Are You Ready to See What’s Possible?
Motivation is a huge component to putting in the hard work day after day to reach your running goals. Quotes about running are good tools to remind yourself why you work hard, train for months, and race to accomplish your goals.
The next time you feel like you’re in a slump or having a hard time lacing up your shoes, copy your favorite quote and print it out in large font. Tape that piece of paper next to your desk, by your running gear, or wherever you need it. It will help motivate you to get the work done.
These running quotes are among my favorites and inspire me to stay focused every day. I hope you enjoy them.
Train Hard
“There are a lot of guys out there now who know they are not working as hard as other people. I can’t fathom how they think.” – Alberto Salazar
“What does not destroy me, makes me strong.” – Nietzsche
“It works better for me to be nervous and hungry.” – Lance Armstrong
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
“To be a good runner, you must first be a good athlete.” – Jay Johnson
“You don’t run against a bloody stopwatch, do you hear? A runner runs against himself, against the best that’s in him…Against all the rottenness in the world. Against God, if you’re good enough.” – Bill Persons
“Consistency is king.” – Unknown
“Good things come slow, especially in distance running.” – Bill Dellinger
“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.” – Bill Bowerman
Race Harder
“Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.” – Steve Prefontaine
“One thing about racing is that it hurts. You better accept that from the beginning or you’re not going anywhere.” – Bob Kennedy
“A man who sets out to become an artist at the mile is something like a man who sets out to discover the most graceful method of being hanged. No matter how logical his plans, he can not carry them out without physical suffering.” – Paul O’Neil
“‘No pain, no gain’ does not mean that pain systematically equals gain. It’s easy to go hard. It’s hard to go smart.” – Erwan Le Corre
“Run the first two-thirds of the race with your head and the last third with your heart.” – Unknown
“It’s at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.” – Emil Zatopek
“In football, you might get your bell rung, but you go in with the expectation that you might get hurt, and you hope to win and come out unscathed. As a distance runner, you know you’re going to get your bell rung. Distance runners are experts at pain, discomfort, and fear. You’re not coming away feeling good. It’s a matter of how much pain you can deal with on those days. It’s not a strategy. It’s just a callusing of the mind and body to deal with discomfort. Any serious runner bounces back. That’s the nature of their game. Taking pain.” – Mark Wetmore
“You can’t flirt with the track, you must marry it.” – Bill Easton
“If you want to run, then run a mile. If you want to experience another life, run a marathon.” – Emil Zatopek
Running Motivation
“The human spirit is indomitable. No one can ever say you must not run faster than this or jump higher than that. There will never be a time when the human spirit will not be able to better existing records.” – Sir Roger Bannister
“To be great, one does not have to be mad, but definitely it helps.” – Percy Cerutty
“We must wake up to the fact that athletics is not, nor ever can be perfected; there will always be more to learn.” – Arthur “GreatHeart” Newton
“God has given me the ability. The rest is up to me. Believe. Believe. Believe.” – Billy Mills
“Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. If I quit, however, it lasts forever. – Lance Armstrong
“Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent.” – Marilyn vos Savant
“Run hard when it’s hard to run” – Pavvo
“When you experience the run, you…relive the hunt. Running is about thirty miles of chasing prey that can outrun you in a sprint, and tracking it down and bringing life back to your village. It’s a beatiful thing.” – Shawn Found
“Things in motion sooner catch the eye than what not stirs.” – Shakespeare
“What am I on? I’m on my bike busting my ass for 6 hours a day! What are you on?” – Lance Armstrong
Enjoy Your Hard Work
“I want my time spent running to serve as a reward.” – Frank Shorter
“The essential thing in life is not so much conquering as fighting well.” – Baron de Coubertin
“I love running cross-country…You come up a hill and see two deer going, ‘What the hell is he doing?’ On a track I feel like a hamster.” – Robin Williams
“Remarkable health is the pursuit of the unconventional.” –Matt Gartland
“Always enjoy yourself. Don’t be upset if you don’t win, you’ve won by simply not giving up.” – Unknown
