168 Marathon Runners Quotes

Following is our list of marathon runners quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about good luck.

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Famous Marathon Runners Quotes

The marathon can humble you. - Bill Rodgers

The marathon can humble you. — Bill Rodgers

The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. Every jogger can't dream of being an Olympic champion, but he can dream of finishing a marathon. — Fred Lebow

A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. — Steve Prefontaine

There is a special mystique about the marathon, for example, because of its length-but that's just the bit you do at the end of an Ironman — Chrissie Wellington

When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time. — Haile Gebrselassie

Runners just do it - they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first. — Anonymous

Long distance running is particularly good training in perseverance. — Mao Zedong

Running a marathon is just like reading a good book. After a while you're just not conscious of the physical act of reading. — Frank Shorter

A runner must run with dreams in his heart. - Emil Zatopek

A runner must run with dreams in his heart. — Emil Zatopek

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

I admire runners older than I - they are now my heroes. I want to be like them as I grow older. — Frank Shorter

If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon. - Kathrine Switzer

If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon. — Kathrine Switzer

Anyone can run 20 miles. It's the next six that count. — Barry Magee

When I go to the Boston Marathon now, I have wet shoulders—women fall into my arms crying. They're weeping for joy because running has changed their lives. They feel they can do anything. — Kathrine Switzer

None of the longest-lived people ran marathons or pumped iron. They live exactly as their grandparents before them - surrounded by family and friends. — Dan Buettner

Short Marathon Runners Quotes

  • Life is a marathon, not a sprint; pace yourself accordingly. — Amby Burfoot
  • If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon. — Emil Zatopek
  • In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be. — Haruki Murakami
  • Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running. — Julie Isphording
  • The real purpose of running isn't to win a race, it's to test the limits of the human heart. — Bill Bowerman
  • The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank. — George A. Sheehan
  • The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank. — George Sheehan
  • I'm a working mom, not a professional athlete, but I am a runner and that's a special club. — Alison Sweeney

Marathon Runners Image Quotes

Motivational Quotes

You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. — C. S. Lewis

If I have accomplished anything in life it is because I have been willing to work hard. — Madam C. J. Walker

I may not be a role model, but I most definitely could be motivation for a lot of people in the hoods. — Rick Ross

No Fear, No Hesitation, No Surprise, No Doubt — Miyamoto Musashi

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. - Jim Ryun

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going. — Jim Ryun

In time, all things work to your advantage when you pursue them with an open heart. — Miyamoto Musashi

A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others. — Ayn Rand

I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don't sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them. — Madam C. J. Walker

For what it's worth, it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of and if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over. — F. Scott Fitzgerald

Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, determines your destiny. — Aristotle

Good Luck Quotes

Good luck, Mr. Gorsky! — Neil Armstrong

Do not go gently into that good night but rage, rage against the dying of the light. — Dylan Thomas

How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. — A. A. Milne

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. — Edward R. Murrow

To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both. — St. Catherine of Siena

Good things come to those who hustle — Chuck Noll

Life is not so bad if you have plenty of luck, a good physique, and not too much imagination. — Christopher Isherwood

The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act. - Barbara Sher

The amount of good luck coming your way depends on your willingness to act. — Barbara Sher

Take pride in how far you've come. Have faith in how far you can go. But don't forget to enjoy the journey. — Michael Josephson

We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. — Edward R. Murrow

Positive Quotes

I learned that everybody is not your friend. You have to watch who you associate with and surround yourself with positive things and people who want to do something positive. — Gucci Mane

The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively. — Bob Marley

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results. — Willie Nelson

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving. Moving Forward In A Positive Direction - Colin StuckertAlbert Einstein

I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has had to overcome while trying to succeed. — Booker T. Washington

Choosing to be positive and having a grateful attitude is going to determine how you're going to live your life. — Joel Osteen

The POSITIVE THINKER sees the INVISIBLE, feels the INTANGIBLE, and achieves the IMPOSSIBLE. — Winston Churchill

Every day may not be good... but there's something good in every day — Alice Morse Earle

Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary. — Steve Jobs

It takes but one positive thought when given a chance to survive and thrive to overpower an entire army of negative thoughts. — Robert H. Schuller

Marathon Quotes

When I came back, after all those stories about Hitler and his snub, I came back to my native country, and I could not ride in the front of the bus. I had to go to the back door. I couldn't live where I wanted. Now what's the difference? — Jesse Owens

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

Rincewind had always been happy to think of himself as a racist. The One Hundred Meters, the Mile, the Marathon -- he'd run them all. — Terry Pratchett

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

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. - Jules Renard

Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. — Jules Renard

There's no way to become great overnight, but in the marathon of success, it takes a lot of intention to see you through each day of the journey. — Lewis Howes

Don't listen to negative influences. Believe in yourself, and show others what you can do. Only "you" can find your potential. — Marla Runyan

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 at our best. — Michael Johnson

I completed five half marathons in 2002. — Wim Hof

Go in any direction..seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs. — Paula Radcliffe

Training For A Marathon Quotes

I don't think about the miles that are coming down the road, I don't think about the mile I'm on right now, I don't think about the miles I've already covered. I think about what I'm doing right now, just being lost in the moment. — Ryan Hall

Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have Nature, and that is much better. — Juha Vaatainen

The mile has a classic symmetry....It's a play in four acts. — John Landy

The real competition is against the little voice inside you that wants to quit — George A. Sheehan

Analysis is a glittering opportunity for training: it is just here that capacity for work, perseverence and stamina are cultivated, and these qualities are, in truth, as necessary to a chess player as a marathon runner. — Lev Polugaevsky

The freedom of cross country is so primitive. It's woman vs. nature. — Lynn Jennings

Dream barriers look very high until someone climbs them. They are not barriers anymore. — Lasse Viren

Having a true faith is the most difficult thing in the world. Many will try to take it from you. — Steve Prefontaine

I try to avoid the temptation with time as a total indicator for what my possibilities are for the marathon. It's the not the best indicator, but it's more how you feel, how you cover the distance and how you are able to do the training afterward. — Ryan Hall

Top results are achieved only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. — Juha Vaatainen

Boston Marathon Quotes

Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. - Fred Rogers

Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. — Fred Rogers

Let's hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American. — David Sirota

Every runner has a specific motivation and inspiration for running a marathon. This year, all 36,000 of us will 'run together' to demonstrate the spirit of the marathon. We will still have our individual motivations, but we will be unified under the Boston Strong umbrella. — Meb Keflezighi

I ran the Boston Marathon out of love. I believe that love is the basis of all meaningful human endeavor. Yet it was a love that was incomplete until it was shared with others. — Bobbi Gibb

A picture, of Jock Semple kissed me,appeared in The New York Times the next day after Boston Marathon in 1973, and the caption was "The end of an era." — Kathrine Switzer

Comedy Central made me delete the Boston Marathon joke. I wasn't happy about it but, despite popular belief, I can occasionally be a team player. — Anthony Jeselnik

I wasn't going to toss off words like love and forever until I was sure. Until he was sure. Forever can be a very long time for a n=Bean sidhes, ans so far his track record looked more like the fifty-yard dash than the Boston marathon. — Rachel Vincent

Jock Semple said "Oh the women ran well today the Boston Marathon and they deserve to be in the race." I had to laugh. I said "Well it took us five years but anyway, we're here." It pretty much changed everything. — Kathrine Switzer

Boston is the cream of the crop of the marathon world. It has such history that you feel such honor just being a part of it. All the other races have pacers to get you to a Boston qualifying time. — Summer Sanders

There is a unique energy surrounding the Boston Marathon that you can't help but feel. It includes every runner and every person along the course. It brings every person there together as one. — Amy Hastings

Long Distance Running Quotes

Walking long distances is fundamental to being a hunter-gatherer, but people sometimes have to run. One powerful motivation is to sprint to a tree or some other refuge when being chased by a predator. — Daniel Lieberman

They say the breaks even up in the long run, and the trick is to be a long-distance runner. — Chuck Knox

In general, any form of exercise, if pursued continuously, will help train us in perseverance. Long-distance running is particularly good training in perseverance. — Mao Zedong

We have these amazing gifts of music and mathematics and painting and Olympic running. I mean, we're the animal that is best of all the animals at long-distance running. Why? It is quite amazing. Superfluous gifts you don't really need to survive. — Freeman Dyson

I get stoned, I can't get home, I'm calling long distance on a public saxophone. My head is achin', my back is breakin', feel I got run over by Captain Coconut and his dog named Rover. — Jimi Hendrix

During long, slow distance training, you should think of yourself as a thoroughbred disguised as a plow horse. No need to give yourself away by running fast. — Marty Liquori

It is always easiest to run with the herd; at times, it can take a deep reservoir of courage and conviction to stand apart from it. Yet distancing yourself from the crowd is an essential component of long-term investment success. — Seth Klarman

Long slow distance makes long slow runners. — Jim Bush

I've always felt that long, slow distance produces long, slow runners. — Sebastian Coe

In the big city, if the man next door happens to be a slum landlord, a Mafia bag man, or a long distance runner, what does it matter, as long as he puts his garbage out on Tuesdays? — Hal Higdon

Ultra Marathon Quotes

Just put one foot in front of the other. - Austin Peck

Just put one foot in front of the other. — Austin Peck

It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse. - Ann Trason

It hurts up to a point and then it doesn't get any worse. — Ann Trason

The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless. — Dean Karnazes

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

It is not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. — Theodore Roosevelt

So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat. — Theodore Roosevelt

There is magic in misery. Just ask any runner. — Dean Karnazes

I run because it's my passion, and not just a sport. — Sasha Azevedo

If it felt good, you didn't push hard enough. It's supposed to hurt like hell. — Dean Karnazes

I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary. — Dean Karnazes

Distance Running Quotes

In running it is man against himself, the cruelest of opponents. The other runners are not the real enemies. His adversary lies within him, in his ability with brain and heart to master himself and his emotions. — Glenn Cunningham

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep but I have promises to keep... — Robert Frost

I always loved running.... It was something you could do by yourself and under your own power. — Jesse Owens

I have a saying 'train, don't strain.' The Americans have the saying 'no pain, no gain' and that's why they have no distance running champions. They get down to the track with a stopwatch and flog their guts out thinking that it'll make them a champion, but they'll never make a champion that way. — Arthur Lydiard

Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'. — Paul Tergat

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

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

There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be. — George A. Sheehan

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

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

To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who's never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind. — Jerome Drayton

Ultra Running Quotes

The only way to define your limits is by going beyond them. - Arthur C. Clarke

The only way to define your limits is by going beyond them. — Arthur C. Clarke

It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running. — Abe Gubegna

There's no such thing as bad weather - only the wrong clothes. — Billy Connolly

If you're feeling good, don't worry. You'll get over it. — Yogi Berra

I started running ultras to become a better person. — Jenn Shelton

The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life. — George A. Sheehan

I started running ultras to become a better person. I thought if you could run 100 miles you'd be in this Zen state. You'd be the Buddha, bringing peace and a smile to the world. It didn't work in my case. I'm the same old punk-ass as before, but there's always hope. — Jenn Shelton

Runners like to train 100 miles per week because it's a round number. But I think 88 is a lot rounder. — Don Kardong

How to run an ultramarathon ? Puff out your chest, put one foot in front of the other, and don't stop till you cross the finish line. — Dean Karnazes

I run because it always takes me where I want to go. — Dean Karnazes

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More Marathon Runners Quotes

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

I always tell beginning runners: Train your brain first. It's much more important than your heart or legs. — Amby Burfoot

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

Most people who do a lot of exercise, particularly in the form of competitive athletics, have unneurotic, extraverted, optimistic personalities to begin with. (Marathon runners are exceptions to this.) — Robert M. Sapolsky

We runners are all a little nutty, but we're good people who just want to enjoy our healthy, primitive challenge. Others may not understand running, but we do, and we cherish it. That's our only message. — John J. Kelley

Running hills breaks up your rhythm and forces your muscles to adapt to new stresses. The result? You become stronger. — Eamonn Coghlan

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

I definitely want to show how beautiful the marathon can be. I am the opponent of all those who find the marathon bad: the psychologists, the physiologists, the doubters. I make the marathon beautiful for myself and for others. That's why I'm here. — Uta Pippig

Listen to your body. Do not be a blind and deaf tenant. — George A. Sheehan

We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves — Roger Bannister

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

In golf, as in life, you get out of it what you put into it. — Sam Snead

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail. — Steve Prefontaine

If you feel bad at 10 miles, you're in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you're normal. If you don't feel bad at 26 miles, you're abnormal. — Robert de Castella

I was unable to walk for a whole week after that, so much did the race take out of me. But it was the most pleasant exhaustion I have ever known. — Emil Zatopek

Business is a sprint until you find an opportunity, then it's the patience of a marathon runner. — Robert Herjavec

Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don't think about them, I just do them. The decision has already been made. — PattiSue Plumer

But it's the wrestler who can put the fatigue out of his mind and break through the "wall," like a marathon runner after 18 or 20 miles, who will survive. The key to that survival is in hard workouts that develop mental confidence to the point where you won't submit to fatigue and pain descending upon you. — Lou Banach

We have sex like Kenyan marathon runners. — Olivia Wilde

The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama, competition, camaraderie & heroism — Fred Lebow

For me, as for so many runners, there really are no finish lines. Runs end; running doesn't. — Dean Karnazes

Running helps me stay on an even keel and in an optimistic frame of mind. — William J. Clinton

Onions make me sad. A lot of people don't realize that. — Mitch Hedberg

Running is one the best solutions to a clear mind. — Sasha Azevedo

Just as you can't become a marathon runner by watching marathons on TV, likewise for science, you have to go through the thought processes of doing science and not just watch your instructor do it. — Eric Mazur

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

And when those bombs went off, there were runners who, after finishing a marathon, kept running for another two miles to the hospital to donate blood. So, here's what I know - these maniacs may have tried to make life bad for the people of Boston, but all they can ever do, is show just how good those people are. — Stephen Colbert

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