Best Motivational Running Quotes of All Time

Here are some of the best motivational running quotes for those days when you need to be reminded that you do actually love to run and that one bad day can be followed by many good days.

“We all have dreams, in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, self-discipline, and effort.”

-Jesse Owens, Olympic gold medalist runner

“I succeed on my own personal motivation, dedication, and commitment. My mindset is: If I’m not out there training, someone is.”

-Lynn Jennings, American long-distance runner

“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.”

-Wilma Rudolph, Olympic gold medalist sprinter

“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, first woman to run sub 5-minute indoor mile

“To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.”

-Steve Prefontaine, long distance runner, holds seven American track records

“Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.”

-Doug Larson, English gold medalist runner

“Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse it to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.”

-Tim Noakes, Professor, has run in over 70 marathon and ultramarathon events

“There will be days when I don’t know if I can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have.”

-Unknown

“Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running.”

-Sarah Condor, runner and author

“The will to win is nothing without the will to prepare.”

-Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC marathon winner

“In running, it doesn’t matter whether you came 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, NYC Marathon co-founder

“Ask yourself, ‘Can I give more?’ The answer is usually: ‘Yes’.”

-Paul Tergat, Kenyan professional marathon runner

“The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”

-John Bingham, running speaker and writer

“Don’t bother to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself.”

-William Faulkner, author

“I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we’re all cowards.”

-Alberto Salazar, three time winner of the NYC marathon

“There is an itch in runners.”

-Arnold Hano

“No one ever drowned in sweat.”

-Unknown

“There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.”

-Bill Bowerman

What motivational running quotes have inspired you? Leave them in the comments section below.