Welcome to our source of running inspiration. Whether you’re chasing a personal best, preparing for a major race, or simply trying to get out the door on a tough day, the right words can ignite powerful action. Motivational quotes have long been used to help individuals push through challenges, stay focused, and build resilience in the face of adversity . On this page, you’ll find a collection of hand-picked running quotes designed to fuel your mindset, sharpen your discipline, and remind you why you started. Because in running – as in life – sometimes a single sentence is all it takes to keep moving forward.
“Good things come slow—especially in distance running.”
-Bill Dellinger
“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.”
-Fred Lebow
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
-Aristotle
“There are clubs you can’t belong to, neighbors you can’t live in, schools you can’t get into, but the roads are always open.”
-Nike
“It’s no fun to sit down and talk about what exercise has to do with life… go drip that sweat, run until we’re fatigued, to where the mind can’t ponder the past or the future, well, then you’ve got something… It’s fun to feel healthy, and it’s fun to feel good.”
-Matthew McConaughey
“I feel like when I am running, it not only helps change me physically, it also improves my state of mind.”
-Derek Hough
“Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up.”
-Dean Karnazes
“If I continue to set goals and accomplish those goals, that means I’m doing something right.”
-Kevin Hart
“It doesn’t just come overnight – you’ve got to train for it and believe in yourself; that’s the most important thing”
-Sir Mo Farah
“Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.”
-Steve Prefontaine
“Every run is a work of art, a drawing on each day’s canvas. Some runs are shouts and some runs are whispers. Some runs are eulogies and others celebrations.”
-Dagny Scott Barrios
“Someone who is busier than you is running right now.”
-Nike
“There will come a day when I can no longer run. Today is not that day.”
-Unknown
“If you’ve never had a bad day running, you’re probably doing something wrong. If you’ve never had a good day running, you’re definitely doing something wrong.”
-Mark Remy
“The only bad run is the one that didn’t happen.”
-Unknown
“It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.”
-Babe Ruth
“Some seek the comfort of their therapist’s office, others head for the corner pub, but I chose running as my therapy.”
-Dean Karnazes
“The real purpose of running isn’t to win a race; it’s to test the limits of the human heart.”
-Bill Bowerman
“Progress, no matter how small or slow, is progress.”
-Unknown
“The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life.”
-George Sheehan
“Running reminds you that even in your weakest moments, you are strong.”
-Unknown
“A runner must run with dreams in his heart.”
-Emil Zatopek
“I didn’t feel like running today. Which is exactly why I went.”
-Unknown
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.”
-Fred DeVito
“We all have bad days and bad workouts, when running gets ugly, when split times seem slow, when you wonder why you started. It will pass.”
-Hal Higdon, runner and author
“You only ever grow as a human being if you’re outside your comfort zone.”
-Scott Jurek
“Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body.”
-Lynn Jennings
“They say, ‘You are only as good as your last performance’
So don’t let that be your last performance…”
-David Ashworth
“Goal races are a small part of running. It’s just one day among all the days, weeks and months of training. Learn to love the journey. Don’t make your training just a means to an end.”
-David Ashworth
“No matter how slow you go you are still lapping everyone on the couch.”
-Unknown
“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
-Walter Bagehot
“The pain of running relieves the pain of living.”
-Jacqueline Simon Gunn
“Running is alone time that lets my brain unspool the tangles that build up over days.”
-Rob Hanisen
“We like to say, ‘I’ll do it one day.’ Make today day 1 of your 1 day.”
-David Ashworth
“Don’t compare your chapter one with someone else’s chapter six.”
-Ally Love
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.”
-Thomas Edison
“If it’s not hard, you’re not dreaming big enough”
-Shalane Flanagan
“The benefits and opportunities of running are available to anyone. You don’t have to be born a natural athlete, and you don’t have to be uniquely gifted. A life-shaping experience is there for the taking, waiting right outside your door.”
– Donald Buraglio
“Ai is real cute. But you are not a Tamagotchi. You still need to put in the training! Running is, and always has been a physical extension of our emotions, and not of our computers.”
-David Ashworth
“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
“What matters least is what sporting brands you wear. That won’t make you a better runner.”
-David Ashworth
“Part of a runner’s training consists of pushing back the limits of his mind.”
-Kenny Moore
“Pay it forward: I’ve never been one for displaying my old or most expensive running shoes like trophies from a hunt. It’s a sad site – like enjoying a meal while the starving look on in desperation. Instead, my trophies are out there, living their best lives on the feet of someone in need.”
-David Ashworth
“Pay it forward: I’ve never been one for displaying my old or most expensive running shoes like trophies from a hunt. It’s a sad site – like enjoying a meal while the starving look on in desperation. Instead, my trophies are out there, living their best lives on the feet of someone in need.”
-David Ashworth
“Fatigue is an emotion, a state of mind – not a physical condition.”
-Tim Noakes
“Rest is a part of training. Laziness is a different story. Know the difference.”
-David Ashworth
“Find opportunities wherever you can, and when you do find them, don’t squander them.”
-Dennis Davila
“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.”
– Michael Jordan
“To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
– Steve Prefontaine
“Morning runs are like breakfast for the brain. They fuel you up for the day ahead.”
– Unknown
“Unless you puke, faint, or die, keep going!”
– Jillian Michaels
“Your body will argue that there is no justifiable reason to continue. Your only recourse is to call on your spirit, which fortunately functions independently of logic.”
-Tim Noakes
“It always seems impossible until it’s done”
-Nelson Mandela
“Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine.”
-Roy T. Bennett
“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”
-Nike
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
-Aristotle
“Nobody is invested in you as much as YOU. So back yourself!”
-David Ashworth
“You can’t outrun your problems, but you can escape once in a while.”
-David Ashworth
“There is rehearsals and performance, just like there is training and racing. Don’t confuse the two.”
-David Ashworth
“Structure is the first step to consistency. Consistency is the key to success.”
-David Ashworth
“A winner is just a loser who tried one more time”
-Jonezy (@jonezyartwork)
“The voice in your head that says you can’t do this is a liar.”
-Unknown
“At first you think that running is hard. Then you realise that LIFE is harder.”
-David Ashworth
“Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you. People can’t stop you. Only you can stop you.”
-Unknown
“The clock is ticking. Are you becoming the person you want to be?”
-Greg Plitt
“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”
-Jim Watkins
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
-Henry Ford
“The difference between a stumbling block and a stepping stone is how high you raise your foot.”
-Benny Lewis
“Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.”
-Mahatma Gandhi
“Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.”
-Jim Ryun
“Your body can stand almost anything. It’s your mind that you have to convince.”
-Andrew Murphy
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
-Neale Donald Walsch
“Never set limits, go after your dreams, don’t be afraid to push the boundaries. And laugh a lot – it’s good for you!”
-Paula Radcliffe
“Panic Leads to irrational decisions.
Once you’ve prepared, focus on controlling the controllable.”
-David Ashworth
“Remember, if you are an athlete, you are not also a supermodel, so eat to fuel!
And because you are not a model, wear whats most practical and comfortable, not what’s fashionable.”
-David Ashworth
“The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.”
-Richard Marcinko
“The best ‘ability’ is PROBABILITY and it comes from ACCOUNTABILITY”
-David Ashworth
“Courage doesn’t mean you don’t get afraid. Courage means you don’t let fear stop you.”
– Bethany Hamilton
“When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.”
-Unknown
“…Take the manure of your life and plant flowers in it…”
-Tim Minchin
“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will.”
-Suzy Kassem
“Don’t Let Yesterday Take Up Too Much Of Today.”
-Will Rogers
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
-Henry Ford
“In the first half of the race, don’t be an idiot. In the second half, don’t be a wimp!”
-Scott Douglas
