Welcome to “Running Buds,” in which we talk to musicians about running and runners about music. Want to be featured in a future edition? Shoot me an email! Today, we are talking to Jon Beavis of IDLES.
IDLES makes great music to get sweaty to. It’s true! Their 10-ton, fist-in-the-air brand of post-punk is pummeling, loud, and in your face. Ultra Mono, the Bristol, UK outfit’s latest record, is as unapologetic and raucous as a late-night pub brawl. The music just sounds like sweat. It is meant to be played in large music halls and enjoyed among a frenzy of people sweating out their PBRs (which we may get back to doing sooner than later).
So, it should come as no surprise that all of this makes for great running music, especially for those last grueling miles. Put “Mr. Motivator” on your running playlist, and you’ll feel like Connor McGregor with a samurai sword on rollerblades in no time. You can do it!
IDLES drummer Jon Beavis is no stranger to the uplifting feeling of a good run. With all band activity put on hold due to the pandemic, Beavis became an avid runner for the first time in his life, in order to remain active and get the heck out of the house to stave off cabin fever. Today, he’s using his new found love of running to raise awareness for something even bigger.
In early March, 33-year-old Sarah Everard was walking home from a friend’s house in South London. By all accounts, she did everything society dictates to keep herself safe: wear bright clothing, walk in well-lit streets, keep in contact with her boyfriend on the phone, etc. And yet, she still never made it to her apartment after what should have been a 50-minute walk. After a week-long search, it was found that she was kidnapped and murdered by an off-duty police officer.
In the weeks since the murder, women all over the world have taken to platforms beyond the streets of London to speak out against violence against women, to share their own experiences with harassment and assault. Sarah’s isn’t an isolated incident. The reality is women all over the world are harassed, assaulted, or worse all the time on the roads and trails that we all walk and run on every day.
Admittedly, it’s a problem that I’ve mostly been ignorant about. As a man, I take the ability to run by myself for granted. I don’t always have to worry about who’s running behind me. I don’t have to hold my keys between my fingers. But I’m still learning. I hear these stories, sometimes from people I know and love, and feel sort of…I don’t know…helpless. The best I can do at this point is educate myself, hold myself accountable, and listen. I may not be able to change the world, but at least small changes go a long way, right?
It’s not hard to follow the Everard story and see ourselves or someone we know within it. As men, we need to do better to make all women feel safe and to raise awareness, which is why Jon Beavis decided to get involved, announcing that he would be running 100k in the month of April to support Rosa and Reclaim These Streets, a charity that funds grassroots women’s organizations working to make the UK a fairer, safer place for women and girls.
“The last few weeks have shone a light on many shocking aspects of our society, and how women especially, have been living in fear and trepidation within their day-to-day lives,” he wrote in the post. “I have been listening, educating, and making myself accountable by thinking about the changes that I, and hopefully others, must make in order to be a part of the change moving forward.”
When I saw Jon’s post, I thought it was such a fantastic idea, and I immediately wanted to ask him more about it. Luckily for me, he was kind enough to take some time out of his busy running schedule to talk to me. So, last week, I caught up with Jon over Zoom to discuss his fundraising endeavor for Rosa, a little bit about IDLES, and mostly to pick his brain about running in general.
How’s it going so far? This is day 9, right?
Beavis: Yeah. I started well. I did like 24k in the first two or three days and kinda eased off a bit. I got overly excited, and I didn’t want to injure myself. I think…let’s have a little look now. From the run I did last night, I’ve done about 30…42k. I’m definitely going to try to set myself to go over 100k. I wanna see how far I can go.
Can you tell me a little bit about what you’re doing this month for Rosa?
JB: In doing research in light of the Sarah Everard madness that happened over here last month in our country (but it has been happening for years before that), Rosa is an organization that I looked into and saw how much good they were doing. And it wasn’t just one particular effort. They were going into many different areas all across the UK, offering support and guidance with lots of things. It’s something that all of us in the band are very aware of, and we would like to highlight the issues and try to fix them in our society. At the end of the day, I’m just a drummer in a band. Yes, I’ve got these views but I’m not always sure what to do. So, it was good to find somebody who has got those skills and can use all the funding that I’m happy to raise for them.
So… why run 100k?
JB: It was something that I thought OK, yes, I can post something about how bad it all is, and I could post about charities and organizations. But what can I actually do? Yeah, I’ve given money and I can give money but that’s just throwing money towards it. Which is always a good thing, it’s great as I’ve said. I’m just a drummer, and I was like, what can I do to push myself to make myself think about it more?
I’ve gone runs with loads of female friends, who have said one of the main reasons they run in this group with me is because they don’t really want to run on their own. As a man, I’ve never thought about that. And that was me being completely ignorant to the fact of all the scariness that is out there. I can get up at 6 in the morning and go on a run on my own fine. But I’ve talked to many of my friends, and they don’t even like walking to the car on their own.
I’ve done 42k so far. I’m definitely going to keep going and run as much as I can do. Just to keep this message going. It’s not really about what I’m doing, it’s about trying to raise more awareness. It’s a thing that people aren’t always talking about it. It’s just a way to keep the conversation alive.
I have a lot of female friends who run on their own or at night and they have to worry about this shit. It’s fucked up that this still happens.
JB: It is, and I can fully admit I was ignorant to the fact. I didn’t realize it happens to so many people, every day. I was talking with a friend and they were walking to their car (like two weeks ago) and there was a guy walking overly close behind them and they had to say like “can you step back?”. Like scream at him. I was around the corner getting the rest of their stuff walking in and was like “what? That just happened?” It was mad. It happens every day.
It does, even in our own neighborhoods. And it’s very important for people to be aware that this stuff is happening because a lot of people aren’t.
JB: Exactly.
Have you ever done something like this before, run for charity?
JB: No, I’ve never really ran until March of last year [laughs].
No kidding?
JB: I only got into it during the first lockdown. I think it took me about 45 – 50 minutes to do a 5k, with many gaps in between. Then I fully immersed myself in it and fell in love with it. And then I thought, what can I do to help, like do these half marathons or 100k a month? And it’s something that can be done now and everyone else can join. That’s all I can do, try to raise more awareness and then more people talk about it.
So, you just started running, was it just because of the pandemic?
JB: Yeah. In our country, there was a “Run for Heroes” trend that was going around, where it was run a 5k and tag five friends in it. Four of my mates tagged me and I was like oh I better go out and do it then [laughs]. And then yeah, I’ve loved it ever since.
What do you like about running?
JB: I’m not gonna lie, the first instance of it was fitness, because although I’m a drummer, I was incredibly unfit. And then the more I was doing it every week, doing it 3 or 4 times a week, it was just perfect for your headspace. I can just listen to songs while I’m doing it, listen to podcasts, or just go off on my own, you know? Complete silence. And it’s just such a nice thing to do. And I think if I go a week without getting out for at least a half an hour run, I’m not all there anymore. I definitely have to do it, you know? Which I never thought I would be.
That’s definitely why I run too, to listen to music and get in that headspace. Do you listen to a lot of music while you run?
JB: Yeah, all the time. I always try to mix it up a bit. Obviously, it’s a bit too risky if you put on something too fast. You end up crashing and burning [laughs].
Right? You gotta start out slow, pace yourself!
JB: Start out reeeal slow!
What do you listen to, anything in particular?
JB: Oh man, all sorts. The last couple runs I’ve done, I’ve listened to the latest HAIM album, Women in Music. I listen to a lot of jazz when I’m on a run, or a little of like world music. Because you can pretty much pick a tempo from anywhere in the track, rather than say, if it’s a dance song, it’s consistently this, you have to do it. Me being a drummer, I need to stay in time with the beat. World or African music is great because there’s so much going on, loads of polyrhythms, and you can get lost in it. After 8 minutes of a song, you’ve already ran 8 minutes too so okay great, perfect.
I’ve actually listened to a lot of your music on my runs. “Model Village” in particular is a great running song for me.
JB: It’s too fast! I’m actually scared to play that live. That’s a tough one to play, especially an hour into the set.
Well, now that you got the running legs, you’ll be in better shape for it, right?
JB: [Laughs] Exactly. That’s the hope, anyway.
I understand you guys will be playing shows again soon? How are you feeling about it all?
JB: Hopefully, yeah. It’s looking good. I’m feeling good. All of us want to go back out and play. That’s our lifeblood. It’s been tough. I think there was a point about three or four months ago where I almost stopped looking at our Bandcamp and thought that everything was TBD. And I was like, whatever, I just want to focus on now. You know? Thankfully, we’ve managed to get our own practice space. So, the past 8 months we’ve managed to be able to go safely into a room and keep on playing. Yeah, it’s just all about getting tight again so when we do get back, we’re hopefully better.
Do you think you’ll be able to run on tour?
JB: Yeah. This is the thing. One of my old drum teachers used to be in a touring band and he just said it was the best way to see every city. Because when you’re on a bus, you get up at let’s say 10 after the show the night before. And as I’ve learned from previous tours, it’s very easy to just fall back in the cycle of get up at 10, go sit in the venue, take a little walk around the village or city, and then sat there and waiting until soundcheck and then you start drinking, which is just a really unhealthy way to tour for three months. Whereas now, I’m hoping to be able to go on a run, see the sights a bit, come back, feel fresh and then feel good for the show.
So, what’s your schedule looking like for the rest of this month? Did you do any training?
JB: No, I didn’t do anything. I think my only bit of training was to take a week off before and eat unhealthy [laughs]. I just bought my first house the week before April. So, it was a week of we got no food in the house, we got loads of things to do, so let’s just order in. So, when it got to the first of April, I was like ah crap, I actually gotta start now. I don’t know where I am in this area. It’s been nice to work out new routes. It feels fresh.
I do about 8k on average, not every day but every other day. There was a route that I do around the harborside with a friend of mine. During the first lockdown, we had this little running group. Now it’s about 10 people strong. Not everyone comes every week, but it’s just a really nice way of coming together, which was perfect for where I used to live, because I lived around the corner. Whereas now it’s an extra 10k there and back to get there. So, my weekly runs are a lot bigger! Which is good, though, I guess.
Do you prefer to run with a group or on your own?
JB: A bit of both. I can see the benefits of both. When I’m with someone else, I generally pace myself more, because I’m a little up and down. I haven’t found my perfect rhythm with this still. There are days where I’m like I feel really good and then after 15 minutes your legs are gone because you’ve pushed it too hard.
I know how that goes.
JB: Yeah.
Do you have any advice for new runners, especially being a fairly new runner yourself? Any advice for people who have never done it before?
JB: I just feel weird giving advice because I’ve only been doing it for a year and I’m not that good, but I think that’s the best thing about it. That’s the beauty of it. When I first started, it’s just about not taking yourself too seriously. Just really ease into it. If you’re out of breath, or it hurts a bit, just walk it off and start again. It’s all about setting small goals that are achievable. I feel like everyone that I’ve talked to that has started running is, after three or four months, I’d say 99% of them are now in love with it, because it’s such a natural thing, you know? There was a friend of mine, I think they got asked a similar question and they said if nothing else works for you, the fact that you’ve gone on a run in the morning, you’re going to feel really smug all day [laughs]. I was like, yeah, that works as well, why not?
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You can donate to Beavis’ GoFundMe here.
It is also Anti-Street Harassment week. Street harassment is experienced by more than 85% of females, and it disproportionately affects LGBTQIA+ community as well as people with disabilities. To learn more and for more resources, visit https://stopstreetharassment.org/.
Nice! It’s so true, when I started running again after pregnancy I said to hubby I need to run when it’s morning nap time and you take the monitor while you wfh. I like to listen to music when I run and I can’t do that at night. This was a totally alien thought to him and he really didn’t get it but sadly it’s just not safe for a woman to run wearing headphones in the dark . I’ll be sure to try out idles for the next run