Running a race of any distance can be as much of a mental challenge as it is a physical one. A lot of runners like to use mantras, or short, motivating phrases, as they’re running a long distance race. Words can have a very powerful effect on our state of mind, whether in training or racing.
Maybe you’re questioning your abilities or feel overwhelmed by the race distance, and you’re wondering, “Why exactly did I sign up for this race?!” It may feel like a simple act, but reading some inspiring words in those moments can remind you of your potential and ignite a renewed sense of confidence. If you’re hitting a rough patch in your training or your race, get inspired with these powerful, motivational running quotes for race day.
1. “No one said this would be easy, just know that nothing beats the feeling of accomplishment.”
2. “You will never know your limits until you push yourself to them.”
3. “The only one who can tell you ‘you can’t’ is you. And you don’t have to listen.”
-Nike
4. “Pain is just weakness leaving the body.”
–Marathon spectator sign
5. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.”
–Vince Lombardi, famed football coach
6. “Good things come to those who wait…greater things come to those who are willing to work for it.”
7. “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, running coach and author
8. “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy…I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”
9. “Marathoning. The triumph of desire over reason.”
-New Balance
10. “It’s going to get harder before it gets easier. But it will get better, you just have to make it through the hard stuff first.”
11. “When I do the best I can with what I have, then I have won my race.”
–Jay Foonberg, 72-year-old runner
12. “You’re stronger than you think you are and you can do more than you think!”
13. “You made it to the START, you will make it to the FINISH.”
–Spectator sign seen at a marathon
14. “One day I won’t be able to do this, today is not that day.”
-Unknown
15. “There is a moment in every race. A moment where you can either quit, fold, or say to yourself, ‘I can do this.'”
-Gatorade Ad
16. “Victory is paid for in sweat, courage, and preparation.”
-Nike
17. “I never feel more alive than when I’m in great pain, struggling against insurmountable odds and untold adversity. Hardship? Suffering? Bring it!”
–Dean Karnazes, ultramarathoner and author
18. “You don’t have to go fast; you just have to GO.”
-Unknown
19. “Feel your race. Feel the joy that is running.”
–Kara Goucher, U.S. Olympic marathoner
20. “The marathon. How an average runner becomes more than average.”
-New Balance
21. “Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.”
–PattiSue Plumer, America distance runner
22. “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life like a champion.”
–Muhammed Ali
23. “If you can dream it, you can do it.”
–Walt Disney
24. “First you feel like dying. Then you feel reborn.”
-Asics, on running marathons
25. “The person who starts the race is not the same person who finishes the race.”
-Seen on a marathon spectator sign
26. “Pain is temporary, pride is forever.”
27. “The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other, he understood, but to be with each other.”
Born to Run
28. “Stop being tired and start being awesome.”
29. “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”
30. “Racing is the fun part; it’s the reward of all the hard work.”
–Kara Goucher
31. “Running a race assigns a point to a sport that often feels very pointless. It’s an exuberant payoff to months of tedium. It’s a way of crafting an end boss for a particularly cumbersome video game. It’s a fun, monstrous reason to keep putting one foot in front of the other. So, do yourself a favor: go build a monster.”
The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances
32. “Races always hurt. You don’t train so that it doesn’t hurt. You train so you can tolerate it.”
– M. Rowland
33. “There is no finish like the one you questioned.”
Training For Ultra: Ultra Running Stories From the Middle of the Pack
34. “Every race proves a new opportunity to educate myself about what it means to be a runner and what it means to run.”
–Jill Grunenwald, writer & runner
35. “Racing is an escape from society. From symbols of status, and self-perception. A chance to just be. For everyone to just be, with each other.”
Off Course: Inside the Mad, Muddy World of Obstacle Course Racing
36. “Set big goals and love the work that gets you to them. Even if you fall short, you’ll still be winning.”
–Des Linden, 2018 Boston Marathon women’s winner
37. “No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life’s most rewarding experiences.”
–George Sheehan, best-selling running author
38. “Winning has nothing to do with racing. Most days don’t have races anyway. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up.”
39. “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
40. “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, running legend
41. “The ultimate is not to win, but to reach within the depths of your capabilities and to compete against yourself to the greatest extent possible. When you do that, you have dignity. You have the pride. You can walk about with character and pride no matter in what place you happen to finish.”
–Billy Mills, U.S. Olympic gold medalist in 10,000m
42. “Different people have different reasons for racing, but one is simply the incentive to get out and run, increase mileage and feel good.”
–Hal Higdon
43. “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”
–John Bingham, running author
