1,001 Pearls of Runners' Wisdom

Within these pages, runners will find a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and even a little humor to encourage them in their sport. But whether comical or serious, the quotes contained here represent the finest writing and wisdom on running. Geared towards everyone from the long-distance enthusiast to the relative or friend of one, the musings collected are poignant, sentimental, and amazing. 1,001 Pearls of Runners’ Wisdom covers a wide swath of topics, ranging from training to coaching to marathons to shoes to diet, and even barefoot or natural running, a new trend inspired by Christopher McDougall’s national bestseller, Born to Run.

"I started the Boston Marathon as a 20-year-old girl, and came out the other end a grown woman."
—Kathrine Switzer

"It has been said that the love of the chase is an inherent delight in man—a relic of an instinctive passion."
—Charles Darwin

"A lot of people run a race to see who's the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts."
—Steve Prefontaine

"Don’t worry, everyone slows over time."
—Bill Rodgers

"There's nary an animal alive that can outrun a greased Scotsman."
—Groundskeeper Willy, from The Simpsons

"Speed is sex ... distance is love."
—David Blaike, Canadian ultrarunner

"Gazelles run when they’re pregnant. Why should it be any different for women??"
—Joan Ullyot, M.D.

"I’m afraid the reason so many new runners quit is because they never get past the point of feeling like they have to run."
—John Bingham

"Run softly by imagining a helium balloon attached to your head."
—Lieutenant Colonel (Dr.) Dan Kuland, U.S. Air Force Chief of Health Promotion

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going."
—Jim Ryun

"They were the lightest shoes I could find."
—Ron Hill, elite British long-distance runner, on why he ran barefoot

"People [say to] me after a race, 'I get so many blisters from shoes, if I run barefoot, it’s going to be worse.' And I say, 'Well that’s why I stopped wearing shoes because I got tired of getting blisters.'"
—Ken Bob Saxton, aka “Barefoot Ken Bob,” has run 76 marathons, 75 of them shoeless, since 1997

"The mile has all the elements of drama."
—Roger Bannister

"Anything worth doing is going to be difficult."
—Fauja Singh, 100 years old, after finishing the 2011 Toronto Marathon in 8:25

"One cannot run away from his behind."
—African proverb