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Monday, August 20, 2007

Great Running and Inspirational Quotes


So I'm always coming across quotes that I like and keep them saved in a Word Document for my personal reference and figured I'd share them with all of you. As I find more (or hear them out on the trails) I'll simply add them to this post; if you have some great quotes either email them to me or post a comment on this entry. I'm trying to keep them more running related otherwise this list will be infinitely long. OK, here you go:

“Every morning in Africa, an antelope 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 antelope, or it will starve. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or an antelope – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.” – African Proverb

"If the word quit is part of your vocabulary, then the word finish is likely not."
- B.G. Jett

“The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well.”
– Baron De Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games

"It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse."
- Ann Trason

"The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep." - Robert Frost

"Tough times don't last but tough people do." - A.C. Green

“Endurance? You’ve only got to get out there and do it. Face up to it: man was meant to run.” – Percy Cerutty

“We will go to the moon. We will go to the moon and do other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard.” - John F. Kennedy, Jr.

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same…
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run –
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
- Rudyard Kipling, “If”

Whatever you can do,
Or think you can, begin it.
Boldness has power, and genius,
And magic in it.
- Goethe

"Your toughness is made up of equal parts persistence and experience. You don't so much outrun your opponents as outlast and outsmart them, and the toughest opponent of all is the one inside your head." - Joe Henderson

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin

“It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys." - Emil Zatopek

"If you start to feel good during an ultra, don't worry you will get over it." - Gene Thibeault

“Now bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible.” – Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

“We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.” - Emil Zatopek

“To be great, one does not have to be mad, but definitely it helps.” – Percy Cerutty

"If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply that I just have to." - Emil Zatopek

”I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” - Thomas Jefferson

"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

"Relentless Forward Motion!" - Tom Riley

"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

"There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be." - George Sheehan

"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

"Runners just do it - they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first." - Author Unknown

"The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life." - George Sheehan

"Running is real and relatively simple - but it ain't easy." - Mark Will-Weber

"Life is a positive-sum game. Everyone from the gold medallist to the last finisher can rejoice in a personal victory." - George Sheehan

"A runners creed: I will win; if I cannot win, I shall be second; if I cannot be second, I shall be third; if I cannot place at all, I shall still do my best." - Ken Doherty

"Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?'" - Peter Maher

"There are clubs you can't belong to, neighborhoods you can't live in, schools you can't get into, but the roads are always open." - Nike

"The first rule is to keep an untroubled spirit. The second is to look things in the face and know them for what they are." - Marcus Aurelius

"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity." - John F. Kennedy, Jr.

“Nothing in the 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 proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.” - Calvin Coolidge

"Respect the distance or the distance won't respect you! It will eat you up, spit you out and make you beg for mercy" - Unknown (From Kelly Ridgway's Blog)

29 comments:

Gabe said...

I love reading inspirational quotes, although usually I can never remember them. Look forward to seeing you in a few weeks in Tulsa. Maybe you will have a few personal quotes to add to that list after all of the stuff you are going through. I wish everyone could feel that self reward of finishing 100. Knowing that day, you were strong enough to beat the course and wondering if you will be so fortunate the next time.

RunToTheFinish said...

Love these... one of my favs is "It's never too late to be what you might have been." It always reminds me that I have the choice to do better than I am right now.

zanne said...

these are great ... one of my favorites is: in the long run, we only hit what we aim at. thoreau.

DO IT said...

"Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible."
~Doug Larson

I don't know if that one is exactly a running quote, but I like to think of it as one. It helps to think about some of these instead of how bad your whole body aches. I love inspirational quotes!

Anonymous said...

"Some people run to see who is the fastest, I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish themselves into the most ridiculous pace. And at the end, punish themselves even more." - Steve prefontaine

"There is no such thing as bad weather, just weak people" - Bill Bowerman

Suzy said...

Thanks for the quotes! I just ran my first marathon and my training partners run next week. I'll use these quotes to help motivate them too!

Allison Keegan said...

Hi there,
I stumbled upon your blog while looking for good quotes on endurance and perseverance....and just wanted to congratulate you for yours. I began running marathons after my father had a heart attack when I was 22...and I'm 24 now running ultras and hope to make it to 100 one day. It's completely lifechanging to know you can accomplish anything with perseverance. Nothing is beyond your capabilities :)


Happy Trails,
Allison - Pittsburg, KS

Rob Adams said...

Brilliant!! I am running the London Marathon in April and will be doing a video to finish my blog...some of these quotes will definitely feature.

Anonymous said...

Two of my favorite quotes are:
"Happiness is pushing your limits and watching them back down"-New Balance
"We know that not all addictions require treatment, because we run"-unknown

Toni said...

I live off running quotes! These are awesome!! Thank You

Great Quotes said...

I appreciate inspiration quotes for going the distance. It's all about the right training and attitude.

Unknown said...

Love the quotes they are pretty good.

Anonymous said...

Great quotes, one of my favorites is "Today I will do what others wont so tomorrow I can do what others cant."

Anonymous said...

When runner cross the finish line they don't die first, they faint.

Anonymous said...

I run even though i know there is a chance of someone beating me.

Anonymous said...

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

Anonymous said...

I dont climb walls, I run through them

Anonymous said...

Yall like running quotes? Follow @Extremerunner15 on twitter! they inspire me everyday!

Anonymous said...

"The ability to run the extra mile is found between your ears" I can't remember who said it but it is one of my favourite quotes

Anonymous said...

When I'm whining to myself towards the end of a long race, after working through what might be wrong (legs tired but OK, feet sore but OK, etc etc), I end up thinking (in a pathetic voice) 'but it's REALLY hard' at which point I find 'SHUT UP AND RUN' is helpful.

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