Running Quotes Every Runner Needs to Know

Published on:January 01, 0001

Check out these great quotes from the world's most recognizable runners. They surely will encourage you to keep running and push yourself harder.

"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."
-Doris Brown Heritage

Doris Brown Heritage was the first women to run a sub-5 minute mile, clocking 4:52. She has represented the United States on 9 world cross country teams and won 14 national titles.

"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."
-Roger Bannister

Roger Bannister was the first person to run a sub-4 minute mile, clocking 3:59. As a noted British runner, he has won 5 championships, earned a medical degree, became a neurologist and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

"Running strips life back to the bare essentials. When we challenge ourselves, it breaks down barriers. It brings us back to our essence and peels away the layers of ego we surround ourselves with. Many a grown man or woman will cry during or when finishing a marathon: long regarded as the ultimate achievement in the running world. Emotions flow freely, the struggle is obvious and most of the competition is with yourself."
-Grahak Cunningham

Grahak Cunningham is an ultra-marathoner, finishing the world's longest ultra marathon, the Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, four times.

"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

John Bingham is an American marathon runner and author of several books. He also writes the No Need for Speed column in Runner's World.

Looking for some motivation? Check out 10 Motivational Quotes to get your legs moving!