We may train or peak for a certain race, but running is a lifetime sport.
- Alberto Salazar
In the beginning you likely say, "I run." With more confidence, you say, "I am a runner."
- Gloria Averbuch
If you have ever been around a runner who has just broke a barrier -- say suddenly being able to run a 10-, 9-, 8-, 7-minute mile -- then you understand the magic.
- Jeff Galloway
Your goal is to keep an even pace, or even better, to speed up at the end, running so-called negative splits. Most runners do the opposite, with devastating results. Every recent world best in the marathon was set by athletes who ran at an even pace or ran negative splits.
- Gina Kolata, "Keeping the Gauge off "E'"- The New York Times, October 25, 2007
Marathons are extraordinarily difficult, but if you've got the training under your belt,
and if you can run smart, the races take care of themselves.
- Deena Kastor, first american woman to run a marathon under 2:20
As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other;
it is about our lifestyle and who we are.
- Joan Benoit Samuelson
The combined feeling of exhaustion, euphoria, and accomplishment is quite luxurious.
- Larry Smith on how it feels after finishing a marathon
Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling
and enduring and accomplishing.
- George Sheehan
My times become slower and slower, but the experience of the race is unchanged:
each race a drama, each race a challenge, each race stretching me in one way or another,
and each race telling me more about myself and others.
- George Sheehan
Just like I hope to be a mother for the rest of my life, I hope to be a runner the rest of my life.
- Joan Benoit Samuelson
Now bid me run,
And I will strive with things impossible,
Yea, get the better of them.
- Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
“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.”
- Rob de Castella, winner 1983 World Marathon Championships
“I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart.”
- Mike Fanelli, running club coach
“The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. It has camaraderie. It has heroism. Every jogger can’t dream of being an Olympic champion, but he can dream of finishing a marathon.”
- Fred Lebow, New York City Marathon co-founder
“Marathoning is just another form of insanity.”
- John Kelly, 1952 Boston Marathon Winner
“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, New York City Marathon co-founder
“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, U.S. Olympian
“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, first runner to run a sub-4 minute mile
“Running is a mental sport,and we’re all insane!”
“Being a runner means you are now ‘free’ to win and lose and live life to its fullest.”
“The marathon can humble you.”
“You cannot always run at your best.”
- Bill Rodgers
“Sometimes my main reason for running is simply to see where my brain will go while my body is meandering though the local trails or roadways. It can never be predicted, and it’s always a surprise.”
“In a world that perpetually moves faster, never slower, we need all the anchoring points we can find. Chaos erupts spontaneously in our spinning lives. It’s the center of the wheel that we need to focus on more often.”
- Amby Burfoot
“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 Sheehan
“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 Sheehan
“I have learned that there is no failure in running, or in life, as long as you keep moving. It’s not about speed and gold medals. It’s about refusing to be stopped. You might find that one particular direction proves difficult, but there are many directions on a compass. Infinite, in fact. As long as you keep searching, you’ll find your way.”
- Amby Burfoot
“Running hills breaks up your rhythm and forces your muscles to adapt to new stresses. The result? You become a stronger runner!”
-Eamonn Coghlan
“Hills are speedwork in disguise.”
- Frank Shorter
“As runners, we all go through many transitions-- transitions that closely mimic the larger changes we experience in a lifetime. First, we try to run faster. Then we try to run harder. Then we learn to accept ourselves and our limitations, and at last, we can appreciate the true joy and meaning of running.”
- Amby Burfoot
A marathon is separated into two equal parts: the first 20 miles and the last 6.
“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
“I run because it’s my passion, and not just a sport. Every time I walk out the door, I know why I’m going where I’m going and I’m already focused on that special place where I find my peace and solitude. Running, to me, is more than just a physical exercise...it’s a consistent reward for victory!”
- Sasha Azevedo
If i'm not limping, that's because it hurts on both sides.
"Twenty years and several dozen marathons later, I recall my first marathon more vividly than any other I've ever run."
- Amby Burfoot
“Marathoning is a metaphor for life, so there are a lot of parallels you can draw. I tell people to follow your dream, follow your heart, follow your passion, run your own race and believe in yourself. I think anybody who wants to succeed has to have passion. My love for this sport, you can’t instill it in someone else.”
- Joan Benoit Samuelson
"I run because it's my passion, and not just a sport. Every time I walk out the door, I know why I'm going where I'm going and I'm already focused on that special place where I find my peace and solitude. Running, to me, is more than just a physical exercise...it's a consistent reward for victory!"
Sasha Azevedo, Runner Athlete
"No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success, although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finish marathons with no brains than with no shoes."
Don Kardong
"Most mistakes in a race are made in the first two minutes, perhaps in the very first minute."
Jack Daniels, Exercise Physiologist and Coach
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, "On the Run from Dogs and People"
"Hills are speedwork in disguise."
Frank Shorter
Running has the capacity to transform our minds and spirits, and to improve the lives of others.
Runner's World magazine
"Training is a case of stress management. Stress and rest, stress and rest"
-Brooks Johnson (former Stanford distance coach and U.S. Olympic running coach)
"Running hills breaks up your rhythm and forces your muscles to adapt to new stresses. The result? You become a stronger runner!"
-Eamonn Coghlan (Irish Olympian and former World Record holder in the Indoor Mile)
"When I first started running, I was so embarrassed I'd walk when cars passed me. I'd pretend I was looking at the flowers!"
-Joan Benoit Samuelson (first woman to win a gold medal in the Olympic
Marathon and one time world record holder in the marathon…2:21).
"I thought about how many preconceived prejudices would crumble when I trotted right along for 26 miles"
-Roberta Gibb, the first woman to finish The Boston Marathon
"Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos!"
-Marathon Champion Don Kardong on why he runs (so he can eat things like ice cream)
"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, after winning the gold medal in the Marathon at the Helsinki Olympic Games
"Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body"
-Lynn Jennings, World Cross Country Champion
"I have learned that there is no failure in running, or in life, as long as you keep moving. It's not about speed and gold medals. It's about refusing to be stopped. You might find that one particular direction proves difficult, but there are many directions on a compass. Infinite, in fact. As long as you keep searching, you'll find your way."
Amby Burfoot
"Sometimes my main reason for running is simply to see where my brain will go while my body is meandering though the local trails or roadways. It can never be predicted, and it's always a surprise."
Amby Burfoot
"In a world that perpetually moves faster, never slower, we need all the anchoring points we can find. Chaos erupts spontaneously in our spinning lives. It's the center of the wheel that we need to focus on more often."
Amby Burfoot
"Losing isn't contagious. It's not a fatal condition, and it's not forever. It's more like a cold that makes you miserable for a week but then goes away, and you're fine."
Amby Burfoot
"When in the mountains enjoy the mountain scenery. Nobody achieves his goal without having some fun along the way. Without fun, we'd give up long before the finish line. If there's any way to make the road easier and enjoyable, I'm all for it."
Amby Burfoot
"Life goes on, day after day, but it also has the ability to reinvent itself, to start over. This is what the seasons show us. We all have marveled at the apple tree's ability to rest through a dark, cold winter, then to grow new leaves in the spring, to blossom again, to bear fruit. We don't often think of our own lives this way, but I think we should."
Amby Burfoot
"As runners, we all go through many transitions-- transitions that closely mimic the larger changes we experience in a lifetime. First, we try to run faster. Then we try to run harder. Then we learn to accept ourselves and our limitations, and at last, we can appreciate the true joy and meaning of running."
Amby Burfoot
"I have learned that there is no failure in running, or in life, as long as you keep moving. It's not about speed and gold medals. It's about refusing to be stopped. You might find that one particular direction proves difficult, but there are many directions on a compass. Infinite, in fact. As long as you keep searching, you'll find your way."
Amby Burfoot
"Sometimes my main reason for running is simply to see where my brain will go while my body is meandering though the local trails or roadways. It can never be predicted, and it's always a surprise."
Amby Burfoot
"In a world that perpetually moves faster, never slower, we need all the anchoring points we can find. Chaos erupts spontaneously in our spinning lives. It's the center of the wheel that we need to focus on more often."
Amby Burfoot
"Losing isn't contagious. It's not a fatal condition, and it's not forever. It's more like a cold that makes you miserable for a week but then goes away, and you're fine."
Amby Burfoot
"When in the mountains enjoy the mountain scenery. Nobody achieves his goal without having some fun along the way. Without fun, we'd give up long before the finish line. If there's any way to make the road easier and enjoyable, I'm all for it."
Amby Burfoot
"Life goes on, day after day, but it also has the ability to reinvent itself, to start over. This is what the seasons show us. We all have marveled at the apple tree's ability to rest through a dark, cold winter, then to grow new leaves in the spring, to blossom again, to bear fruit. We don't often think of our own lives this way, but I think we should."
Amby Burfoot
"As runners, we all go through many transitions-- transitions that closely mimic the larger changes we experience in a lifetime. First, we try to run faster. Then we try to run harder. Then we learn to accept ourselves and our limitations, and at last, we can appreciate the true joy and meaning of running."
Amby Burfoot
You Know You're A Runner...
- when the drive to the race is longer than the race itself.
- when your idea of sightseeing involves visiting the local running store and finding the best place for hill repeats and long runs.
- when you've run, showered, and eaten breakfast (twice) before your family even wake up.
- when your friends no longer look at you like you're nuts because they know it for sure.
- when you forget birthdays and anniversaries, even major holidays, but never the date of your next race.
- when you have to make a real effort to remember to talk to your (non-running) family and friends about something other than running.
- when your family plans vacations based on where your next marathon will be.
- when people stop asking you if you are going to run today, but rather ask you when.
- when you call four miles an easy day.
- when you try to convince people to run a 5k because it's "only" three miles.
- when you come back after an hour-long run and your spouse says, "That was fast. I didn't expect you back so soon."
- when it hurts worse to take a shower than it does to keep running.
- when every T-shirt you own has a race name and sponsors list on it.
Fave Random Questions for Runners
(from Runnersworld.com polls)
Do you carry your cell phone when you run?
Do you wear anything under your running shorts?
How old were you when you started running?
What's the farthest you've ever gone in a single run?
How much sleep do you get in a typical night?
How many pairs of running shoes do you own?
What's your post-run recovery drink of choice?
Do you line up where you "belong" at the start of a large race?
Do you always run according to a "training plan"?
What's your most common pre-race nightmare?
Do you have a running-related tattoo?
Do you wear running shoes when you're not running (with jeans, khakis, etc)?
Bill Gates offers to pay you to quit your job and run full-time. What's the minimum you'll accept?
If you could race just one distance for the rest of your life, what would it be?
What would you trade, to be able to run a sub-3-hour marathon?
Do you think you "look like a runner"?
How do you feel about charity runners getting entries in big races?
How do you feel about men who run shirtless?
Will high gas prices and a tough economy affect your racing plans this year?
What single piece of gear can't you live without?
Have you ever cried during or after a race?
If you could take a pill that would guarantee a PR, and no one would ever know it, would you?
When you see a piece of litter on a run, do you pause to pick it up?
What's the number 1 reason you run?
Have you ever run in a running skirt?
How long after a marathon do you start doing long runs again?
Do you participate in your local race series?
Do you run more or less on your summer vacation?
Have you had your gait analyzed?
Do you use balance training to keep your ankles strong?
When it comes to a treat, do you prefer a sweet one or a salty one?
Do you use caffeine as a performance booster?
What's your favorite piece of gear to buy?
If the weather is bad out, do you wear your old running shoes or your new running shoes?
Do you have a destination race on your schedule this year?
When traveling, where do you do your runs?
My favorite type of workout is:
During a long run, does your body or your brain give out first?
How often do you stretch?
When it comes to refueling on a run, I:
Will you be trying to run a new race distance this year?
At what age did you start running?
What's your favorite running movie?
Which of today's celebrities would you want to run with?
What is your foot arch type?
How much do you spend on your running shoes?
Would you ever attempt an ultramarathon?
Do you keep the medals you receive at marathons?
Do you like to run on trails?
Who is your favorite current elite runner?
When the temperature drops I:
During the holidays I:
Does your running schedule interfere with your career/school?
What kind of music do you listen to while running?
Do you run with music?
Have you had your feet properly fit for running shoes?
When I cross train, I...
Where is your ideal place to run a marathon?
What is your New Year's running resolution?
What's your favorite post running snack?
What do you do when a dog is chasing you?
Can you eat immediately after finishing a race?
I buy my shoes based on...
When it comes to staying indoors to train, what's your machine of choice?
How to you handle a bad run?
After a long run the first thing I do is:
Do you only run in particular shoe brands?
What's the earliest time of day you've ever run?
How often do you run in the dark (morning or night)?
What minor running aliment bugs you the most?
How many rest/recovery days to you take a week?
What's your favorite part of the typical race goodie bag?
Do you take a multi-vitamin?
Do you keep track of your weight on a regular basis?
Where do you buy your running gear?
Have you ever been hit by a car while running?
My favorite kind of bread is:
When it comes to tapering I...
What kind of course do you like to do your long runs on?
What do you do when you have sore muscles?
Have you planned your fall racing schedule?