Can running make you a better listener? Music critic Ben Ratliff says yes, after discovering that running to music lets him inhabit songs instead of using them as background. He explains his approach, called running the song, and walks through five New York City Marathon tracks, one per borough, chosen to match each stretch of the route. Ben Ratliff began running to music to become a better listener, flipping the usual approach of listening to music to become a better runner.