We’ve gathered an awesome collection of running quotes that will keep you fueled with each step you take no matter how short or far.

Running is a beloved hobby of many people all across the globe. These quotes about running are intended to keep you moving forward and never think about looking back unless it’s only to see how far you’ve come.

Thinking about becoming a runner but wondering why you should start? There are many reasons why you should fall in love with running.

Running is one of the best ways to boost both your physical and mental health. It helps just about all aspects of your health, provides an outlet for stress relief and improves your mood and overall happiness.

Besides being good for your health, running is also a great physical activity that provides a bridge to make some new friends and build strong relationships.

Running is also a great way to set a goal and then crush it. If you need some purpose in your life, now’s the time to lace up and work towards your goal.

What’s more, running is free. You can run anywhere, and it’s one of those exercises that don’t need any special equipment or a gym to get started.

So what are you waiting for? Here are some inspirational, energizing, and motivating running quotes, running sayings, and running proverbs to get you moving.

Don’t forget to also check out these walking quotes about the mental, physical, and emotional benefits.

Running quotes to motivate you to stay active

1. “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” – John Bingham

2. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”— Eleanor Roosevelt

3. “Don’t dream of winning, train for it!” — Mo Farah

4. “Running allows me to set my mind free. Nothing seems impossible. Nothing unattainable.” — Kara Goucher

5. “I don’t run to add days to my life, I run to add life to my days.” – Ronald Rook

6. “I’ll be happy if running and I can grow old together.” – Haruki Murakami

7. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” – Fred DeVito

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our explore quotes about nature, wander and new experiences.

8. “The pain of running relieves the pain of living.” – Jacqueline Simon Gunn

9. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” – Confucius

10. “Someone who is busier than you is running right now.” – Nike

Running quotes to keep you inspired

11. “Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.”— Oprah Winfrey

12. “If you start dreaming you are not running fast enough.”― Jacob Vermeire

13. “If you don’t have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain’t getting them.” – Christopher McDougall

14. “If you run, you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run.” – John Bingham

15. “Never underestimate the power that one good workout can have on your mind. Keeping the dream alive is half the battle.” – Kara Goucher

16. “After all, if you run far enough, no one can catch you.” ― V.E. Schwab

17. “Life equals running and when we stop running maybe that’s how we’ll know life is finally finished.” – Patrick Ness

18. “Ask yourself: “Can I give more?” The answer is usually: “Yes.” – Paul Tergat

19. “Running is about finding your inner peace, and so is a life well lived.” ― Dean Karnazes

20. “I run because long after my footprints fade away, maybe I will have inspired a few to reject the easy path, hit the trails, put one foot in front of the other, and come to the same conclusion I did: I run because it always takes me where I want to go.” – Dean Karnazes

Running quotes to motivate you for your next run

21. “Only those who risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go.”— T.S. Elliot

22. “Running is alone time that lets my brain unspool the tangles that build up over days…I run, pound it out on the pavement, channel that energy into my legs, and when I’m done with my run, I’m done with it.” — Rob Haneisen

23. “Running is real and relatively simple… but it ain’t easy.” – Mark Will-Weber

24. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

25. “Running is my private time, my therapy, my religion.” – Gail W. Kislevitz

26. “Long-distance running is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” – Rich Davis

27. “Don’t fear moving slowly forward…fear standing still.” – Kathleen Harris

28. “Doesn’t matter how fast you cross the finish line if you’re running the wrong race.”― Richie Norton

29. “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ”Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.” – Muhammad Ali

30. “As every runner knows, running is about more than just putting one foot in front of the other; it is about our lifestyle and who we are.” – Joan Benoit Samuelson

If you’re enjoying this article, make sure to also check out our collection of inspirational sports quotes about working towards your full potential.

Running quotes to help you get you moving

31. “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.”— Jesse Owens

32. “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.” – Dean Karnazes

33. “Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running.” —Julie Isphording

34. “There’s not one body type that equates to success. Accept the body you have and be the best you can be with it.” – Mary Cullen

35. “Get going … walk if you have to, but finish the damned race.” – Ron Hill

36. “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy… I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” – Art Williams

37. “We run when we’re scared, we run when we’re ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time.” ― Christopher McDougall

38. “The freedom of Cross Country is so primitive. It’s woman vs. nature.” ― Lynn Jennings

39. “Good things come slow, especially in distance running.” – Bill Dellinger

40. “It’s at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.” – Emil Zatopek

Running quotes to keep you going

41. “The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.”— Juma Ikangaa

42. “I can run at pace of my breath.”― Lailah Gifty Akita

43. “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.” – Kathrine Switzer

44. “You would run much slower if you were dragging something behind you, like a knapsack or a sheriff.” ― Lemony Snicket

45. “The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other,… but to be with each other.” – Christopher McDougall

46. “Run in the morning … before your brain figures out what your body is doing!” – Anonymous

47. “Run like hell and get the agony over with.” – Clarence DeMar

48. “The marathon can humble you.” – Bill Rodgers

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of humble quotes about the benefits of humility.

49. “The real purpose of running isn’t to win a race. It’s to test the limits of the human heart.” – Bill Bowerman

50. “The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life.” – George Sheehan

Running quotes to keep you positive

51. “I’ve learned that it’s what you do with the miles, rather than how many you’ve run” – Rod DeHaven

52. “Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running.” – Sarah Condor

53. “Fast running isn’t forced. You have to relax and let the run come out of you.” – Desiree Linden

54. “A runner must run with dreams in his heart.” – Emil Zatopek

55. “Running is a thing worth doing not because of the future rewards it bestows, but because of how it feeds our bodies and minds and souls in the present.” – Kevin Nelson

56. “He taught me to run high on my toes. I will always remember his words: run proud & remember you are alive.”― Brian Andreas

57. “It’s not so much that I began to run, but that I continued.” – Hal Higdon

58. “Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.” – Jimmy Buffett

59. “Running is a road to self-awareness and reliance-you can push yourself to extremes and learn the harsh reality of your physical and mental limitations or coast quietly down a solitary path watching the earth spin beneath your feet.” – Doris Brown Heritage

60. “Running became the one event in my daily life that I looked forward to. Books and movies paled in comparison to the refuge of my feet slapping patiently in the fresh morning air” – Kate Kinsey

Don’t forget to also check out these water quotes that will get you thinking.

Running quotes to keep you motivated

61. “My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy.” – John Bryant

62. “Why race? The need to be tested, perhaps; the need to take risks; and the chance to be number one.”—George Sheehan

63. “You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face.” – Gatorade

64. “I’m always nervous. If I wasn’t nervous, it would be weird. I get the same feeling at all the big races. It’s part of the routine, and I accept it. It means I’m there and I’m ready.”—Allyson Felix

65. “It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination.” – John Bingham

66. “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

67. “Runners don’t quit. We fade; we “hit the wall”; we’re sometimes reduced to a walk. But we keep on.”― Amby Burfoot

68. “I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to self-satisfaction.” – Steve Prefontaine

69. “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.” – Priscialla Welch

70. “Running is the greatest metaphor for life because you get out of it what you put into it.” –Oprah Winfrey

Running quotes that will change the way you think

71. “There are clubs you can’t belong to, neighbors you can’t live in, schools you can’t get into, but the roads are always open.” – NIKE

72. “Running is a simple activity. Just lace up your shoes and go, one step at a time, like each breath.”― Adharanand Finn

73. “Running is that big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks, are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today.” – Peter Maher

74. “Not all races are run on a track. And not all finish lines are marked by ticker tape.”― Toni Sorenson

75. “I often hear someone say I’m not a real runner. We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner.” – Bart Yasso

76. “Running is in my blood—the adrenaline flows before the races, the love/hate of butterflies in your stomach.”—Marcus O’Sullivan

77. “A lot of people run a race to see who’s the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts.” – Steve Prefontaine

78. “No matter how old I get, the race remains one of life’s most rewarding experiences.”—George Sheehan

79. “If you don’t think you were born to run you’re not only denying history. You’re denying who you are.” – Christopher McDougall

80. “You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.”—Steve Prefontaine

Running quotes to inspire and motivate

81. “Two joggers passed, shoes cheerfully slapping against the pavement.”― Sara Shepard

82. “When you run, the road belongs to you.”― Toni Sorenson

83. “Running is flying intermittently.”― Alain Bremond-Torrent

84. “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

85. “Running is the movement of a free human being. It doesn’t demand any special premises or machines. You only need to put on your shoes and get going. Let the blood circulate. Then everything becomes much clearer.”― Markus Torgeby

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of movement quotes for fitness inspiration.

86. “Run! Life’s too short to walk. Unless you don’t know where you’re running to, then move very slowly.”― Neil A. Hogan

87. “I started running to escape the memories that drinking couldn’t cover up”― Dean Karnazes

88. “You can alter mood by running.”― Tumpal Sihombing

89. “Running is alone time that lets my brain unspool the tangles that build up over days” – Bob Hneisen

90. “Running strengthens self-motivation.”― Tumpal Sihombing

Other motivational running quotes

91. “Running … led to a deep happiness that only comes from doing what you love, what your soul screams at you to do upon waking each day.”― S.F. Hick

If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of short motivational quotes that will get you ready to tackle the day.

92. “Running is therapy anyone can afford.”― Toni Sorenson

93. “Running is a form of practiced stoicism. It means teaching your brain and body to be biochemically comfortable in a state of disrepair.”― Matthew Inman

94. “Children run everywhere for a reason–it’s fun. Grown-ups can forget that sometimes.”― Jim Butcher

95. “Those who never run long distance or meditate in their lifetimes, miss out on the best free drugs the planet has to offer.”― Robert Black

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of drug quotes on how drug use can affect your mind, body, and spirit.

96. “When you feel life’s slow, run !”― Tumpal Sihombing

97. “Shut up and run.”― Matthew Inman

98. “When you run, every step you take leaves your weaker self behind and brings you one step closer to the strongest person you can be.”― Toni Sorenson

99. “Your body is made to move so move it.”― Toni Sorenson

100. “Running is an effort to escape from comfort zone.”― Tumpal Sihombing

More running quotes and sayings

101. “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” – Haruki Murakami

102. “If you build the guts to do something, anything, then you better save enough to face the consequences.” – Criss Jami

103. “The sharpest minds often ruin their lives by overthinking the next step, while the dull win the race with eyes closed.” – Bethany Brookbank

104. “I’m alone, but I’m not lonely. I like who I am. I like who I’m becoming.” – Deena Kastor

105. “Running away from someone you love is a race you will never win.” – Matshona Dhliwayo

106. “The only way for you to keep your mind straight is to run from those who would confuse you.” – Kristin Cashore

107. “Running ain’t no bad thing. Leastways if you run in the right direction.” – Mark Lawrence

108. “My past is trying to catch up to me and I must continue to run from it. It’s the only way I can live.” – Nicole Sobon

109. “Love is not running away or giving up, it is standing and fighting for every moment.” – M.F. Moonzajer

110. “Tension, in the long run, is a more dangerous force than any feud known to man.” – Criss Jami

Running quotes from celebrities and famous runners

111. “I always run without music. – Christy Turlington

112. “Running is great for your body. It will increase your energy levels and helps you to clear your mind.” – Heidi Klum

113. “Run for fun. Run for exercise. Run for a better life.”― Toni Sorenson

114. “I run when I need my head cleared,” – Emily Blunt

115. “Now I really enjoy running,” – Bear Grylls

116. “I go for a three-mile run every morning,” – Victoria Beckham

117. “Every day is a good day when you run.”― Kevin Nelson

118. “Running has taught me, perhaps more than anything else, that there’s no reason to fear starting lines—or other new beginnings.” – Amby Burfoot

119. “Running is the basis of all the training that I do—it’s like an escape.” – Ellie Goulding

120. “I run until time stops. Until my mind stops.”― Jennifer Niven

Running Quotes to Keep You on Track

121. “A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding.”

122. “Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, just like the muscles of the body.” – Lynn Jennings

123. “Then, I started running. And everything was as good as it could be.”― Stephen Chbosky

124. “A runner’s high doesn’t come from thinking about the end result, only of the moment, one step, one breath, one heartbeat at a time.”― C.J. Heck

125. “Running is a mental sport, more than anything else. You’re only as good as your training, and your training is only as good as your thinking.”― Lauren Oliver

126. “It is a rough road that leads to the heights of greatness.” – Seneca

127. “Do a little more each day than you think you possibly can.” – Lowell Thomas

128.“Running would help with the weight, but the weight did not help with running.”― Alexandra Heminsley

129. “Running is a hard, simple calculus: Run until you can’t run anymore. Then run some more. Find a new source of energy and will. Then run even faster.”― Scott Jurek

130. “You can’t be miserable when you’re running. It’s such a simple and pure way to feel alive.”― Veronica Rossi

Running Quotes to Keep You Moving

131. “The long run is what puts the tiger in the cat.” – Bill Squires

132. “Running is the classical road to self-consciousness, self-awareness, and self-reliance.” – Noel Carroll

133. “Act like a horse. Be dumb. Just run.” – Jumbo Elliot

134. “Life is complicated. Running is simple. Is it any wonder that people like to run?” – Kevin Nelson

135. “As we run, we become.” – Amby Burfoot

136. “When you cross the finish line, no matter how slow or fast, it will change your life forever.” – Dick Beardsley

137. “We all know that if you run, you are pretty much choosing a life of success because of it.” – Deena Kastor

138. “I was born to be a runner. I simply love to run. It’s almost like the faster I go, the easier it becomes.” – Mary Decker Slaney

139. “I always thought of running as just dancing forward.” – Tom Hiddleston

140. “It’s a treat being a runner, out in the world by yourself with not a soul to make you bad-tempered or tell you what to do.” – Alan Sillitoe

Which of these running quotes was your favorite?

Running is one of the most beneficial physical activities you could undertake. Besides making us healthier, running is a great social activity that can help you build a stronger and more meaningful network of friends.

If you’re not a natural-born runner, there’s no need to worry at all. We hope these running quotes have reminded you that you don’t have to start out running like a marathoner. Just a few minutes of daily running will significantly boost your happiness and make you live longer.

Did you enjoy these running quotes? Which of the quotes was your favorite? We would love to hear all about it in the comment section below.

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