Inspirational Quotes
A huge part of running is mental. You are the one who can make yourself have the best or worst race of your life. Following is many important and inspiring perspectives on our sport.
To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. • Steve Prefontaine
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win. • Sir Roger Bannister
I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying. • Michael Jordan
Winning doesn't really teach you anything. You win. End of story. But the losing and how you deal with it and what you take from it—that's the interesting bit. • Hugh “House” Laurie
The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself—the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us—that's where it's at. • Jesse Owens
The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare. • Juma Ikangaa
Somewhere in Illinois someone is running when you are not. When you race him, he will win. • Unknown
The bond among teammates lasts a lifetime. You share with them the memories of being young, doing something you love, proving yourself to your teammates and yourself. You never forget your teammates’ loyalty and how you returned it in full measure, and that the trust and mutual respect allowed you to be a champion. • Bill Russell
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. • T.S. Eliot
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. • Unknown
To understand life, endure pain. • Klingon saying
Human beings are made up of flesh and blood, and a miracle fiber called courage. • Gen. George S. Patton
Running is real and relatively simple—but it ain’t easy. Mark Will-Weber
The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. • Juma Ikangaa, world-class marathon runner from Tanzania
Athletics have taught me the meaning of steady, concerted effort over a long period of time, and the joy of extreme, focused, and communal experience. • Chas Gillespie, NT '06
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.• Winston Churchill
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
Adversity introduces a man to himself. • Unknown
I say that trials and tests locate a person. In other words they determine where you are spiritually. They reveal the true condition of your heart. How you react under pressure is how the real you reacts. • John Bevere
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. • Confucius
All it takes is all you got. • Marc Davis
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. • Headstone of Jackie Robinson
Care I for the limb, the thews, the stature, bulk and big assemblence of a man? Give me his spirit. • William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2
Adversity does not build character—it reveals it. • John Wooden
Ability is what you are capable of doing, motivation determines what you do, and attitude determines how well you do it. • Lou Holtz
The door's open, but the ride ain't free. • Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road”
The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. • Vince Lombardi
No one who ever gave his best regretted it. • George Halas
It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness. • Seneca
Pain is never permanent. • St.Teresa of Avila
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win. • Sir Roger Bannister
I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying. • Michael Jordan
Winning doesn't really teach you anything. You win. End of story. But the losing and how you deal with it and what you take from it—that's the interesting bit. • Hugh “House” Laurie
The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself—the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us—that's where it's at. • Jesse Owens
The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare. • Juma Ikangaa
Somewhere in Illinois someone is running when you are not. When you race him, he will win. • Unknown
The bond among teammates lasts a lifetime. You share with them the memories of being young, doing something you love, proving yourself to your teammates and yourself. You never forget your teammates’ loyalty and how you returned it in full measure, and that the trust and mutual respect allowed you to be a champion. • Bill Russell
Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. • T.S. Eliot
Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. • Unknown
To understand life, endure pain. • Klingon saying
Human beings are made up of flesh and blood, and a miracle fiber called courage. • Gen. George S. Patton
Running is real and relatively simple—but it ain’t easy. Mark Will-Weber
The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. • Juma Ikangaa, world-class marathon runner from Tanzania
Athletics have taught me the meaning of steady, concerted effort over a long period of time, and the joy of extreme, focused, and communal experience. • Chas Gillespie, NT '06
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.• Winston Churchill
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
Adversity introduces a man to himself. • Unknown
I say that trials and tests locate a person. In other words they determine where you are spiritually. They reveal the true condition of your heart. How you react under pressure is how the real you reacts. • John Bevere
Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. • Confucius
All it takes is all you got. • Marc Davis
A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. • Headstone of Jackie Robinson
Care I for the limb, the thews, the stature, bulk and big assemblence of a man? Give me his spirit. • William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2
Adversity does not build character—it reveals it. • John Wooden
Ability is what you are capable of doing, motivation determines what you do, and attitude determines how well you do it. • Lou Holtz
The door's open, but the ride ain't free. • Bruce Springsteen, “Thunder Road”
The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender. • Vince Lombardi
No one who ever gave his best regretted it. • George Halas
It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness. • Seneca
Pain is never permanent. • St.Teresa of Avila