And while these pounds were being shed, while the physiological miracles were occurring with the heart and muscle and metabolism, psychological marvels were taking place as well. Just so, the world over, bodies, minds, and souls are constantly being born again, during miles on the road.
The most important thing I learned [from running] is that there is only one runner in this race, and that is me.
The key then is to find your own mountain, otherwise you will be competing with people who are not even in your event, and running up against the 'shoulds' and 'oughts' of that world, and the inevitable frustration and depression and feelings of failure. A person can be complete or incomplete, but one thing is sure, he cannot be someone else.
Running makes you an athlete in all areas of life...trained in the basics, prepared for whatever comes, ready to fill each hour and deal with the decisive moment.
On the roads, I can see truth revealed whole without thought or reason. There I experience the sudden understanding that comes unasked, unbidden. I simply rest, rest within myself, rest within the pure rhythm of my running. And I wait.
There are as many reasons for running as there are days in a year.... But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child.
The true runner is a very fortunate person. He has found something in him that is just perfect.
No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life's most rewarding experiences.
The desire to run comes from deep within us — from the unconscious, the intuitive, the instinctive. And that desire becomes a passion when the runner learns to race. Then, the race becomes all — the lovemaking of the runner.
Fitness is just a stage you pass through on the way to becoming a racer.
To make your life a work of art, you must have the material to work with. The race, any race, is just such an experience.
Have you ever felt worse after a run?
If marathoners finish they win.
We who run...are different from those who merely study us. We are out there experiencing what they are trying to put into words.
