Published January 1, 2026 06:00AM
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Our Editors' Favorite Running Quotes
Some are motivational, others put a smile on your face when the fatigue sets in—here are our editors' favorite running quotes.
Find motivation from running quotes our editors have rounded up from their favorite athletes, coaches, and books. (Photo: Andy Cochrane/Outside Run)
Whether you’re looking for motivation to start running, or you’re powering through the hardest training block for your next race, find inspiration in our favorite running quotes.
Some are mantras to live by without specific mention of running, while others are from professional athletes giving insights into their daily grind and the why behind their greatest success.
Running Quotes to Motivate Your Next Workout
Bob Kennedy
Two-Time American Olympian
“One thing about racing is that it hurts. You better accept that from the beginning or you’re not going anywhere.”
Jewel the Unicorn in C.S. Lewis’ The Last Battle
“If one could run without getting tired, I don’t think one would often want to do anything else.”
Harry Groves
The Only PG-13 Quote Ever from Legendary Penn State Coach to His Team
“If an atomic bomb falls in Happy Valley, brace yourself, wait for the smoke to clear … then get your A** TO PRACTICE!”
Susan Lacke
From Life’s Too Short to Go So F*cking Slow: Lessons from an Epic Friendship That Went the Distance
“We’re not born running up mountains. Most of us don’t even figure out we’re capable of such a feat until later in life. Along the way, we make a lot of mistakes. Some of us even hit rock bottom. And then we pick ourselves up, dust off the dirt, and start climbing—sometimes literally. Running is a transformative experience in mind, body, and spirit for so many. It helps us face inner demons and shush the naysayers—especially when those naysayers are ourselves.”
Ray Bradbury
From Something Wicked This Way Comes
“Like all boys, they never walked anywhere, but named a goal and lit for it, scissors and elbows. Nobody won. Nobody wanted to win. It was in their friendship they just wanted to run forever, shadow and shadow.”
Des Linden
Professional Marathoner and 2018 Boston Marathon Winner
“Stepping outside the comfort zone is the price I pay to find out how good I can be. If I planned on backing off every time running got difficult, I would hang up my shoes and take up knitting.”
Haruki Murakami
From What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
“When I’m running I don’t have to talk to anybody and don’t have to listen to anybody. This is a part of my day I can’t do without.”
Kara Goucher
American Long-Distance Runner and Author
“Never underestimate the power that one good workout will have on your mind. Keeping the dream alive is half the battle.”
“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.”
Mark Helprin
From A Soldier of the Great War
“If you really want to enjoy life, you must work quietly and humbly to realize your delusions of grandeur.”
Alan Sillitoe
From The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner
“I knew what the loneliness of the long-distance runner running across country felt like. As far as I was concerned, this feeling was the only honesty and realness there was in the world.”
Shalane Flanagan
Olympian and 2017 New York City Marathon Champion
“In the midst of an ordinary training day, I try to remind myself that I am preparing for the extraordinary.”
Katherine Switzer
The First Woman to Run the Boston Marathon as an Officially Registered Competitor
“Life is for participating, not for spectating.”
Usain Bolt
Eight-Time Olympic Gold Medalist
“I trained four years to run nine seconds, and people give up when they don’t see results in two months.”
Amy Hastings Cragg
American Track and Field Athlete
“I breathe in strength and breathe out weakness.”
