What Makes a Good Marathon Running Playlist? We asked Xander Dawson, an eighth-semester saxophone major at Boston Conservatory running the Boston Marathon this year, for his playlist.
April 17, 2026
By
Editorial Staff
Xander Dawson
Image by Sophia Paffenback
While Bostons weather in April is unpredictable, there is one constant. The Boston Marathon happens every Patriots Day, with runners from all over the world descending on the city to make the 26.2-mile journey from Hopkinton through Berklees campus to the finish line in Copley Square. This year, the Berklee community will have added motivation to cheer on the runners, as one of our own tackles the challenging course for the first time.
Xander Dawson-a senior saxophone performance major at Boston Conservatory at Berklee who hails from Trumansburg, New York-is no stranger to running. He comes from a running family, though at first, he absolutely hated it. But after catching the running bug, he came to Boston to watch his aunt run in 2012.
I don't remember much about the weekend since I was young, but I remember how exciting it was to see her run by! It was one of the hottest Boston Marathons in history, but she finished super strong. Seeing her compete inspired me so much, he says.
At his first-ever marathon-Cheap Marathon in Derry, New Hampshire-he managed to finish in 2:47, which was fast enough to qualify for Boston. Qualifying was one of the highlights of my year, he says. After that, he ran the Nice-Cannes Marathon in the French Riviera, an absolute dream going along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
We asked Dawson about his journey to Boston Conservatory at Berklee, how he fits in training alongside class, and, of course, for his running playlist.
Image by Sophia Paffenback
Tell us about your path to Boston Conservatory at Berklee. What made you decide to come here?I first got connected to Berklee during my sophomore year of high school through Berklee Online. I signed up for a music theory class to challenge myself in the midst of the COVID lockdown. That one class quickly turned into nine courses and two certificates. I met musicians from all around the world and studied with professors who inspired me to keep learning. Two of my professors, Gaye Tolan Hatfield and Roberta Radley, inspired me to consider studying in Boston, even writing me letters of recommendation for Berklee.
After going through a full round of college auditions, I was accepted to both Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory at Berklee. When I visited, what stood out wasn't just the programs; it was the environment. Everyone I ran into was so passionate about making music on a high level. I could also tell that the saxophone teacher, Philipp St udlin, was so incredibly passionate about teaching. We ended up taking a year of lessons together before I committed to Boston Conservatory. Eight semesters later, that instinct proved right. Choosing Berklee gave me the opportunity to develop as a versatile musician while being surrounded by people who constantly challenged and inspired me.
How do you balance school and marathon training?I find that school and running really go hand in hand. Running is a huge stress reliever for me; I love to run before the day starts or after a long day at Boston Conservatory. I find that it instantly puts me in a good mood and inspires me for the rest of the day. I also love getting to discover new music while running-one of the best things is coming across a hidden gem song in the middle of a run. Sometimes on longer days, I find myself getting creative with the times that I run; my Monday and Thursday runs always seem to land around 9 p.m., but there's true magic on the Charles River late at night.
Can you draw any parallels between running and music?The biggest parallel between running and music is that they are both endless journeys. We are always improving and gaining fitness when we train, the same holds true for music. This is one of my favorite things about running and music, we are always constantly improving, adapting, and growing.
What are your plans after graduation?I'll be working with Princess Cruise Lines as their show band saxophonist. This will be my third contract on a cruise ship. I'm so excited to explore new parts of the world while performing music. This contract takes me to Norway, which has been a dream country for me to visit.
Image by Sophia Paffenback
Xanders Marathon Running PlaylistI'm a firm believer that running playlists need to have contour; the playlist should tell some sort of story, Dawson says. I perform a lot of musical theater as a woodwind doubler and find that musical theater repertoire ends up on my playlists a lot. I also love pop and rock songs, which also end up frequently on my playlist. I try to make sure my playlist is able to carry me through the late stages of the race when your mind starts going to darker places. I also like to curate a good mix of motivation and emotional songs to keep some contrast.
panic attack in a michael's, Timothy Edward CarpenterOne of my favorite YouTube vloggers is Eric Floberg. He created a video series of him training and competing in the Boston Marathon. I watched these videos on the treadmill and this song always reminds me of watching the vlogs during my training runs.
Over You, Jacob CollierJacob Collier is my favorite artist, the way that he approaches harmony is fascinating to me. I love this song because I get lost in the music and forget that I'm running.
I Drove All Night, Celine DionThis song is the perfect workout song and always hypes me up. My favorite gigs are the Celine Dion tribute shows that I play around Boston. This song always reminds me of the fun that I have on these shows.
11:11, ManishaManisha is a Berklee graduate and was a resident assistant with me. This t
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
01/06/2026
Designed to solve a common problem in broadcasting, the automated workflow detects, identifies, removes, and documents copyrighted music
AudioShake has introdu...
01/06/2026
The sports-analytics company combines its data with proprietary AI to help leagu...
01/06/2026
Category line-up & sponsors announced
Photo: Paul Clarke
The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...
01/06/2026
New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed
Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...
01/06/2026
Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps
The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...
01/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
01/06/2026
SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026
1 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...
01/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...
01/06/2026
Adobe Announces Concept to Vector
Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026
0 Comments
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...
01/06/2026
Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 1, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Wins 15 Awards at the Canadian Screen Awards - See Pho...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
What Makes a Good Marathon Running Playlist? We asked Xander Dawson, an eighth-semester saxophone major at Boston Conservatory running the Boston Marathon this year, for his playlist.
