Ben Gibbard Runs Off the Pressure

BEN GIBBARD EMERGES from the elevator bank at precisely 8 a.m., because he is never late. The Death Cab for Cutie front man is wearing gray running shorts and Wayfarers because, you see, Ben Gibbard is a runner. Has been for two decades. Gibbard is known for pushing himself to the absolute limit as a songwriter—recently telling The New Yorker that one of his biggest fears is “losing my edge,” that “if I stop writing…I’ll die, you know?” And running might actually fit into this equation.