50 Running Quotes from Legendary Runners

The list

1. Steve Prefontaine — To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
2. Emil Zátopek — If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.
3. Eliud Kipchoge — No human is limited.
4. Oprah Winfrey — Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.
5. George A. Sheehan — It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.
6. Haruki Murakami — Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
7. John Bingham — The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.
8. Dean Karnazes — Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.
9. Paula Radcliffe — (On racing and resilience) — “In the marathon you get what you put in.” (paraphrase of her ethos)
10. Bill Bowerman — There’s no such thing as bad weather, only soft people.
11. Wilma Rudolph — Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.
12. Kara Goucher — Running is the best way I know to clear my head and reconnect with what matters.
13. Des Linden — The marathon is a personal war. You have to go in there prepared to suffer.
14. Shalane Flanagan — You learn a lot about yourself when you have to dig deep.
15. Meb Keflezighi — I don’t run to add days to my life — I run to add life to my days.
16. Grete Waitz — The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.
17. Joan Benoit Samuelson — It’s not about being the best. It’s about being better than you were yesterday.
18. Frank Shorter — The real purpose of running isn’t to win a race, it’s to test the limits of the human heart.
19. Kristin Armstrong — Consistency. That’s the game.
20. Molly Huddle — Train hard, trust the process.
21. Deena Kastor — Running taught me that life is about more than how fast you go. It’s about how true you are to yourself.
22. Gabe Grunewald — Fight like hell — but do it with joy.
23. Kipchoge (again) — Only the disciplined ones are free. (Kipchoge philosophy echoed in interviews)
24. Usain Bolt — Don’t think about the start of the race, think about the ending.
25. H. M. (unknown/anonymous classic) — No matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everyone on the couch.
26. John “The Penguin” Bingham (again) — You don’t have to be fast — you just have to finish.
27. Dean Karnazes (again) — There is magic in misery. Just ask any runner.
28. Katherine Switzer — Fear is nothing more than a story we tell ourselves.
29. Eamon Coghlan — The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.
30. Eric Liddell (runner & Olympian) — I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. When I run I feel His pleasure.
31. Paula Radcliffe (again) — The marathon is about the training; the race is about the heart.
32. Frank Shorter (again) — A marathon is like life with its ups and downs.
33. Bill Rodgers — There’s nothing like the joy of running with a group and crossing a finish line together.
34. Alberto Salazar (on training ethic) — Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. (common training mantra — widely used across sports)
35. Leni Riefenstahl (adapted) — When you run with passion, people notice.
36. Sage Canaday — Embrace the suck — that’s where growth lives.
37. Hal Higdon — The miracle isn’t that I finished, but that I had the courage to start. (used widely in running circles)
38. Kara Goucher (again) — One run can change your day; many runs can change your life.
39. Amby Burfoot — To finish first, you must first finish.
40. Zola Budd — Speed is for the legs; courage is for the soul.
41. Lornah Kiplagat — Dreams are free — hard work is not.
42. Steve Prefontaine (again) — It’s not who’s the best — it’s who can take the most pain.
43. Paulo Coelho (general inspiration used by runners) — When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. (often quoted as running motivation)
44. Rod Dixon — The marathon is the most glorious torture I can imagine.
45. Dean Karnazes (again) — The marathon is about more than the race. It’s about the community, the training, the journey.
46. Unknown/anonymous — Run your own race.
47. Unknown/anonymous — When you feel like quitting, remember why you started.
48. Unknown/anonymous — One step at a time. That’s how mountains are climbed.
49. Unknown/anonymous — Your fastest mile is the one you haven’t run yet.
50. Unknown/anonymous — Finish strong — you never know who’s watching.