Spotify's New Running Mode Lets You Build Workouts Around Your Perfect Tempo

Spotify is rolling out a fresh AI-driven feature designed to cut through the time spent scrolling and get runners moving faster. Running Mode lets you build personalized playlists by selecting your preferred BPM, music taste, and workout structure—cutting out the friction of manual curation.

What Running Mode Does#

The new tool provides 25 pre-built running playlist templates as a starting point, each customizable around your specific needs. You can dial in your desired tempo in beats per minute, pick music genres that energize you, set workout duration, and choose your training style—whether that's steady-state, interval, or pyramid formats. Spotify has also added optional English-language audio coaching cues that offer motivation and pacing guidance without overwhelming your music.

Built on the same AI backbone that powered Spotify's Prompted Playlists feature from last year, Running Mode integrates with Spotify's Fitness hub, which launched in April. The feature lives on the iOS app initially and requires a Premium subscription, with availability currently limited to the US, UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden.

A Different Approach to Pace-Based Music#

Spotify attempted a similar idea before: a dedicated Running feature debuted in 2015 that used your phone's motion sensors to automatically detect your running pace and adjust the music in real time. The company phased it out in 2018, and Running Mode takes a fundamentally different route. Rather than passively detecting your stride, the new version asks you to actively set your workout parameters upfront, putting control in your hands from the start.