“Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about“. PattiSue Plumer.

“Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying, and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way. Run often and run long, but never outrun your joy of running“. Julie Isphording.

“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired…You’ve always got to make the mind take over and keep going“. George S. Patton, U.S. Army General and 1912 Olympian.

“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 to quit“. George Sheehan.

“Life (and running) is not all about time but about our experiences along the way“. Jen Rhines.

“Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be“. George Sheehan.

“A marathon is like life  with its ups and downs, but once you’ve done it, you feel you can do anything“. Anonymous.

“Somewhere along the path, running became the canvas upon which I documented my life“. Dagny  Scott.

“If you don’t have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain’t getting them“.      Christopher McDougall.

“Running isn’t a sport for pretty boys…It’s about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut.  It’s about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead.  It’s about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with.  It’s about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there’s not a single soul in sight to cheer you on.  Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you’ve finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that’s all that you can ask for“. Paul Maurer.

“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not demanding more from yourself – expanding and learning as you go – you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip“.      Dean Karnazes.

“Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up, it knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed.  Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.  It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve.  It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or a gazelle-when the sun comes up, you’d better be running“. Christopher McDougall.

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional“. Haruki Murakami.

“My nose runs faster during flu season than you do during running season“. The Jogging Dad trash talking to himself after a disappointing 10km race.

“I didn’t train all that time just to come here and get it over with as fast as I can“. John Bingham.

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

“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.

“People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer. But don’t think that’s the reason most people run. 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 — and for me, for writing as whole. I believe many runners would agree“. Haruki Murakami.

“It’s a treat being a runner, out in the world by yourself with not a soul to make you bad-tempered or tell you what to do“. Alan Sillitoe.

“My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy“. John Bryant.

“I run because it’s so symbolic of life.  You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles.  You might feel that you can’t.  But then you find your inner strength, and realize you’re capable of so much more than you thought“. Arthur Blank

“If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run“. John Bingham

“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,

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people“. Bill Bowerman

“I don’t think jogging is healthy, especially morning jogging. If morning joggers knew how tempting they looked to morning motorists, they would stay home and do sit-ups“. Rita Rudner

“The only reason I would take up jogging is so that I could hear heavy breathing again“. Erma Bombeck

“Methinks that the moment my legs began to move, my thoughts began to flow“. Henry David Thoreau.

“We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves“. Sir Roger Bannister,  first runner to run a sub-4 minute mile.

“It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard…is what makes it great!“. Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own.

“I thought, man, if you could run 100 miles, you’d be in this Zen state. You’d be the f**king Buddha. Bringing peace and a smile to the world. In my case, it didn’t work.  I’m the same old punk ass as ever. But there’s always this hope that it’ll turn you into the person you want to be. You know, like a better, more peaceful person. And when I’m out on a long run, the only thing in life that matters is finishing the run. For once, my brain isn’t going ‘bleh bleh bleh bleh.’ Everything just quiets down, and the only thing going on is pure flow“. Jenn Shelton, American Ultrarunner.