The gun goes off and everything changes… the world changes… and nothing else really matters.
Patti Sue Plummer

Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.
Steve Prefontaine

Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity.
Michael Johnson

The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare.
Juma Ikangaa

No negative thoughts cross my mind on race day. When I look into their eyes, I know I’m going to beat them.
Danny Harris

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
Jules Renard

Quotes on Pain and Pleasure in Running

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

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

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

Miscellaneous Running Quotes

I cannot have survival as my only goal. That would be too boring. My goal is to come back in my best running form. It is good for me to have that goal; it will help me.
Ludmila Engquist (Olympic champion hurdler facing cancer)

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 Ad

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

We can’t all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
Will Rogers

Cross Country Quotes

The start of a World Cross Country event is like riding a horse in the middle of a buffalo stampede. It’s a thrill if you keep up, but one slip and you’re nothing but hoof prints.
Ed Eyestone

The freedom of Cross Country is so primitive. It’s woman vs. Nature.
Lynn Jennings

Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have nature and that is much better.
Juha Väätäinen

Marathon Quotes

To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who’s never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind.
Jerome Drayton

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

Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when awareness comes, it is excruciating.
John Farrington

There is the truth about the marathon and very few of you have written the truth. Even if I explain to you, you’ll never understand it, you’re outside of it.
Douglas Wakiihuri (speaking to journalists)

You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can’t know what’s coming.
Frank Shorter