Runspiration – Running Quotes That Inspire and Motivate

Need motivation to get out the door for your run or push through the tough miles? These inspirational running quotes will give you the motivation you need to power past your goals!

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To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.
- Steve Prefontaine

Sometimes Winning is Not About Winning - My Top Fitness

The Most Important Mile You Will Ever Run Is Your First - My Top Fitness

If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don't spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it.
- Priscilla Welch

Perseverance Leads to Great Things - My Top Fitness

Anybody can be a runner. We were meant to move. We were meant to run. It's the easiest sport.
- Bill Rodgers

The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.
- Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner

I'd rather be a has been, than a has not... - My Top Fitness

Push the Limit. Never Quit. Leave No Doubt. - My Top Fitness

Methinks that the moment my legs began to move, my thoughts began to flow.
- Henry David Thoreau

Asked what it feels like to run a 4 minute mile, I replied "no different than your mile. I sweat, I breathe, I stride" - My Top Fitness

The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.
- John Bingham

Ask yourself: 'Can I give more?'. The answer is usually: 'Yes'.
- Paul Tergat

Run the first half of the race with your head, and the second half with your heart.
- Coach Joe Fisher

You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
- Steve Prefontaine

I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.
- Jesse Owens

It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process -- what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands -- those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion.
- Silken Laumann, Canadian Olympian

If you become restless, speed up. If you become winded, slow down. You climb the mountain in an equilibrium between restlessness and exhaustion.
- Robert Pirsig

Believe that you can run farther or faster. Believe that you're young enough, old enough, strong enough, and so on to accomplish everything you want to do. Don't let worn-out beliefs stop you from moving beyond yourself.
- John Bingham

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.
- Sir Roger Bannister

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

The difference between a jogger and a runner is an entry blank.
- George Sheehan

The only race you will ever lose is the one you never run - My Top Fitness

A poorly run mile is always better than a well planned one - My Top Fitness

There are no lucky miles. In ball sports you may score a lucky shot, but here, everything is earned... - My Top Fitness

If you can run. Run. Lest a day come when you cannot - My Top Fitness

It's not the length or how steep a hill is, but rather your willpower, that determines if you will conquer it - My Top Fitness

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

Being a runner means you are now "free" to live life to its fullest.
- Bill Rodgers

Out on the roads there is fitness and self-discovery and the persons we were destined to be.
- Dr. George Sheehan

Human beings are made up of flesh and blood, and a miracle fiber called courage.
- George Patton

For every breath that running takes, it gives one in return... - My Top Fitness

Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity.
- Michael Johnson

You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.
- Steve Prefontaine

By merely showing up, you have already won the race - My Top Fitness

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
- T. S. Eliot

Never let your mouth run more miles than your legs - My Top Fitness

Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.
- Dean Karnazes

Everyone has greatness, it just needs to be discovered - My Top Fitness

Don't wait to run great tomorrow, run great today - My Top Fitness

Don't let you beat you! - My Top Fitness

Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.
- Steve Prefontaine

The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; it's to test the limits of the human heart.
- Bill Bowerman

Sometimes you have to slow down to go faster - My Top Fitness

The toughest competition you will ever face is yourself - My Top Fitness

It's better to run a few miles well than a lot of miles poorly - My Top Fitness

Everyone knows about Work-Life Balance, but too many forget about Workout-Life Balance - My Top Fitness

The contest for the greatest runner will not be won by the fastest, but by the one who overcomes the most - My Top Fitness

I've always felt that long, slow distance produces long, slow runners.
- Sebastian Coe

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.
-Walter Elliott

You can walk a mile in someone else's shoes, but running one tends to hurt the feet - My Top Fitness

Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.
-Oprah Winfrey

There will be days of struggle. To be victorious requires knowing why you struggle and that it is truly worth it - My Top Fitness

Sometimes the bridge between desperation and hope is a good nights sleep - My Top Fitness

All I do is keep on running in my own cozy, homemade void, my own nostalgic silence.
- Haruki Murakami

The more tired you are, the taller hurdles seem to get - My Top Fitness

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
- Haruki Murakami

To run is to invite pain, suffering, and the edge of defeat all in the hope of the victory called life - My Top Fitness

Many self help programs have 12 steps. Running only has two... left foot, right foot, repeat - My Top Fitness

The greatest race never known is the one you run against yourself - My Top Fitness

Every passion has its destiny
- Billy Mills, Olympic Champion

Sometimes getting out of bed is the hardest part of your run... - My Top Fitness

As you age, running becomes less about who is fastest but who can live the longest - My Top Fitness

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If running is 90% mental, how many of us are crazy for doing it? - My Top Fitness

Don't measure the amount of miles run, but rather how well you ran them - My Top Fitness

Long distance running is 90% mental and the other half is physical
- Rich Davis

Running is one of those odd activities where no destination is the destination - My Top Fitness

Distant horizons call me. Run, breathe, run towards the never ending finish line - My Top Fitness

As a young runner I would find myself asking "are we there yet?", but now I beg for the run to never end - My Top Fitness

Like any good habit, running can be taken too far - My Top Fitness

The first step is likely to be the hardest - My Top Fitness

A champion is made when you look at the time spent preparing.
- Eliud Kipchoge

The ability to overcome is core to our human spirit. Runners test this with every hill they run - My Top Fitness

Running hills builds confidence. It transforms your "I think I can" to "I already have" - My Top Fitness

Let today be the day you elect to run... - My Top Fitness

You may do your best and still lose the race, but you can choose if you are a winner - My Top Fitness

Running will lift you up and break you down, give you great joy and deep sadness, but always leave you wanting more - My Top Fitness

There may be a bad day or a bad race, but these will pass. The best way to get over a bad race is to outrun it - My Top Fitness

It's not the latest gear or shoes, but the look in the eyes that tells you someone is a champion - My Top Fitness

There will always be challenge as the race never ends - My Top Fitness

Awake. Arise. Run towards the burning sun breaking the chains of self doubt with every stride - My Top Fitness

The more you run a hill, the smaller it becomes - My Top Fitness

Self doubt is the toughest competitor you will ever race - My Top Fitness

Your worst race will always be better than never making it to the start line - My Top Fitness

The pinnacle of success is only reachable if you define it - My Top Fitness

Like Thanksgiving dinner, you can overdo it while running... better to enjoy the "leftovers" than gorge on miles - My Top Fitness

Running is a gift. Be thankful for every step taken, even the tough ones, ever hopeful that it may continue - My Top Fitness

Every step you take, no matter how small and seemingly inconsequential, is always toward something greater - My Top Fitness

Consistency, not speed, is what makes a runner a runner - My Top Fitness

Akin to work-life balance, you need run-life balance, lest you embody the loneliness of the long distance runner - My Top Fitness

To find your limits you must test them, measuring always against yourself - My Top Fitness

Achievement may be running a mile, or winning a Marathon, but the runners who achieve are equal no matter the goal - My Top Fitness

When you pass the torch make sure your own fire is never extinguished - My Top Fitness

Run like you have nothing to lose - My Top Fitness

The perfect race is one run with passion - My Top Fitness

What matters is not that you win the race, but that you are in it - My Top Fitness

Run until you discover your limits, then keep running until you discover more - My Top Fitness

In its simplest form, running is a movement towards success, requiring bravery to overcome any obstacles that arise - My Top Fitness

As my aged body has failed me, my heart still races as if a youth, fixing a steely gaze awaiting to run eternally - My Top Fitness

Tested by miles and dirty, but not worn out shoes, are a runners closest companion - My Top Fitness

In the race of life, Father Time always wins, so make the most of each waking minute - My Top Fitness

Sacrifice, not needless suffering, leads to greatness - My Top Fitness

If I ran every day alone, would I be content, or long to run with others... - My Top Fitness

To run without regret requires leaving all of your past failings behind you with each step forward - My Top Fitness

Over time, the tracks left behind where we have run will fade... don't look to leave your mark but always go forward - My Top Fitness

When in doubt, never stop daring to hope - My Top Fitness

Don't make the hills you run steeper than they already are - My Top Fitness

What runners lack in physicality is made up for by sheer willpower - My Top Fitness

The soul of a runner is seldom found in victory but rather defeat - My Top Fitness

Runners wear some of the most ridiculous gear and clothes. It's as if they know they can outrun the fashion police - My Top Fitness

Anxiety before a race can be worse than race itself, conjuring falsehoods. In these moments remember your training. - My Top Fitness

Each running stride, no matter how fast or slow, is a love letter to yourself - My Top Fitness

Some people train knowing they’re not working as hard as other people. I can’t fathom how they think
- Alberto Salazar

Whether a fun runner or Olympian, running unifies us through common movement - My Top Fitness

Suddenly I stopped and saw the other runners. Dilapidated from singular desire they failed to win the race of life - My Top Fitness

Instead of taking one step back, just slow down the pace, but keep moving forward - My Top Fitness

A champion never hopes for victory They train and sacrifice for it hoping others haven't trained and sacrificed more - My Top Fitness

Every mile is a test with the final exam being race day - My Top Fitness

Run with your feet, not your mouth - My Top Fitness

Run as if you had lost everything, only to be given it back for a brief moment - My Top Fitness

A gifted athlete who runs a 1,000 miles is no better than a novice who struggles with one - My Top Fitness

There is a gentle solace to running in the snow that can only be experienced, not told - My Top Fitness

Lost my breath, lost the race, but never lost my will to run - My Top Fitness

Define your own victory and you will never lose - My Top Fitness

Don't let the struggle of running define you, but rather what you have earned from that struggle - My Top Fitness

One of the greatest sufferings of running is not being able to run. Relish each step if only for those who can't - My Top Fitness

If you can't run, then walk, if you can't walk, then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward
- Martin Luther King Jr

If you shoot for the stars and end up somewhere in the middle, it's better than never getting off the ground - My Top Fitness

Fear is the enemy of greatness while awareness and faith are the gifts that allow greatness - My Top Fitness

There is only one way to find what lies beyond the hills... run them - My Top Fitness

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Whether a jogger or Olympian, all runners start with a step - My Top Fitness

Nothing crushes hopes and dreams like being passed in the last 100 meters... always run past the finish line - My Top Fitness

Running, in its simplest form, is the pursuit of perfection in the face of failure - My Top Fitness

Every run is a journey... physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually - My Top Fitness

If you are going to show up early... show up early to the finish line - My Top Fitness

Running the race well doesn't mean coming in first place, but rather always winning - My Top Fitness

Running delights the soul - My Top Fitness

One of the greatest struggles of running is knowing when to struggle and when to rest - My Top Fitness

Take all the pain of all the miles, now imagine never having enjoyed that pain. A far greater pain is no pain at all - My Top Fitness

Once a runner... always a runner - My Top Fitness

If you never learn what defeat feels like, how can you know victory? - My Top Fitness

The greatest achievement a runner can obtain is peace... peace with ones own limitations and successes - My Top Fitness

Run, walk, crawl... but whatever you do just keep moving - My Top Fitness

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