"'I don't get it,' Caroline said, bemused. 'She's the only one with wings. Why is that?'
There were so many questions in life. You couldn't ever have all the answers. But I knew this one.
'It's so she can fly,' I said. Then I started to run."
— Sarah Dessen (The Truth About Forever)

"You would run much slower if you were dragging something behind you, like a knapsack or a sheriff."
— Lemony Snicket

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."
— John Bingham (No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running)

"I run after her, not really giving chase. I’m running because I can, because I must."
— Libba Bray

"He was a mystery to her, and every time she tried to solve him it caused her a little more pain. But when she tired to give him up he pursued her in her thoughts, stronger each time. (Envy)"
— Anna Godbersen

"It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination. We have a better chance of seeing where we are when we stop trying to get somewhere else. We can enjoy every moment of movement, as long as where we are is as good as where we'd like to be. That's not to say that you need to be satisfied forever with where you are today. But you need to honor what you've accomplished, rather than thinking of what's left to be done (p. 159)."
— John Bingham (No Need for Speed: A Beginner's Guide to the Joy of Running)

"You got one guy going boom, one guy going whack, and one guy not getting in the endzone."
— John Madden

"I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go."
— Dean Karnazes (Ultramarathon Man)

"People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they'll go to any length to live longer. But don't think that's the reason most people run. Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive then in a fog, and I believe running helps you to do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life — and for me, for writing as whole. I believe many runners would agree"
— Haruki Murakami (What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

"Running! If there's any activity happier, more exhilarating, more nourishing to the imagination, I can't think of what it might be. In running the mind flees with the body, the mysterious efflorescence of language seems to pulse in the brain, in rhythm with our feet and the swinging of our arms."
— Joyce Carol Oates

"I'm often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I'm running? I don't have a clue."
— Haruki Murakami (What I Talk About When I Talk About Running)

"Everything you need is already inside."
— Bill Bowerman

""Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within.""
— Chariots of Fire

"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."
— A runner

"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."
— Dean Karnazes (Ultramarathon Man)

""Running is a mental sport...and we're all insane!""
— An insane person

"Running to him was real; the way he did it the realest thing he knew. It was all joy and woe, hard as a diamond; it made him weary behond comprehension. But it also made him free."
— John L. Parker, Jr.

"I often lose motivation, but it's something I accept as normal."
— Bill Rodgers

"sometimes you need to run away, just to see who will come after you :)"
— Unknown

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

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional."
— Haruki Murakami (What I Talk About When I Talk About Running)

"Running isn't a sport for pretty boys...It's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. Its the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for."
— Paul Maurer from The Gift: A Runner's Story

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

"Struggle is the food from which change is made, and the best time to make the most of a struggle is when it's right in front of your face.

Now, I know that might sound a bit simplistic. But, too often we're led to believe that struggling is a bad thing, or that we struggle because we're doing something wrong.

I disagree. 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.

"
— Danny Dreyer

"If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon."
— Kathrine Switzer (26.2: Marathon Stories)

"The idea that the harder you work, the better you're going to be is just garbage. The greatest improvement is made by the man or woman who works most intelligently."
— Bill Bowerman

"The reason we race isn't so much to beat each other,... but to be with each other."
— Christopher McDougall (Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen)

"In a country where only men are encouraged, one must be one's own inspiration."
— Tegla Loroupe

"The freedom of Cross Country is so primitive. It's woman vs. nature."
— Lynn Jennings

"The footing was really atrocious. I loved it. I really like Cross Country; you're one with the mud."
— Lynn Jennings

"People don't know why we run, but it's the hard work you put into practice, and the reward you get from the race."
— Courtney Parsons

"I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards."
— Alberto Salazar

"When people ask me why I run, I tell them, there's not really a reason, it's just the adrenalin when you start, and the feeling when you cross that finish line, and know that you are a winner no matter what place you got."
— Courtney Parsons

"Intelligent coaching is sometimes no coaching."
— Marty Stern