Running is one of the best forms of exercise. It reduces your biological age, improves cardiovascular fitness, burns a ridiculous amount of calories and even reduces the likelihood of getting alzheimers later in life.
But sometimes, your motivation to run can go through a dip. When this happens, these motivational running quotes can help reignite your passion and get you back on the road to success.
1
"However ordinary each of us may seem, we are all in some way special, and can do things that are extraordinary, perhaps until then... even thought impossible."
2
"I love running because it's the one thing I do every day and never regret."
3
"I discovered early that running always made me feel powerful, free and fearless."
4
"The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life."
5
"First, do enough training. Then believe in yourself and say: I can do it. Tomorrow is my day. And then say: the person in front of me, he is just a human being as well; he has two legs, I have two legs, that is all. That is mentally how you prepare."
6
"Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push the boundaries. And laugh a lot - it's good for you!"
7
"We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort."
8
"Don't dream of winning... train for it!"
9
"Pain is the body's way of ridding itself of weakness"
10
"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. I love that good ache of the muscles that have done me proud."
11
"Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running"
12
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
13
"I don't run to add days to my life. I run to add life to my days."
14
"The more I ran, the more my potential was revealed. "
15
"Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't!"
16
"We all know that if you run, you are pretty much choosing a life of success because of it."
17
"There's not one body type that equates to success. Accept the body you have and be the best you can be with it."
18
“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.”
19
"If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon."
20
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
21
“Running is my private time, my therapy, my religion.”
22
“You also need to look back, not just at the people who are running behind you but especially at those who don’t run and never will… those who run but don’t race…those who started training for a race but didn’t carry through…those who got to the starting line but didn’t in the finish line…those who once raced better than you but no longer run at all. You’re still here. Take pride in wherever you finish. Look at all the people you’ve outlasted.”
23
“Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you’re not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you’re not demanding more from yourself – expanding and learning as you go – you’re choosing a numb existence. You’re denying yourself an extraordinary trip.”
24
“Running became the one event in my daily life that I looked forward to. Books and movies paled in comparison to the refuge of my feet slapping patiently in the fresh morning air”
25
“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.”
26
“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.”
27
“If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don’t spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it”
28
"Our running shoes have magic in them. The power to transform a bad day into a good day; frustration into speed; self-doubt into confidence; chocolate cake into muscle."
29
"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."
30
"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."
31
"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy…It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."
32
"Workouts are like brushing my teeth; I don’t think about them, I just do them. The decision has already been made."
33
"Running has given me the courage to start, the determination to keep trying, and the childlike spirit to have fun along the way. Run often and run long, but never outrun your joy of running."
34
"The five S’s of sports training are: Stamina, Speed, Strength, Skill and Spirit; but the greatest of these is Spirit."
35
“Winning has nothing to do with racing. Most days don’t have races anyway. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up.”
36
“Experience has taught me how important it is to just keep going, focusing on running fast and relaxed. Eventually pain passes and the flow returns. It’s part of racing.”
37
“‘I breathe in strength and breathe out weakness,’ is my mantra during marathons—it calms me down and helps me focus.”
38
“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.”
39
“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.”
40
“Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body.”
41
“Some seek the comfort of their therapist’s office, other head to the corner pub and dive into a pint, but I chose running as my therapy.”
42
"If you don’t think you were born to run you’re not only denying history. You’re denying who you are."
43
"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."
44
"The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am."
45
“What I’ve learned from running is that the time to push hard is when you’re hurting like crazy and you want to give up. Success is often just around the corner.”
46
“If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don’t spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it.”
47
I look at struggle as an opportunity to grow. True struggle happens when you can sense what is not working for you and you’re willing to take the appropriate action to correct the situation. Those who accomplish change are willing to engage the struggle.”
48
"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy…It is not age; it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."
49
“I often hear someone say I’m not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner.”
50
“Never underestimate the power that one good workout can have on your mind. Keeping the dream alive is half the battle.”
51
“Running! If there’s any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can’t think of what it might be.
52
“We all have bad days and bad workouts, when running gets ugly, when split times seem slow, when you wonder why you started. It will pass.”
53
“I always tell my athletes, don’t confuse difficulty with failure.”
54
"Our bodies crave exercise, and reward us in so many ways when we do so!"
55
"I admire runners older than I - they are now my heroes. I want to be like them as I grow older"
56
"To be a consistent winner means preparing not just one day, one month or even one year - but a lifetime. "
57
"A lot of people say they love running because of how they feel afterward. Not me. Well, I love that, too, but it's also so much fun while I'm out there."
58
"There’s not a better feeling than when you have found that moment of balance and harmony when both running and life come together. Then you know why you run and that you couldn’t live without it."
59
"You can't become a winner overnight, or even in a couple of years-it takes time... You will lose races and you will have to accept that, learn from it and believe that you'll win the next one, knowing that you'll probably lose that as well. All the time you have to keep believing that one day you will win."
60
"All athletes need three things: commitment, discipline and hard work. Without that it's hard to keep running."
61
"A goal is just an awesome way to force growth on yourself."
62
"To finish will leave you feeling like a champion and positively change your life."
63
"Intervals and other types of speed work are essential to improve running speed."
64
"I like the marathon because it's one race where you can find out who's really the toughest. On the track, sometimes a guy can just pull away, and you want to stay with him but you don't have the leg speed. The marathon is slow enough that anyone can stay with you if he wants, if he has the will. The marathon is ultimately a test of will"
65
"The advice I have for beginners is the same philosophy that I have for runners of all levels of experience and ability -- consistency, a sane approach, moderation and making your running an enjoyable, rather than dreaded, part of your life."
66
"You have to want it, you have to plan for it, you have to fit it into a busy day, you have to be mentally tough, you have to use others to help you. The hard part isn't getting your body in shape. The hard part is getting your mind in shape."
67
"Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not."
68
"Confidence is a belief in myself and my ability. I built my confidence through hard training. I believed there was no one out there working any harder than me."
69
"But the longer and further I ran, the more I realized that what I was often chasing was a state of mind- a place where worries that seemed monumental melted away, where the beauty and timelessness of the universe, of the present moment, came into sharp focus."
70
"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."
71
"If you train your mind for running, everything else will be easy."
72
"The more I run, the more I want to run, and the more I live a life conditioned and influenced and fashioned by my running. And the more I run, the more certain I am that I am heading for my real goal: to become the person I am."
73
"The most difficult part, when you decide to make running a part of your life style, is the basic initial commitment. Everybody says, 'I don't have the time.' It's up to you to say, 'I do have the time.' For me, beginning to run when I was a student was an ideal situation. However, I've also trained as much as 130 miles per week during periods when I worked a full-time job. It ultimately becomes second nature. It becomes a habit, a routine part of your daily life"
74
"I can't imagine living and not running"
75
"Most people have this perception that you have to be out there running for an hour and a half every day. But you don't have to give up your career and family to run a marathon."
76
"Love yourself, for who and what you are; protect your dream and develop your talent to the fullest extent."
77
"I've always taken the philosophy that you have to dream a little in this sport. If you stay in your comfort zone, you're not going to do anything special."
78
"Like everyone else, I want to be challenged. I want to find out whether or not I am a coward. I want to see how much effort I can put out . . . what I can endure . . . if I measure up. Running allows that."
79
"Fear is what makes you come alive, the lure of the unknown - can I do this? - thats where the growth comes from, the pain. I dont remember the running effortlessly; I remember the hard times; adversity breathes transformation."
80
"Some seek the comfort of their therapist's office, other head to the corner pub and dive into a pint, but I chose running as my therapy."
81
"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."
82
"Running has taken me in, and continues to comfort, heal and challenge me in all kinds of magical ways. I am not a 'good runner' because I am me. I am a good 'me' because I am a runner."
83
"Progress is rarely a straight line. There are always bumps in the road, but you can make the choice to keep looking ahead."
84
"Running cleared the day's cobwebs from my mind and focused my thinking, and gave me time and space to sort out anything that was bothering me, or to detach and think of nothing at all. When it's pouring rain and you're bowling along through the wet, there's satisfaction in knowing you're out there and the others aren't."
85
"In running, it doesn't matter how fast or slow you are relative to anyone else. You set your own pace and you measure your own progress. You can't lose this race because you're not running against anyone else. You're only running against yourself, and as long as you are running, you are winning."
86
"The beauty of running is its simplicity; the beauty of runners is that we all have a similar drive to improve. We are either trying to run a personal best, or toeing the line for the first time, which will snowball into a future of trying to run personal bests. We road racers are a tight community of mileage-happy, limit-pushing athletes."
87
"We all lose sometimes. We fail to get what we want. Friends and loved ones leave. We make a decision we regret. We try our hardest and come up short. It's not the losing that defines us. It's how we lose. It's what we do afterward."
88
"I wasn't born with any innate talent. I've never been naturally gifted at anything. I always had to work at it. The only way I knew how to succeed was to try harder than anyone else. Dogged persistence is what got me through life. But here was something I was half-decent at. Being able to run great distances was the one thing I could offer the world. Others might be faster, but I could go longer. My strongest quality is that I never give up."
89
Running is my meditation, mind flush, cosmic telephone, mood elevator and spiritual communion.
90
Don't try to rush progress. Remember -- a step forward, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction. Keep believing.
91
“For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself.”
92
“I could feel my anger dissipating as the miles went by–you can’t run and stay mad!”
93
“We wouldn’t be alive without love, we wouldn’t have survived without running. Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that getting better at one could make you better at the other.”
94
"Acknowledge all of your small victories. They will eventually add up to something great."
95
"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."
96
"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."
97
"Fear is what makes you come alive, the lure of the unknown - can I do this? - thats where the growth comes from, the pain. I dont remember the running effortlessly; I remember the hard times; adversity breathes transformation."
98
"Running has taught me, perhaps more than anything else, that there's no reason to fear starting lines... or other new beginnings."
99
"Running in the morning has me appreciate all the choices that come later in the day. The choices I make after running seem healthier, wiser and kinder."
100
“We are designed to run and we increase our chance of daily happiness when we do so.”
101
"You don't stop running because you get old, you get old because you stop running."
