Confessions of an Unlikely Runner Quotes

“Race successes build on top of each other and bolster your confidence. If you’re not careful, you begin consistently doing things you said you’d never do.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“I still sometimes feel like I’m not really in the runners club. I’ll see someone wearing a marathon shirt and, even though I have also finished a marathon, a tiny voice inside will say, Yeah, but you only did one. And you walked at times. And it took you longer than Oprah to finish, so let’s not get carried away.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“The most effective way to do it is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Something inside of us needs to see people physically fight for something. Even better, we need to fight for something ourselves. We’re wired with a desire to strive and exert force and use our muscles and compete–and lose and learn and battle again, with more humility and more wisdom. It fills a void inside us that working only our brains in cushy, air-conditioned buildings can’t. It feeds the inner caveman part of our souls that wants to yell things like, “I have made fire!”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Failing is an important part of growing.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“We are capable of way more than we think we are–we just need to find the spaces in which to prove ourselves.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Pro tip: If nothing else, races bring people together. Even if it is through a shared sense of helplessness and loss of dignity.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Pro tip: Get a friend to join you in a race, one who prepares just as poorly and runs just as slowly as you. Then it’s like you’re simply hanging out together, except you both smell and you’re both in pain.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“I am always doing things I can’t do—that’s how I get to do them." PABLO PICASSO”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince." Vincent Lombardi”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“If you’ve never experienced running 13 miles on a treadmill at a 5.5 mph pace, picture watching Lake Ontario filter through a Brita—only less exciting and more time consuming.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“I read a story recently, written by a serious runner, in which he admitted that he wouldn't run if it didn't come so naturally. He said the people who run when it doesn't come easily are the ones who inspire him.”
― Dana Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner

“PRO TIP: If you run long enough, you'll come across really inspiring people. Sometimes you'll even discover that you're one of them for someone else--especially if you're struggling. So don't let the fear of struggling through a race keep you from doing it. You may be just the inspiration someone else needs.”
― Dana Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner

“Adulting' can be boring. Sometimes we need to shock our systems by jumping in and committing to something, and worrying about the how part later.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Even if you make it into adulthood without running, you aren't out of the woods yet. You may still get sucked in.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“...My "poodle" brain craves the adventures that happen during training and racing. Days-long relays, obstacle courses involving fire and barbed wire, races at night, races where you wear tutus. (Fact: that can be every race, if you want it to be.) Some adventures can be intimidating, but it’s still fun to conquer something new.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Pro tip: Running outside allows us to experience the real world briefly before we go back to looking at it only though Instagram posts on our computers.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“my friend and I had to sit through the safety video where the symptoms of hypothermia were explained, in case we ever fell out of the boat in frigid waters. One symptom? “Apathy.” My friend has wondered daily if she is hypothermic at work ever since.)”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“No doubt a brain and some shoes are essential for marathon success, although if it comes down to a choice, pick the shoes. More people finish marathons with no brains than with no shoes.” – Don Kardong”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Although you may not be the fastest or even the most dedicated person, running will embrace you anyway and offer you rewards beyond your expectation.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“There is solidarity in the running community, and that includes support beyond just the running.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“there’s something satisfying and liberating about covering ground solely by moving our own bodies.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“When I start my day by working out, I find myself making better eating choices throughout the day,”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince. – Vincent Lombardi”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“To keep your love of running fresh, sign up for races and then don’t take yourself or anyone around you too seriously.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Whether it’s putting on a bunny costume and running with friends, or simply appreciating the whining coming out of the guy next to you, races offer moments when you can simply enjoy the people around you and feel happy.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Just hearing crowds along the course cheering and ringing cowbells for you can make you want to keep racing.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“One way to stay in racing shape is to make cross-training fun–by any means necessary.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated

“Strength training with weights really does improve running.”
― Dana L. Ayers, Confessions of an Unlikely Runner: A Guide to Racing and Obstacle Courses for the Averagely Fit and Halfway Dedicated