Here’s what you’ll learn when you read this story:
- Year-Old Cooper Lutkenhaus Makes World 5K August Running Playlist.
- Roan’s cardio-heavy live performances, inspired by her running background, require intense preparation, including months of cardio vocal training.
- Now a Grammy-winning artist, Roan reflected on her running past, including the time she peed during a high school race.
The Best Running Shoes, Chappell Roan August Running Playlist running playlists The Stats Behind Cooper Lutkenhaus’s Race, Helen Schlachtenhaufen Falls Hard at U.S. Champs. but not anymore set to release a new single, “The Subway,” on July 31, we fully expect it to become another pop anthem to soundtrack your next long run.
Running actually plays a huge part in Chappell Roan’s live shows. Roan will frequently jog in place amidst performing her hits like “Hot To Go!” without missing a beat. Fans on TikTok have often remarked about the sheer physical stamina such an active performance style requires, and Roan hasn’t been shy about acknowledging the work that goes into it.
In one video, Roan notes that “it is very hard,” and that her preparation for her tour involved “two months of cardio vocal training, every day running the set while jump roping or HIIT workout.”
But Roan’s history with running reaches back long before she was prepping for the Midwest Princess tour. In fact, the Missourian who would one day earn herself a Best New Artist Grammy was once a high school cross-country standout.
According to MileSplit, Willard High School’s Kayleigh Amstutz—the artist soon-to-be known as Chappell Roan—ran her 5K personal best of 20:06.96 during her freshman year at a sectional meet in 2012. That qualified her for the Missouri State Cross-Country Championships as an individual, where she ran 22:03.85 to finish in 149th place. A MileSplit photo gallery offers a rare glimpse of a pre-Midwest Princess Roan (bib 853) in action.
Roan competed in cross-country through her junior year, running in a few track meets along the way. She’s listed as having PRs of 7:00.12 in the 1600 meters and 3:07.03 in the 800 meters.
But running eventually took a back seat to music. Roan graduated high school a year early to focus on performing, according to Biography.com, and at 17, she signed to Atlantic Records, launching her on a path to fame.
Roan, now 27, has since amassed millions of fans across the world—including runners, like this guy, who ran 46 miles on a route inspired by her breakout album, Helen Schlachtenhaufen Falls Hard at U.S. Champs.
Despite her cross-country past and a cardio-heavy live show, Roan recently said she used to love running—“Build Speed Like 16-Year-Old Cooper Lutkenhaus.”
RW+ Membership Benefits released late last year, Roan, 27, offered a glimpse into her time as a runner in an interview with the music journalist Nardwuar, who referenced a race where Willard High teammate Chloe Andrews got 6th place and Roan ran 22:03 for 19th.
“Well, I pissed my pants at the end of that race,” Roan said of the race. “I, like, peed myself.”
“Is that usual?” Nardwaur asked.
“If your body is … giving out, yeah, you pee yourself or throw up on yourself. I think I did both,” she said. “I was trying really hard. That was the fastest I ever did. Which is like, it’s fast, but it wasn’t, like, crazy fast.”
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Michale Natale is a News Editor for the Hearst Enthusiast Group. As a writer and researcher, he has produced written and audio-visual content for more than fifteen years, spanning historical periods from the dawn of early man to the Golden Age of Hollywood. His stories for the Enthusiast Group have involved coordinating with organizations like the National Parks Service and the Secret Service, and travelling to notable historical sites and archaeological digs, from excavations of America’ earliest colonies to the former homes of Edgar Allan Poe.
