’re tired, that your legs are heavy, or that you’ve already mentally quit twice and talked yourself back into continuing. It sees a liked song and thinks, now feels right.

It never is.

At that point in the run, you don’t need reflection. You don’t need perspective. You don’t need lyrics that make you stare into the middle distance while still technically moving forward.

You need lies.
You need noise.
You need something that convinces you this last kilometre is somehow easier than the first four.

Instead, shuffle serves up a song that makes you slow down, breathe weird, and briefly consider walking “just to reset” — which everyone knows is runner code for this is over.

So yes, I accept blame for liking the songs.
But not for when they appear.

Because if any of these come on at 4km, you are fully justified in:
• pausing your watch
• walking for a bit
• and blaming the algorithm

That’s not quitting.
That’s survival.