Whether you are planning your first race, a marathon, or want a stronger, healthier life by becoming a runner for the first time, these running motivation quotes will be with you the entire way.
Kou Murayama, from the American Psychological Association, observed that motivation is essential in almost every aspect of human behavior. When you make a decision, your choice is certainly affected by your motivational state.
I have created a list of 50 motivational quotes from all levels of runners, coaches, and beginner or professional athletes that I have helped consistently run and stay active. These 50 running motivation quotes will help you get moving and keep you fueled through your next long run.
Read on to find out more!
Most Powerful Running Motivation Quotes To Keep You Going Even When Things Get Hard.
As with all things in life, running brings its ups and downs. There are great days and days when nothing appears to go right, and your motivation drops. No matter how determined we are, it is more challenging to keep pushing when our workouts flop or we run a dud run. Find out these 16 surefire ways to motivate yourself to run regularly.
If you find yourself in a rough spot that can keep you steamrolling ahead, repeat one of these running motivation quotes to yourself when the going gets tough.
Here, I have gathered 50 running motivation quotes from all levels of runners, coaches, beginner or professional athletes, and more to put in your back pocket. Keep these running motivation quotes in mind when you really need more motivation to keep running.
1- The voice in your head that says that you can’t do this is a liar. – Unknown
2- No matter how slow you go you are still lapping everyone on the couch. – Unknown
3- Be somebody nobody thought you could be. – Unknown
4- Nothing, not even pain, lasts forever. If I can just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I will eventually get to the end. — Kim Cowart
5- Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part that wants to keep going. — Unknown
6- Somewhere in the world, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win. – Tom Fleming
7- In the midst of an ordinary training day, I try to remind myself that I am preparing for the extraordinary. — Shalane Flanagan
8- Only the disciplined ones in life are free. If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods and your passions – Eliud Kipchoge
9- A good laugh and a long run are the two best cures for anything. – Unknown
10- Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running. – Julie Isphording
11- That’s the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is. – Kara Goucher
12- What seems hard now will one day be your warm-up. – Unknown
13- The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life. – George Sheehan
14- If you want to change your body, exercise. If you want to change your life, become a runner. – Unknown
15- There will come a day when I can no longer run. Today is not that day. – Unknown
16- The real purpose of running isn’t to win a race. It’s to test the limits of the human heart. – Bill Bowerman
17- I don’t stop when I’m tired, I stop when I’m done.- Unknown
18- On your good days, run hard. On your bad days, run as long as you need. – Unknown
19- Running allows me to set my mind free. Nothing seems impossible. Nothing unattainable. – Kara Goucher
20- Don’t dream of winning. Train for it. – Sir Mo Farah
21- Pain doesn’t tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue, you will change. – Kobe Bryant
22- Life is for participating, not for spectating. – Kathrine Switzer
23- Some people want it to happen; some wish it would happen; others make it happen. – Michael Jordan
24- To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift. – Steve Prefontaine
25- It’s at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys. – Emil Zatopek
26- I always want to give more than I gave yesterday. – Allyson Felix
27- Fear of trying causes paralysis. Trying causes only trembling and sweating. – Mason Cooley
28- There’s no such thing as bad weather, just soft people. – Bill Bowerman
29- I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat. – Winston Churchill
30- A goal is just an awesome way to force growth on yourself. – Deena Kastor
31- 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
32- Dreams are free. Goals have a cost. While you can daydream for free, goals don’t come without a price. Time, Effort, Sacrifice, and Sweat. – Usain Bolt
33- The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at. – Jesse Owens
34- You need three things to win: discipline, hard work, and, before everything, maybe, commitment. No one will make it without those three. Sport teaches you that. – Haile Gebrselassie
35- Happiness is different from pleasure. Happiness has something to do with struggling and enduring and accomplishing – George Sheehan
36- You can still make something beautiful and something powerful out of a really bad situation. – Gabe Grunewald
37- Most people never run far enough on their first wind to find out they’ve got a second. – William James
38- We may train or peak for a certain race, but running is a lifetime sport. – Unknown
39- One run can change your day, many runs can change your life. – Unknown
40- With self-discipline, all things are possible. – Theodore Roosevelt
41- I don’t run to add days to my life, I run to add life to my days. – Ronald Rook
42- We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort. – Jesse Owens
43- Clear your mind of can’t. – Samuel Johnson
44- In running or in life, I’ve found it really important not to shy away from races, workouts, exercises, or experiences that I know I’m not great at or familiar with. – Molly Huddle
45- Going in, you have to remember that the race is supposed to be the fun part. The race isn’t to be feared, it’s supposed to be the thing we look forward to. It’s why you did all the work in the first place, so have fun. – Ben Rosario
46- It’s very hard at the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually, you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit. – George Sheehan
47- 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
48- Stepping outside the comfort zone is the price I pay to find out how good I can be. If I planned on backing off every time running got difficult, I would hang up my shoes and take up knitting. – Desire Linden
49- 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
50- Like the marathon, life can sometimes be difficult, challenging, and present obstacles, however, if you believe in your dreams and never ever give up, things will turn out for the best. – Meb Keflezighi
What to read next:
- Here’s How to Set SMART Running Goals (With helpful tips!)
- 10 Pros and Cons of Running for Weight Loss – Science-Backed Studies.
- 14 Tips for Preparing and Running Your Best 10K.
Wrapping Up
These are a few running motivation quotes that keep going when during my regular runs. What are yours? I am always looking for new ways to improve and become a better version of my current self.
Going for a run is one of the most beneficial physical exercises you can do. In addition to making you healthier, running is a great social activity that can help you build a more stimulating and more meaningful network of friends.
Discover now the 10 Benefits of Running and what running does to your body backed by science.
