Running Quotes

Running quotes have a way of getting to my heart, spurring me on, giving me courage or a little perspective.

It’s that little bit of juice that you might need to get going when the going gets tough. Running quotes always help to motivate me and help me back the desire to run when I'm just not feeling it.

They are the perfect antidote.

I like to pick my favorites out and tape them to my nightstand where I can see them in the morning when I'm not super pumped to get out of bed to go for a run (oh, the almighty power of beds).

You could also tape them on your refrigerator, mirror, or anywhere else that will remind you what your goals are and motivate you to go after them. 

Here are some of my favorite running quotes: 

• The greatest pleasure in life, is doing the things people say we cannot do. ~ Walter Bagehot

• You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face. ~ Gatorade

• Running is a mental sport...and we’re all insane! Learn to run when feeling the pain: then push harder.

• In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that. ~ Fred Lebow

• It’s rude to count people as you pass them. Out loud. ~ Adidas ad

• It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great! ~ Tom Hanks

• Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body. ~ Lynn Jennings

• Many people shy away from hills. They make it easy on themselves, but that limits their improvement. The more you repeat something, the stronger you get. ~ Joe Catalano

• I often hear someone say I’m not a real runner. W are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner. ~ Bart Yasso

• 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

• I’ve learned that finishing a marathon isn’t just an athletic achievement. It’s a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible. ~ John Hanc

• 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. ~ Hal Higdon

• Few things in life match the thrill of a marathon. ~ Fred Lebow

• I prefer running without shoes. My toes didn’t get cold. Besides, if I’m in front from the start, no one can step on them. ~ Michelle Dekkers

• Jogging is very beneficial. It’s good for your legs and your feet. It’s also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed. ~ Charles Schulz

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

• Only think of two things – the gun and the tape. When you hear the one, just run like hell until you break the other. ~ Sam Mussabini

• If you want to live, you must walk. If you want to live long, you must run ~ Jinabhai Navik

• Runners just do it – they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first. ~Anonymous

• Real athletes run. Others just play games.

• To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

• Run like hell and get the agony over with. ~ Clarence DeMar

• It is true that speed kills. In distance running, it kills anyone who does not have it. ~ Brooks Johnson

• Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. ~ Will Rogers
• I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we’re all cowards. ~ Alberto Salazar

• Running is real and relatively simple…but it ain’t easy. ~ Mark Will-Weber

• Some people don’t have the guts for distance racing. The polite term for them is sprinters.

• You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement. ~ Steve Prefontaine

• The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. ~ Juma Ikangaa

• Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it. ~ Oprah Winfrey

• 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 is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, ‘Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’ ~ Peter Maher

• We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves...The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable." ~Sir Roger Bannister

• Whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’re probably right. ~ Henry Ford

• Remember the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running. ~ Sarah Condor

• Every day is a good day when you run. ~ Kevin Nelson

• Running long and hard is an ideal antidepressant, since it’s hard to run and feel sorry for yourself at the same time. Also, there are those hours of clearheadedness that follow a long run. ~ Monte Davis

• Watching the world’s best compete fires you up to achieve your own feats of greatness. When it comes to running participation and spectating go hand in hand. ~ Kara Goucher

• 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

• Jogging is very beneficial. It’s good for your legs and your feet. It’s also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed. ~ Charles Schulz

If you need a good little chuckle, then check out this page of 30 Funny Running Quotes & Memes That Will Make You Laugh! 

Hopefully these running quotes have nourished you for your next run! Have an amazing time out there!

If you are looking for more awesome running quotes checkout this page:

Marathon Quotes

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