Dean Karnazes Quotes

Never, under any circumstances, argue with a tired woman. She is always right.

I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary.

As long as my heart's still in it, I'll keep going. If the passion's there, why stop? ...
There'll likely be a point of diminishing returns, a point where my strength will begin to wane. Until then, I'll just keep plodding onward, putting one foot in front of the other to the best of my ability. Smiling the entire time.

Sure I'm cut but not for the sake of vanity ...

I am always nervous before the start of a race. It helps me to say to myself to try my very best. That is my commitment. No matter how bad it gets, I will try my hardest.

Unlike the traditional athlete, I've got to do more than just engage in my sport to put food on the table. When I'm done running, it's straight to the office.

Sometimes you've got to go through hell to get to heaven.

Regardless of how distant your dreams may seem, every second counts.

If you can't run, then walk. And if you can't walk, then crawl. Do what you have to do. Just keep moving forward and never, ever give up.

When I was running across the country, I was doing 40 or 50 miles a day in sleeting snow with zero visibility for five or six days in a row. Ten to 12 hours of running in that is monotony beyond belief.

Most dreams die a slow death. They're conceived in a moment of passion, with the prospect of endless possibility, but often languish and are not pursued with the same heartfelt intensity as when first born. Slowly, subtly, a dream becomes elusive and ephemeral. People who've lost their own dreams become pessimists and cynics. They feel like the time and devotion spent on chasing their dreams were wasted. The emotional scars last forever.

Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the color of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran.

Unlike running on a road or concrete, natural surfaces are more forgiving and offer a more varied terrain, ultimately resulting in less repetitive micro-trauma to bones and joints than running on hard pavement does.

I think I have some of my clearest thoughts when I'm out running.

If you keep chasing your dreams, one day you'll catch them.

Running was a part of my hardwiring, and that's what I wanted to do. So this is what I tell people who talk about wanting to follow their passion. 'It doesn't have to be running. It can be basket weaving. Be the best basket weaver in the world. Throw your heart and soul into it.'

I wasn't born with any innate talent. I've never been naturally gifted at anything. I always had to work at it. The only way I knew how to succeed was to try harder than anyone else. Dogged persistence is what got me through life. But here was something I was half-decent at. Being able to run great distances was the one thing I could offer the world. Others might be faster, but I could go longer. My strongest quality is that I never give up.

I don't know if I'm so much fueled by trying to one-up myself so much as passionate about coming up with new and greater challenges. I don't see it as a contest, but as a natural progression.

When we pass them, show no signs of weakness. Look strong.

I started running to escape the memories that drinking couldn't cover up

Don't run with your legs, run with your heart.

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.

During holiday parties when people used to ask me what I did for a living, I would tell them I sold resort timeshares. That was an effective conversational nonstarter, until I met someone that actually did sell resort timeshares.

As a runner, that's what I know how to do. To strike out on a trail and just go and go and go like there's no tomorrow; to run until my problems fade beneath my feet and the world becomes new again.

You cannot grow and expand your capabilities without running the risk of failure.

People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: 'Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.' Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.

Life is a series of obstacles and setbacks; living is overcoming them.

My suspicion is that, like me, most of you reading these pages are drawn to extremes. Moderation bores you. You seek challenges and adventures that dwell on the outer edges. The path of least resistance is not a route often traveled.

Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.

Listen to everyone, follow no one.

Any goal worth achieving involves an element of risk.

There is magic in misery. Just ask any runner.

Once you permit yourself to compromise, you fail yourself.

I run because if I didn't, I'd be sluggish and glum and spend too much time on the couch. I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary. I run ... to savor the trip along the way. Life becomes a little more vibrant, a little more intense. I like that.

Unless you're not pushing yourself, you're not living to the fullest. You can't be afraid to fail, but unless you fail, you haven't pushed hard enough.

The marathon is an opportunity for redemption. Opportunity, because the outcome is uncertain. Opportunity, because it is up to you, and only you, to make it happen.

I do a lot of marathons as training runs. If I'm somewhere and there's a marathon, I'll sign up and just go run it.

Yes, my dad's a marathoner. He used to do sprint distances and then started marathoning. My mom is an endurance animal. She does three-day events like the Susan G. Komen three-day walk.

Runners are competitive folks. I think some might feel slighted they haven't got more recognition. I think they have a point. In running, you won't necessarily get noticed just for turning in good performances.

Never, however, do I take shortcuts. There is not path of least resistance in my training. What I do equates to hard manual labor, disciplined grunt work. Once you permit yourself to compromise, you fail yourself. You might be able to fool some people, but you can never fool yourself. Your toughest critic is the one you face every morning in the mirror.

Running is about finding your inner peace, and so is a life well lived.

When I ran across America, for 75 days I ate 10,000 calories a day. I still lost about five pounds.

Pain is the body's way of ridding itself of weakness.

I have my whole office set-up at waist level; I don't sit at all during the day. Sitting, to me, is the devil.

Awakenings are always terrifying as they force you to realize your past has been lived in confinement, the most disturbing part is when you recognize that the shackle holding you down are largely once you have placed upon yourself, the prison is self constructed

There are so many things in life that divide us, that separate us and tear us apart, be it race, religion, creed, socioeconomic level, nationality or any variety of other factors. But running is something that we all share in common.

Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.

Endurance running was my passion , my ride. So here, I was in the driver's seat, running for two days straight pushing the mental and physical limits striving to be better, to go farther, to give more.

The human body has limitations; the human spirit is boundless.