Best Running Quotes

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Every athlete needs that little boost and motivation that keeps them going despite the harsh climate. At some point, every person becomes weak and feels emotionally let-down. This applies to athletes too.  However, these are the times when you need to keep yourself going, no matter how tiring it may seem. This will teach you determination and grit.

This is when running quotes can do quite a lot. They are a great way to keep your morale high. Running is basically like a celebration of your soul and the moment you give up doing it, your soul may never be the same.

 

Our Top Recommended Running Quotes

There are thousands of running quotes that exist. Whether from Olympic champions or global icons, the list below refers to some of the best running quotes that will inspire you whenever the going gets tough.

 

1. “Even if there were two of me, I still couldn’t do all that has to be done. No matter what, though, I keep up my running. Running every day is a kind of lifeline for me, so am not going to lay off or quit just because am busy. If I used being busy as an excuse not to run, I would never run again. I have only a few reasons to keep on running and a truckload of them to quit. All I can do is to keep those few reasons nicely polished.” –Haruki Murakami

 

2. “Just because your muscles start to protest doesn’t mean you have to listen” – from the “RunnersHigh” 

 

3. “You are truly your own hero in running. It is up to you to have the responsibility and self-discipline to get the job done.”–Adam Goucher

 

4. “Running is a big question mark that is there each and every day. It asks you, are you to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?’” – Peter Maher

 

5. “I always loved running. It was something you could do for 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.” –JesseOwens

 

6. “People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they’ll go to any length to live longer. But I 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. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits; that’s the essence of running.’’ –Haruki Murakami

 

7. “Running is my meditation, mind flush, cosmic telephone, mood elevator and spiritual communion.” –Lorraine Moller

 

8. “There are clubs you can’t belong to, neighbors you can’t live in, schools you can’t get into but the roads are always open.” –Nike

 

9. “The secret to a long and healthy life is to be stress-free, be grateful for everything you have, stay away from negative people and keep running.” – Fauja Singh

 

10. “There will be days you don’t think you can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime of knowing you have.” – from the “Runner’s High” 

 

11. “Running! If there is any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can’t think of what it might be.” –Joyce Carol Oates

 

12. “Like the marathon, life can sometimes be difficult, challenging and present obstacles, however, if you believe in your dreams and never ever give up; things will turn out for the best.” – Meb Keflezighi, the United States Olympic Marathoner

 

13. “Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did.” – Nelson Mandela

 

14. “Running gives freedom. When you run you can determine your own tempo. You can choose your own course and think whatever you want. Nobody tells you what to do.” – Nina Kuscik

 

15. “I run because if I didn’t, I’d be sluggish, glum and spend too much time on the couch. I run to breathe the fresh air, to explore, to escape the ordinary, to savor the trip along the way. Life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense. I like that.” –Dean Karnazes

 

16. “It’s the training that gets you to the starting line; it’s the pacing and energy management that gets you to the finish line.” –Kenneth Harkless

 

17. “The simplicity is the heart and soul of the sport. The ordinary, everyday runners are the mainstream. I can never forget this because I am one of them, regardless of what else I am.” – Fred Lebow

 

18. “Running is a lot like life. Only 10 percent of it is exciting. 90 percent of it is slog and drudge.” – David Bedford

 

19. “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

 

20. “Life is often compared to a marathon, but I think it is more like being a sprinter; long stretches of hard work punctuated by brief moments in which we are given the opportunity to perform our best.” – Michael Johnson

 

21. “My whole feeling in terms of racing is that you have to be the very bond. You sometimes have to be aggressive and gamble.” –Bill Rodgers, winner of four Boston marathons

 

22. “Running is a gift I give myself almost daily. Even at days when everything seems to go wrong, I treat myself on the satisfaction of a lap of 30 to 40 minutes.” – Arthur Blank

 

23. “For me, running is a lifestyle and an art. I’m far more interested in the magic of it than the mechanics. It’s that interest and exploration that make running fun for me. It’s easy to become outcome-focused; for me, the unfoldment of self is what is meaningful in running and outlasts any medals.” – Lorraine Moller – Four-Time Olympic Marathoner

 

24. “When you have the running spirit, you look forward to life. I firmly believe that I wouldn’t have lived as long or as happily as I have without running.” – Max Popper in The Essential Runner

 

25. “You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I have 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

 

26. “I believe in using races as motivators. It’s hard to keep an exercise program if you don’t have a sign in sight.” – Bob Greene

 

27. “You have no idea how strong you are, you think you can’t do it, you think you’re going to die, but I promise you, if you just stick with it, you realize that you had it in you the entire time.” – Jillian Michaels

 

28. “One of the first lessons running teaches us about success in athletics and in life is that there is no one else. No one else can do your workouts for you. You alone must do the drills, you cannot hire someone else to do your cross-training when battling injury. You cannot pay someone to run a race and get you a new PR. In the end, you are truly your own hero in running. It is up to you to have the responsibility and self-discipline to get the job done.” – Adam Goucher

 

29. “When you cross the finish line, no matter how slow or fast, it will change your life forever.” – Dick Beardsley

 

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

 

31. “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

 

32. “The biggest mistake an athlete can make is to be afraid of making one.” –Ron Hubbard

 

33. “There is more to failing than picking yourself up out of the dust, brushing off the grime and trudging onward. For every defeat, there is a victory inside waiting to be let out. As long as the runner can get over the feeling sorry for himself. ” –Ron Dows, The Self Made Olympian

 

34. “That’s the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is.” – Kara Goucher, Olympic long-distance runner

 

35. “Running has taught me to love my brain, my body and what both can do for me when I use them wisely and appreciate them.” – Meggie Smith

 

36. “I’m always nervous. If I wasn’t nervous it would be weird. I get the same feeling in all the big races. It is part of a routine and I accept it.” – Allyson Felix

 

37. “I was born to be a runner. I simply love to run. It’s almost like the faster I go, the easier it becomes.” – Mary Decker

 

38. “It’s just as important to remember that each footstrike carries you forward, not backward. And every time you put on your running shoes you are different in come way than you were the day before. This is all good news.” –John Bingham

 

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

 

40. “No matter how old I get the race remains one of life’s most rewarding experiences. My times become slower and slower, but the experience of the race is unchanged.” – George Sheehan

 

41. “I think I get addicted to the feelings associated with the end of a long run. I love feeling empty, clean, worn out, and sweat-purged. Moreover, I love that good ache of the muscles that have done me proud.” – Kristin Armstrong, author of Mile Markers

 

42. “Running isn’t a sport for pretty boys. It’s about the sweat your hair and the blisters on your feet. It is the frozen spit on your chin and nausea in your gut. It’s about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that is 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 a passion that you need to live each and every day with.” –Paul Maurer

 

43. “Running is an alone time that lets my brain unspool the tangles that build up over days… I run, pound it out on the pavement, a channel that energy into my legs, and when I’m done with my run, I’m done with it.” – Rob Haneisen, an avid runner

 

44. “Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you are young enough, old enough, strong enough and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don’t let worn out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.” – John Bingham

 

45. “Running is a thing worth doing not because of the future rewards it bestows, but because of how it feeds our bodies, minds, and soul in the present” – Kelvin Nelson

 

46. “We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves” –Roger Bannister

 

47. “Running is the classical road to self-consciousness, self-awareness, and self-reliance” – Noel Carroll

 

48. “So much in life seems inflexible and unchangeable, and part of the joy of running and especially racing is the realization that you can achieve improvement and progress.” – Nancy Anderson

 

49. “Look back, not just at the people who are running behind you but especially those who don’t run and never will. There are those who start a race but don’t carry through, those who run but don’t race, those who got to the starting line but never got to the finishing line, those who once were better than you but no longer run at all. Take pride in wherever you finish and always look at the people you outlast.” – Joe Henderson

 

50. “In many ways, a race is analogous to life itself. Once it is over, you cannot re-create it. All that remains are impressions in the heart and in the mind.” – Chris Lear, in Running with the Buffaloes

 

Final Thoughts

We all know it is not easy to wake up at 5 AM on a daily basis put on your running shoes and go for a jog or a run. Sometimes you may feel like not doing it at all. There are always going to be down days. Also, when you tired after a long run, you may feel a bit low. Nevertheless, by reading these quotes after a long run, they will inspire and motivate you for the next running session.