Motivational quotes

"We run to undo the damage we've done to body and spirit. We run to find some part of ourselves yet undiscovered." -- John Bingham

"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." -- Socrates

"When you're a dreamer, heart break and failure come with the territory, but I can tell you it's worth it, because it's a way of living that is both moving and memorable." -- Lauren Fleshman

"Running well is a matter of having the patience to persevere when we are tired and not expecting instant results." -- Robert De Castella

"Running is always an exercise in humility." -- Kristen Armstrong

"Anyone can train hard. Do you have the discipline to recover?" -- Lauren Fleshman

"Good things come slow - especially in distance running." -- Bill Dellinger

"The answer to the big questions in running is the same as the answer to the big questions in life: Do the best with what you've got." -- George Sheehan

"It's important to remember at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process -- what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands -- those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion." -- Silken Laumann

"If you have the courage to fail, then you have the courage to succeed." -- Shalane Flanagan

"Pinning on a number is bold. It says, yes, I am a runner. It speaks to the idea of getting out there, putting ourselves out there, and the glory of the try. The simple act, pinn through fabric, through paper, clasp, repeat -- sometimes in life we get to choose our own labels." Kristen Armstrong

"To know you are one with what you are doing, to know that you are a complete athlete, begins with believing you are a runner." -- George Sheehan

"Running reminded me of exactly who I am and what I am made of." -- Lynn Jennings

"We are all striving to build our own confidence and self-esteem. This sport of ours can do and has done just that." -- Dave McGillivray

"I liked the Alps best. Running up the mountains was an in-your-face physical challenge." -- Zoe Romano

"The advice I have for beginners is the same philosophy that I have for runners of all levels of experience and ability – consistency, a sane approach, moderation and making your running an enjoyable, rather than dreaded, part of your life." -- Bill Rodgers

"I have learned that there is no failure in running, or in life, as long as you keep moving." Amby Burfoot

"Don't worry about your time or your distance, just go. And, you can always run a little farther. You won't die if you run to the next mailbox." Brad Wilkenson

"Play not only keeps us young but also maintains our perspective about the relative seriousness of things. Running is play, for even if we try hard to do well at it, it is a relief from everyday cares." -- Jim Fixx

"Hill workouts are kind of like doing singing scales or repeated high notes - I hate it, but if I do easy stuff all the time, I won't improve." Lisette Oropesa

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." -- Jesse Owens

"What is the purpose of any one workout? Enjoyment? Improvement? Coach said so? Whatever, the hour you run often is the best hour of the day." -- Hal Higden

"Running provides an outlet for my mind to relax and my peace to be still." Tamara Davis






"It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process – what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands – those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion." Silken Laumann

"Running is the best therapy I've ever had. We burn, we push, we sweat, we suffocate and we see that we are stronger and more refined for our pain. The awareness of this strength gives us the confidence we need to go home, shower, and face the rest of our day, our week, our year." -- Kristen Armstrong

"Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive then in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life." -- Haruki Murakami

"Run in places you love with people you like. Enjoying your surroundings and training partners will strengthen your commitment to running and bring out the best in you." -- Deena Kastor

"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

"Never underestimate the power that one good workout will have on your mind. Keeping the dream alive is half the battle." -- Kara Goucher

"I find significance in all kinds of small details when I run; I'm hyper aware of my surroundings, the sensations in my body, and the thoughts running through my mind. Everything is clearer, heightened. I might be more addicted to this clarity than I am to running itself." -- Kristen Armstrong

"You don't have to be elite to be a runner. It's all about setting a target, giving your best effort to achieve it, and being proud of whatever that effort results in." -- Daniel Pickle

"The magic of a marathon isn't in the 26.2 miles on race day; it's in the nearly 500 miles of training that happens in the months before. It's in the countless feelings, frustrations, and fears I have worked through while running down those desolate, tree-lined roads. You see, I wasn't supposed to be a runner. But I am. And my life is better because I chose to be one." -- Stacy Lucier

"Ask yourself: "Can I give more?" The answer is usually yes." Paul Tergat

"I found hope, love, recovery, and life in running. In so many ways, it changed my life forever." -- Christine Casady

"Erase from your mind that your preparation must be perfect. Hard work + dedication = a shot at your dreams. Keep believing." Kara Goucher

"When you've had the perfect run, you've cleared your soul." --Pat Monahan

"I also realize that winning doesn't always mean getting first place; it means getting the best out of yourself." Meb Keflezighi

"It's important to remember that each footstrike carries you forward, not backward. And every time you put on your running shoes you are different in some way than you were the day before." -- John Bingham

"The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless." -- Dean Karnazes

"At first an ordeal and then an accomplishment, the daily run becomes a staple, like bread, or wine...or air. It is also a free pass to friendship." -- Benjamin Cheever

"I want to get more comfortable being uncomfortable. I want to get more confident being uncertain. I don't want to shrink back just because something isn't easy. I want to push back, and make more room in the area between I can't and I can. Maybe that spot is called I will." -- Kristen Armstrong

"Running has taught me to be patient, to trust the process, that anything worth doing is worth training for and doing well. It has made me a better wife, co-worker, friend, nurse, sister, daughter, and person in general." -- Andi Ball

"There are times when you run a marathon and you wonder, 'Why am I doing this?' But you take a drink of water, and around the next bend, you get your wind back, remember the finish line, and keep going." -- Steve Jobs

"Running is the ultimate faith healer, restoring belief not only in oneself but life's possibilities." Bart Yasso

"As a breed, runners are a pretty gutsy bunch. We constantly push ourselves to discover limitations, then push past them." -- Bart Yasso

"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

"Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles." -- Alex Karras

"A run begins the moment you forget you are running." -- Addidas

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

"Running requires endurance, character, pride, physical strength, and mental toughness. Running is a test, not a game. A test of faith, belief, will, and trust in one's self. So hardcore that it needs a category all to itself to define the pain. Running is more than a sport; it's a lifestyle." -- Jessica Propst

"That's the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is." -- Kara Goucher

"The first person you have to inspire every day is yourself. Running will do that." -- Marc Parent

"It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination. We have a better chance of seeing where we are when we stop trying to get somewhere else." -- John Bingham

"I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go." -- Dean Karneazes

"It is easier to go down a hill than up, but the view is best from the top." -- Arnold Bennett

"The best way to become a mentally tough runner is to believe that you're a mentally tough runner." -- Ryan Hall

"I think I run my strongest when I run with joy, with gratitude, with focus, with grace. With that strategy in place I can push myself for pleasure, not punishment. Maybe you can only really go when you let go." Kristen Armstrong

"Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success." -- Joyce Brothers

"Have a dream, make a plan, go for it. You'll get there, I promise." Zoe Koplowitz

"I don't have a runner's body, but I have a runner's heart - and that is all you need." Jennifer Morris

"Running unites us and brings us together because, in the words of the great Bill Rodgers, "We sweat the same. We struggle the same." Running is a simple, primitive act, and therein lays its power. For it is one of the few commonalities left between us as a human race. Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the color of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran." Dean Karnazes

"Do the work. Do the analysis. But feel your run. Feel your race. Feel the joy that is running." -- Kara Goucher

"No matter where we live, what we do, how fast we are, what our dreams are, what we are running from, or where our miles lead - we are a running family. We mark miles, we ache, we try, we fail, we triumph and we endure." -- Kristen Armstrong

"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 is not, as it so often seems, only about what you did in your last race or about how many miles you ran last week. It is, in a much more important way, about community, about appreciating all the miles run by other runners, too." -- Richard O'Brien.

"What distinguishes those of us at the starting line from those of us on the couch is that we learn through running to take what the day gives us, what our body will allow us, and what our will can tolerate." -- John Bingham

"You don't love running when you first start because it hurts. Your legs hurt, your lungs hurt. But once you make the decision and start to move forward, you become a different person. It's not about having to hit your goal weight to start feeling good again." --Ben Davis

"Training for a marathon started out as a life-list thing, and it turned into a lifestyle. " -- Mike Post

"There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run. You are not running for some future reward-the real reward is now." --Fred Rohe

"I constantly remind myself that resting takes confidence. Anyone can train like a mad man but to embrace rest and to allow all the hard training to come out takes mental strength." -- Ryan Hall

"There are a million reasons why you can't. Focus on the few reasons why you can." - Kara Goucher

"In the midst of an ordinary training day, I try to remind myself that I am preparing for the extraordinary." -- Shalene Flanagan

"To keep from decaying, to be a winner, the athlete must accept pain - not only accept it, but look for it, live with it, learn not to fear it." --George Sheehan

"The journey isn't always perfect, but always worth taking." -- Kara Goucher

"The true measure of a runner isn't in time, but rather in the effort it took along the way." -- Jenny Hadfield

"Winning is not about headlines and hardware [medals]. It's only about attitude. A winner is a person who goes out today and every day and attempts to be the best runner and best person he can be. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up." -- Amby Burfoot

"Running has taught me that we are capable of doing more than we ever imagined, that we can overcome huge obstacles, and that consistency pays off! Running is my sanity and my sanctuary." Amy Peavy-Smith

"As you know there are many reasons why I run, but perhaps one of the finest is the community that running manifests. Celebrate your community, any chance you get." Kristen Armstrong

"Running has enormous psychological and physical benefits, especially for women in the older age categories. It celebrates your age and your ability." -- Anna Thornhill

"Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic." -- Tim Noakes

"Running the marathon gave me an inner strength that changed my life...just finishing can have a profound effect on your confidence and self-esteem." -- Henley Gibble

"Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing, but to turn it into glory." -- William Barclay

"I've learned that finishing a marathon isn't just an athletic achievement. It's a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible." -- John Hanc

"Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity." -- John F Kennedy

"Running is the classical road to self-consciousness, self-awareness, and self-reliance." -- Noell Carroll

"As long as we have the road, the ramblings and each other to look forward to, it's all going to be all right. Bring it on, life — we're laced up and ready." -- Nancy Townsley

"Running has always been a relief and a sanctuary—something that makes me feel good, both physically and mentally. The best thing about running is the joy it brings to life." -- Kara Goucher

"Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit." Wilma Rudolph

"For me, running is a lifestyle and an art. I'm more interested in the magic of it than the mechanics." --Lorraine Moller

"Progress is rarely a straight line. There are always bumps in the road, but you can make the choice to keep looking ahead." -- Kara Goucher

"You'll have bad runs, but 99 percent of them will make you feel like a rock star. Cherish that rock-star feeling." -- Jessica Sonday

"I'm a working mom, not a professional athlete, but I am a runner and that's a special club." -- Allison Sweeney

"The pain of training is nothing compared to the pain of not reaching your potential." -- Josh Cox

"Never underestimate the power that one good workout will have on your mind. Keeping the dream alive is half the battle." -- Kara Goucher

"One skill that separates good from almost-good runners is an ability to concentrate for an entire race, whether it is a mile or a marathon." -- Kara Goucher

"Truly, I love running. It's who I am. It's a part of me. Even if I can only run for 10 minutes, I feel whole and happy. And if everything else is falling to pieces, I go for a run, and I feel like things are going to be okay." -- Johanna Olson

"Running is something that no one can do for you. You own it and can make it what you want." -- Diane Meireis

"Without running, I would have missed the joy of rain. What could be considered an inconvenience or a bummer to the inexperienced is actually a gift. Without running, I would miss a lot of things—like seeing cities in a certain way, or knowing certain people all the way to the core. I'm glad we don't experience life through glass, under cover, or from the sidelines. Good things take miles." -- Kristen Armstrong

"I don't know if running changed my life or if I changed my life for running, but who cares really? My feet keep moving, my arms keep pumping, and my mantra keeps rolling, 'Be patient. You got this." -- Valerie DiMambro

"The long runs on the weekend are a genuine adventure for me—a physical challenge in an otherwise mostly cerebral, abstract sort of daily life. And you don't have to go to a mountain or anything. It starts right out the front door of your home." -- John Walter

"As far as running being an addiction, well, who knows? Maybe it is. I love running. I think about it all the time. I love pushing myself to the limit and seeing what my body can do." -- Ray Zahab

"I realize that I have been blessed with health and strength to overcome not only the miles on the road, but also to overcome the hard times in life when you want to throw in the towel. When I cross the line now, it is a celebration of the fact that I didn't quit." --Tasya Lacy

"Running can open so many doors; improved health, new social groups, a sense of accomplishment, the list goes on. What I have found is that the key to success is consistency. Just get out there and run, and in no time you will be doing things that you never thought possible." -- Douglas d'Adabie

"To run outside surrounded by a beautiful natural setting where the air is crisp and cool, the sun is shining, and all I can do is admire my surroundings and listen to my body in motion." -- Jonathan Steckel

"Running is a form of relaxation. That's one of the curiosities of life - that such a high-energy activity could be so relaxing." -- Lee C. Bollinger

"There are no short cuts to any place worth going." -- Beverley Sills

"Running releases more than just sweat." -- Asics

"I have my own unique road that has had many exciting ups and heart-breaking downs, but one thing I know is that my journey is not over and the best is yet to come." -- Ryan Hall