Quotes about running and cross country

Running Thoughts...

Running is a life long sport, a long journey into one's self.

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

The Essence of Running
Running is a road to self-awareness and reliance …
you can push yourself to extremes and learn the harsh
reality of your physical and mental limitations or coast
quietly down a solitary path watching the earth spin
beneath your feet.
But when you are through, exhilarated and exhausted,
at least for a moment everything seems right with the world…

“When you put yourself on the line in a race and
expose yourself to the unknown, you learn things
about yourself that are very exciting.”
- Doris Brown Heritage
5 time World Cross-Country Champion

“Only one person and one person only will determine
how good of a runner you become...
You will become as good as you let yourself be.
That one person is you.”
- a coach

"Dedication and commitment are what transfer dreams into realities."

"A coach is someone who always makes you do what you don't want to do, so you can be who you've always wanted to be."

"There is no glory in practice, but without practice there is no glory."

"Champions are made when no one is watching."

"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.
And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."
- Paulo Coelho

"A winner is someone who sets their goals, commits themselves to those goals and then pursues their goals with all the ability that is given to them. That requires someone who beleives in themselves, who will make self sacrifices, work hard, and maintain the determination to perform at the best of their ability."
-C. Leeman Bennett

“The long run puts the tiger in the cat.” - Bill Squires, coach

“For me, running is a lifestyle and an art. I’m far more interested in the magic of it than the mechanics.”
§ Lorraine Moller, Olympic Marathoner

“Running makes you an athlete in all areas of life…trained in the basics, prepared for whatever comes, ready to fill each hour and deal with the decisive moment.”
- Dr, George Sheehan, runner/writer/philosopher

“As a sportsman, I accept being beaten. Everybody tries to be a winner, but only one in a race will win. It’s fun to win. But I don’t find unhappiness if I lose.”
- Kip Keino, two time Olympic gold medallist

“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.”
- Priscialla Welch, Olympian & NYC Marathon winner

“A lot of people run a race to see who’s the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts.” - Steve Prefontaine

"Winning isn't always victory, losing isn't always defeat."

If the miles behind me could be put into words before you…
you would feel my efforts, my struggles, my desires,
most of all you would see my joy…
Watch me from afar run the trails and hills
and miles upon miles and you will see…
- a runner

His Running My Running
- Robert Francis
Mid-autumn late autumn
At dayfall in leaf-fall
A runner comes running.

How easy his striding
How light his footfall
His bare legs gleaming

Alone he emerges
Emerges and passes
Alone, sufficient

When Autumn was early
Two runners came running
Striding together

Shoulder to shoulder
Pacing each other
A perfect pairing

Out of leaves falling
Over leaves fallen
A runner comes running

Aware of no watcher
His loneness my loneness
His running my running

"Running is 90% mental, the rest is physical."

"While running, it is rude to count the people you pass out loud."

"Somewhere in the world someone is training when you are not.
When you race him, he will win." -- Tom Fleming

"I never walk up to the starting line with thoughts of coming in second."

"The pride you gain is worth the pain." - Dennis Ogilvie

"Being the first to cross the finish line makes you a winner in only one phase of life.
It's what you do after you cross the line that really counts." -Ralph Boston

"Running is like life, it's a long journey, but well worth it."

"A run begins the moment you forget you are running." -Adidas

"Anyone can run 100 meters. . . . It's the next 2900, 3900 or 4900 that count!"

"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."

"Cross-Country, finally, a good use of golf courses!"

"If Cross Country were easy, it would be called football!"

"It is where you are at on the last step of the race that is the most important!"

"GO THE DISTANCE!"

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon. - Emil Zatopek, winner of four Olympic Gold Medals

The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; it's to test the limits of the human heart - Bill Bowerman

A winner is someone who sets their goals, commits themselves to those goals and then pursues their goals with all the ability that is given to them. That requires someone who believes in themselves, who will make self sacrifices, work hard, and maintain the determination to perform at the best of their ability. - C. Leeman Bennett

Running, one might say, is basically an absurd pastime upon which to be exhausting ourselves. But if you can find meaning in the type of running you need to do ... chances are you'll be able to find meaning in that other absurd pastime - LIFE. - Bill Bowerman

When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter, either. At this point, willpower will be no problem. - Emil Zatopek, winner of four Olympic Gold Medals

Never mind what others do; do better than yourself, beat your own record from day to day, and you are a success. - Wiliam J.H. Boetcker

Dedication and commitment are what transfer dreams into realities. - Unknown

Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams. - Paulo Coelho

For me, running is a lifestyle and an art. I’m far more interested in the magic of it than the mechanics. - Lorraine Moller, Olympic Marathoner

Running makes you an athlete in all areas of life…trained in the basics, prepared for whatever comes, ready to fill each hour and deal with the decisive moment - Dr. George Sheehan

Being the first to cross the finish line makes you a winner in only one phase of life.
It's what you do after you cross the line that really counts. - Ralph Boston

Running is like life, it's a long journey, but well worth it. - Unknown

A run begins the moment you forget you are running. - Adidas

Running is a road to self-awareness and reliance … you can push yourself to extremes and learn the harsh reality of your physical and mental limitations or coast quietly down a solitary path watching the earth spin beneath your feet. But when you are through, exhilarated and exhausted, at least for a moment everything seems right with the world - The Essence of Running

Don't take anyone else's definition of success as your own. - Jacqueline Briskin, author

Running is like celebrating your soul. There's so much it can teach us in life. - Molly Barker

Rapid motion through space elates one. - James Joyce

There is no time to think about how much I hurt; there is only time to run. - Ben Logsdon

There will come a point in the race, when you alone will need to decide. You will need to make a choice. Do you really want it? You will need to decide. - Rolf Arands

I ran and ran every day, and I acquired a sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never, give up, no matter what else happened. - Wilma Rudolph,

Hard things take time to do. Impossible things take a little longer. - Percy Cerutty

When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less. - Paul Brown

Some individuals dream of great accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.
- Beth Lukens, Florida State runner

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

Everyone is an athlete. The only difference is that some of us are in training, and some are not. - Dr. George Sheehan

Relish the bad training runs. Without them it's difficult to recognize, much less appreciate, the good ones. - Pat Teske

For optimum progress and peak performance, practice the three P's of running: Patience, Perseverence and a Plan. - Jim Fortner

I love the marathon ... It’s a challenge, and if you don’t like challenges, something is wrong with your life. - Abdi Abdirahman

The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; it's to test the limits of the human heart.
- Bill Bowerman

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

One chance is all you need. - Jesse Owens

Winning is nice, but you savor that victory for an evening and it's gone. Competing well is just not to be equated with winning. - Bill Bowerman

The first thing I had to do was learn that I could do it. - a runner

Running is real and relatively simple - but it ain't easy. - Mark Will-Weber

A runners creed: I will win; if I cannot win, I shall be second; if I cannot be second, I shall be third; if I cannot place at all, I shall still do my best. - Ken Doherty, running coach and trainer

Anything worth while will not come easy. - Unknown

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

Those who do something and fail are infinitetly better then those who try to do nothing and succeed. - Lloyd Jones

You must listen to your body. Run through annoyance but not through pain. - Dr. George Sheehan

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

Long after the finish time is forgotten, the race is still remembered. - Unknown

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift. - Steve Prefontaine

I dont run to see how fast I am. I run to see how far I can go. - loyal TFS reader

It is the mind that rules the body. - Sojourner Truth

Man imposes his own limitations, don't set any. - Anthony Bailey

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows that it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle when the sun comes up you'd better be running. - Anon

Cross Country: No half times, no time outs, no substitutions. It must be the only true sport. - Anonymous

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it you will land among the stars. - Les Brown

Run hard when it's hard to run. - Paavvo

There are no standards and no possible victories except the joy you are living while dancing your run....you are not running for some future reward-the real reward is now! - Fred Rohe, author of The Zen of Running

Little by little does the trick. - Aesop

The faster you run the quicker your done – submitted by Megan

Seven days without running makes one weak!

- a cross country runner

No you don't die, you faint first.

-Middle School Cross Country Runner

"For a sprinter the thrill is going fast, but for a distance runner it is
the journey in between the start and the end." -a coach

My sport is your sports punishment

Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.

If cross country was easy it'd be called track!

Running is only 10% physical...the rest counts on if you believe in yourself.

Being first across that finish line makes you a winner only in other's eyes.

Crossing the finish line makes you a winner in your eyes

"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

"I believe in the runner’s high, and I believe that those who are passionate about running are the ones who experience it to the fullest degree possible. To me, the runner’s high is a sensational reaction to a great run! It’s an exhilarating feeling of satisfaction and achievement. It’s like being on top of the world, and truthfully… there’s nothing else quite like it!" - Sasha Azevedo

"Running has never failed to give me great end results, and that’s why I keep coming back

for more!" - Sasha Azevedo

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

"My greatest ideas stem from running." - Sasha Azevedo

"Every run is a great run!" - Sasha Azevedo

Carpe Diem! Seize the day! Make your lives extraordinary! Go For a Run!