Motivational Quotes
I run with my head, my heart and my guts, because physically, I don't think I've got a great deal of talent or ability. I started at the bottom and worked up.
Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win.
Good things come slow - especially in distance running.
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
I used to run to school, 10k every day.
I just run as hard as I can for 20 miles, and then race.
Fear is a great motivator.
If you feel bad at 10 miles, you’re in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you’re normal. If you don’t feel bad at 26 miles, you’re abnormal.
Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting.
Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.
This is what really matters: running. This is where I know where I am.
A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket.
The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals.
You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming.
Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them—a desire, a dream, a vision.
The truth is that running hurts.
You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone.
If you are going through hell, keep going.
Running is the greatest metaphor for life because you get out of it what you put into it.
If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience another life... run a marathon.
What matters is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.
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.
Just do it!
Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.
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.
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
There is no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.
But if you never try you'll never know,
Running is a lot like life. Only 10 percent of it is exciting. 90 percent of it is slog and drudge.
The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat.
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
When in doubt, when in fear, be aggressive. Commit yourself and never look back.
Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not.
I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart.
Run hard, be strong, think big!
Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast.
Life (and running) is not all about time but about our experiences along the way.
Racing is the fun part; it's the reward of all the hard work.
It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.
Champions are everwhere; all you need is to train them properly...
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.
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.
Get out there and do what you love!
No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life's most rewarding experiences. My times become slower and slower, but the experience of the race is unchanged: each race a drama, each race a challenge, each race stretching me in one way or another, and each race telling me more about myself and others.
It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse.
Tough times don't last but tough people do.
A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.
If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat.
You find out by trial and error what the optimal level of training is. If I found I was training too hard, I would drop it back for a day or two. I didn't run for five days before the sub-four-minute mile.
Success is a state of mind. If you want success, start thinking of yourself as a success.
If you can't excel with talent, triumph with effort.
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.
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.
We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.
Anything is possible, but you have to believe and you have to fight.
The world is divided into two kinds of people: runners and non-runners.
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.
Putting miles in your training log is like putting money in the bank. You begin to draw interest on it immediately.
Running is WD40 for the mind...
If you want to know what you'll look like in ten years, look in the mirror after you've run a marathon.
The most important day in any running program is rest. Rest days give your muscles time to recover so you can run again. Your muscles build in strength as you rest.
If you under-train, you may not finish, but if you over-train, you may not start.
To avoid starting out too fast, you have to "have eyes in your stomach," as we say in Norwegian: a good gut instinct of control.
My whole feeling in terms of racing is that you have to be very bold. You sometimes have to be aggressive and gamble.
I'd rather run a gutsy race, pushing all the way and lose, than run a conservative race only for a win.
Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running.
There is only one runner in this race, and that is me.
If you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it, then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try for a goal that's reasonable, and then gradually raise it.
Experience has taught me how important it is to just keep going, focusing on running fast and relaxed. Eventually [pain] passes and the flow returns. It's part of racing.
For me, like so many others, running is the answer. Out on the road it is just you, the pavement, and your will.
Citius, altius, fortius...swifter, higher, stronger.
Run easy is an oxymoron.
Sport, like all life, is about taking your chances.
Keep your dream in front of you. Never let it go regardless of how farfetched it might seem.
Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.
I can't imagine living and not running.
This is not about instant gratification. You have to work hard for it, sweat for it, give up sleeping in on Sunday mornings.
My outlook is that I never want to look back and wonder how fast I could have been.
If you want to achieve a high goal, you're going to have to take some chances.
Running and ultrarunning is 90% mental, and 10% in my head.
There's nothing a man can't do if the spirit's there.
The registration on the car is quite old, but the engine doesn’t have many miles (on being asked whether being 34 years old he was too old to win the NYC marathon...)
You feel good while you're running and you feel even better when you're finished.
When you have the enthusiasm and the passion, you end up figuring how to excel.
To get to the finish line, you'll have to try lots of different paths.
Running gives me confidence.
If a man coaches himself, then he has only himself to blame when he is beaten.
Last is just the slowest winner.
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.
As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are.
We may train or peak for a certain race, but running is a lifetime sport.
I can do even better.
Be.Your.Best.
Have a dream, make a plan, go for it. You'll get there, I promise.
Excellence is inside you.
