Run Gently Out There Quotes

“A rainy day is the perfect time for a walk in the woods. —Rachel Carson”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. —Leo Buscaglia”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“No matter how well you know the course, no matter how well you may have done in a given race in the past, you never know for certain what lies ahead on the day you stand at the starting line waiting to test yourself once again. If you did know, it would not be a test, and there would be no reason for being there.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“In Last Child in the Woods we are told the current generation is not going out in the woods enough, is not leaving the protective supervision of playgrounds in subdivisions, is losing the imagination nature wants us to develop. I am from two generations back. There are days when I feel I do not go out enough, days when I should stay out longer, but I seldom miss a day. These are my woods most of the time, the place my imagination plays. I am but an old child wandering along, unsupervised.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind. —Annie Dillard”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads. —Thoreau”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“God has not called us to see through each other, but to see each other through. —Author Unknown”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. —Edward Everett Hale”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude. —Cynthia Ozick”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Believe in yourself—nothing else will get you to the finish line. Decide before you start what will stop you—if that doesn’t happen, you continue to run.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Even in our defeats we have tried to do things most would shy away from, we have looked behind all three doors, faced whatever was there, known and unknown, and continued to try. As we tasted the bitterness of defeat that comes with trying, we got to know ourselves a little bit better. It may not seem like much of a reward at the time you sit down, not to get back up, but it is—and we will try again.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“I mouth “thank you” softly to the lake and its inhabitants for shaking me out of the doldrums of fatigue then turn up the Pacific Northwest Trail for one last climb to the connector trail that takes me back to the forest trails that lead to the bike path. It wasn’t my body, it was my mind that was tired. The pause at the lake took away the day’s fixation on being tired by reminding me that we are to see while out here—not just pass through.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“As best I can determine the chances of my keeling over and becoming a search and rescue object are so slim that on a normal day’s run they don’t raise conscious thoughts or cares, and anyway, it would be preferable to watch one last sunset while gasping for breath ‘neath a tree that first broke ground before Columbus weighed anchor than to rest not quite comfortably on the cold tiles of a kitchen floor awaiting the sound of an approaching first-aid kit on wheels.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Running relaxes the body and the mind. Racing taxes the mind and takes a toll on the body. The mind gives out fastest, or at least mine does. When you quit paying attention, you get injured doing the wrong workout, pushing when you don’t need to, eating poorly, and forgetting to refuel properly…silly little things.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Do not ever say aloud anything negative while still on the course.” You can slow from run to jog to shuffle to trudge, but you can keep going without saying for all to hear, “No, I am not okay.” Once you say that, you are at the bottom, and if you don’t know about stop/regroup/go, you are done for the day.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Please, please do not put “only” in front of the distance you run. You ran it. It is yours to enjoy, not apologetically mentioned in a hushed voice. I did ten miles Saturday that I was just tickled pink with because of the way I did the uphill stretch—hardest running I have done in several weeks. Do not put words into describing your running that are driven by someone else’s ego.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons

“Tolerating little aches and injuries because your ego will not allow you to take the time off to recover will cause continual nagging distractions as you run.”
― John Morelock, Run Gently Out There: Trials, trails, and tribulations of running ultramarathons