Running is a spiritual experience right? There’s a lot of praying happening by mile 25😂. Really this is another way of saying we have to work on our mental game and that means finding inspirational running quotes to keep us focused and moving towards that big goal.
I’ve also shared marathon quotes to get you through training and funny running quotes to keep you laughing when the miles start to feel every so long.
Today, we’re simply enjoying another set of running quotes for inspiration…or maybe you’ve simply been Googling to find something great to share as your Instagram caption for today, ha! That’s just fine too.
I love the way a good quote speaks to exactly the emotions I’ve been feeling on the run or gives me a mental boost when I need it most. Running requires mental training though it’s often not listed in our training plans, it’s a must.
I hope these running quotes become part of your training log.
17 Inspirational Running Quotes
Most of these quotes are motivation from fellow runners, but a few like this first one are more about the truth of what keeps us going…mind over legs.
I’ve already done a post with the amazing running quotes from Dean Karnazes, Bart Yasso and so many other classic authors that speak to us about the joy of running.
Today we’re just shaking it up with some that are more about having the courage to chase our big goals. To find that extra little bit of inner strength on a long run and get a lot of satisfaction from finding our way through the hard moments.
No real runner or fake runner worries here.
Just all runners learning how to harness the power of our thoughts with some great inspirational running quotes.
“Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired.”
— George S Patton
“The voice inside your head that says you can’t do this is a liar.”
— Unknown
“Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.”
Oprah Winfrey
“We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”
— Jesse Owens
“Even when you have gone as far as you can, and everything hurts, and you are staring at the specter of self-doubt, you can find a bit more strength deep inside you, if you look closely enough.”
— Hal Higdon
“Some sessions are stars and some are stones, but in the end they are all rocks and we build upon them.”
— Chrissie Wellington
“You were born to run. Maybe not that fast, maybe not that far, maybe not as efficiently as others. But to get up and move, to fire up that entire energy-producing, oxygen-delivering, bone-strengthening process we call running.”
— Florence Griffith Joyner (Even an Olympian knows how to motivate the middle of the pack!)
“Training is like building a sandcastle. Every grain of sand is important, even if you can’t see them all.”
— Alexi Pappas
“A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding.”
— Steve Prefontaine
“My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy.”
— John Bryant
“Never underestimate the power that one good workout can have on your mind. Keeping the dream alive is half the battle.”
— Kara Goucher
“I run because it’s so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can’t. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you’re capable of so much more than you thought.”
— Arthur Blank
“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.”
— John Bingham
“Gold medals aren’t really made of gold. They’re made of sweat, determination, and a hard-to-find alloy called guts.”
— Dan Gable
The five S’s of sports training are: Stamina, Speed, Strength, Skill and Spirit; but the greatest of these is Spirit.
— Ken Doherty
The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life.
— George Sheehan
Forward is a pace.
ME!!!
Why We Need Inspirational Running Quotes
Honestly this list could go on with hundreds of inspirational running quotes, but I didn’t want you to get lost in the rabbit hole. Instead, I know one of these is speaking to you. Grab on to it and USE IT.
Allow those words to play over and over in your mind throughout training.
It’s phenomenal what a difference it will make on race day to have worked through the suffering in training and rewired your thinking to see them as merely moments that set you up for greatness.
Not all misery needs to be pushed through, but the mental pain telling you to stop…that we can work on. Think of it like training any other muscle. You’ve got to practice this thinking over and over.
When you have a bad day, when you’re out of your comfort zone, when training feels like it’s falling apart, these are the moments your attitude can make or break things.
Turn it around. USE IT. Grow from it.
But if it’s not enough…
- The Best Running Mantras
- Funny Running Quotes
- Endurance Quotes to Dig Deep
- Funny Running Memes
- Steve Prefontaine Quotes – talk about digging deep!
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Pose Running Method vs. ChiRunning Guide: Breaking Down Both
I love a good inspirational quote. Ones from Pre and Chrissie Wellington are definitely always good ones!
have you read her book, without limits? so good!
This quote was not intended to be specific to running, but I feel like it applies to all my training cycles and, as so many running quotes do, to life in general!
“Losing your way on a journey is unfortunate, but losing your reason for the journey is a fate more cruel” – H.G. Wells
ohhh that’s a good one too
Sometimes we are more cruel to ourselves than others are to us. Speaking for myself, I have high expectations for me, when I don’t “make” them I get incredibly disappointed.
I like your forward is a pace quote, I just finished a 6 wk challenge at a gym and a gal said something similar when asked if she had done much “well I’m moving forward aren’t I, cuz I’m not going back”. I like quotes but it is amazing what the inner voice and drive can do once you set your mind on a goal
AMEN!!! Each step is progress
I really like Hal Higdons quote about when you have gone as far as you can, find a bit more strength deep inside. It’s there if you look.
And I going to use as a mantra “keep going forward”
I saw this one online and at times think about it because when I leave for a run stressed or in a bad mood I come home in a better mood.
Here’s the quote:
I don’t run to add days to my life,
I run to add life to my days.
I totally agree with that one!