These signs are giving me the feeling it’s going to be a tough run:
- 10. Breakfast…McDonalds. Lunch….McDonalds. Dinner…..McDonalds.
- 9. While waiting in the start corral you are wondering if wearing a brand new pair of shoes is a good idea.
- 8. Training program: 1 mile a day, 2 mile long run on the second Tuesday of next week.
- 7. You realize the night before that a marathon is 26.2 miles NOT 2.62.
- 6. Your training book is “You can finish a Marathon” by Richard Simmons.
- 5. At every aid station you take a gatorade, a water, and a nap.
- 4. You start to taper your training 6 months ahead of the race.
- 3. The strategy that you will be using for the race is to keep up with the Kenyans for 5 miles, bag the time, and take it easy from there.
- 2. At mile 10 you realize the pain in your chest is the sad clown face of blood on your shirt from rubbing your nipples bare.
- 1. Flat Red Bull before the race: Good. Red Bull and Vodka before the race: Bad.
Quotes on Competition and Opportunity
The gun goes off and everything changes… the world changes… and nothing else really matters.
Patti Sue Plummer
Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.
Steve Prefontaine
Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired.
Jules Renard
Pressure is nothing more than the shadow of great opportunity.
Michael Johnson
The will to win means nothing if you haven’t the will to prepare.
Juma Ikangaa, 1989 NYC Marathon winner
No negative thoughts cross my mind on race day. When I look into their eyes, I know I’m going to beat them.
Danny Harris
Quotes on Pain and Pleasure in Running
It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse.
Ann Trason
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
If you start to feel good during an ultra, don’t worry, you will get over it.
Gene Thibeault
Miscellaneous Running Quotes
I cannot have survival as my only goal. That would be too boring. My goal is to come back in my best running form. It is good for me to have that goal; it will help me.
Ludmila Engquist (Olympic champion hurdler facing cancer)
There are clubs you can’t belong to, neighborhoods you can’t live in, schools you can’t get into, but the roads are always open.
Nike Ad
The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.
Robert Frost (metaphorical)
We can’t all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.
Will Rogers
Cross Country Quotes
The start of a World Cross Country event is like riding a horse in the middle of a buffalo stampede. It’s a thrill if you keep up, but one slip and you’re nothing but hoof prints.
Ed Eyestone
The freedom of Cross Country is so primitive. It’s woman vs. Nature.
Lynn Jennings
Stadiums are for spectators. We runners have nature and that is much better.
Juha Väätäinen, Finland
Marathon Quotes
To describe the agony of a marathon to someone who’s never run it is like trying to explain color to someone who was born blind.
Jerome Drayton
We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.
Emil Zatopek
Marathoning is like cutting yourself unexpectedly. You dip into the pain so gradually that the damage is done before you are aware of it. Unfortunately, when awareness comes, it is excruciating.
John Farrington, Australian marathoner
There is the truth about the marathon and very few of you have written the truth. Even if I explain to you, you’ll never understand it, you’re outside of it.
Douglas Wakiihuri speaking to journalists
You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can’t know what’s coming.
Frank Shorter
If you ran 10 miles today you probably burned about 1,200 Calories. Just to remind you, here are some “break even” foods:
- Whopper with Fries (1,250 Calories)
- Large Popcorn at the Theater… withOUT butter (1,160 Calories)
- Two 64 oz Cokes (1,200 Calories)
- 12 Inch Subway Tuna Club and a Large Sprite (1,200 Calories)
- 3 Frappachinos from Starbucks (1,140 Calories)
There you have it. 10 miles down the drain with a few quick bites.
