Great Running Quotes

• Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life

  Haruki Murakami

  Running, Essence, Limits

  Haruki Murakami (2011). “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”, p.83, Random House

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• Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

  Calvin Coolidge

  Inspirational, Motivational, Strength

  Quoted in Quotable Calvin Coolidge, ed. Peter Hannaford (2001).

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• Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform at our best.

  Michael Johnson

  Life, Motivational, Sports

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• You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.

  Steve Prefontaine

  Motivational, Success, Softball

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• Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about.

  PattiSue Plumer

  Inspirational, Motivational, Running

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• The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank.

  George A. Sheehan

  Running, Differences, Jogging

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• I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards.

  Alberto Salazar

  Softball, Running, Doubt

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• The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.

  Juma Ikangaa

  Motivational, Running, Mean

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  Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.

  Wilma Rudolph

  Sports, Running, Winning

  Wilma Rudolph (1977). “Wilma”

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• My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself: Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you'll win... channel your energy. Focus.

  Carl Lewis

  Basketball, Sports, Running

  Carl Lewis, Jeffrey Marx (1992). “Inside track: my professional life in amateur track and field”, Fireside

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• Everyone who has run knows that its most important value is in removing tension and allowing a release from whatever other cares the day may bring.

  Jimmy Carter

  Running, Important Values, Jogging

  United States. President (1977-1981 : Carter), Jimmy Carter (1979). “Jimmy Carter”

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• When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less.

  Paul Brown

  Motivational, Sports, Running

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• Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have Nature, and that is much better.

  Juha Vaatainen

  Running, Marathon, Stadiums

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• Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you'd better be running.

  Christopher McDougall

  Inspirational, Motivational, Running

  Christopher McDougall (2010). “Born to Run: The hidden tribe, the ultra-runners, and the greatest race the world has never seen”, p.13, Profile Books

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• The real competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit

  George A. Sheehan

  Running, Real, Voice

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• There is no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.

  John Ruskin

  Change, Running, Rainy Day

  "The Use Of Life". Book by John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury. Chapter 4: "Recreation", 1894.

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• The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.

  John Bingham

  Inspirational, Softball, Sports

  John Bingham (1999). “The Courage To Start: A Guide To Running for Your Life”, p.210, Simon and Schuster

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• It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.

  Emil Zatopek

  Running, Pain, Not Giving Up

  Attributed to Emil Zatopek in "Citius, Altius, Fortius" ("Swifter, Higher, Stronger"), an unsigned article from Khaleej Times, August 8, 2008.

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• You are capable of so much more than we usually dare to imagine

  Sharon Salzberg

  Running, Imagine, Dare

  FaceBook post by Sharon Salzberg from Dec 12, 2012

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• If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.

  John Bingham

  Running, Years, Tests

  John Bingham (1999). “The Courage To Start: A Guide To Running for Your Life”, p.14, Simon and Schuster

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• It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.

  Seneca the Younger

  Inspirational, Success, Uplifting

  "Moral Letters to Lucilius (Letter LXXXIV)". Book by Seneca the Younger, 1920.

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• Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative.

  Steve Prefontaine

  Motivational, Beautiful, Running

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• There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.

  Bill Bowerman

  Funny, Motivational, Nike

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• Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.

  John Bingham

  Running, Strong, Believe

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• I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.

  Jesse Owens

  Motivational, Fitness, Running

  Jesse Owens, Paul G. Neimark (1978). “Jesse, a spiritual autobiography”

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