Marathon Quotes

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping. ~ Fred Rogers

The music of a marathon is a powerful strain, one of those tunes of glory. It asks us to forsake pleasures, to discipline the body, to find courage, to renew faith and to become one's own person, utterly and completely. ~ George A. Sheehan

Half of all broccoli grown commercially in America today is a single variety- Marathon- notable for it's high yield. The overwhelming majority of the chickens raised for meat in America are the same hybrid, the Cornish cross; more than 99 percent of turkeys are the Broad-Breasted Whites. ~ Michael Pollan

Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private will, when months or years of solitary training, early mornings, lost weekends, rain and pain mature into triumph or surrender. That's one reason the race-day crowds matter, the friends who come to cheer and stomp and flap their signs and push the runners on. ~ Nancy Gibbs

Marathon Runner
Chopstick legged you sprint
a marathon journey of 1000 steps
to tick off this and that
before the click of now and then
and though you've wandered far
there's curious comfort in return
to that double helix of heritage and home
calligraphied in your ancestral compass.

Listen closely, Lil.
There is no finish line,
no time to beat,
no mileage goals to set.
You are a lone competitor
in a race against yourself.
Breathe Lil, breathe,
and smell the wildflowers
at the wayside. ~ Beryl Dov

I'd managed to snatch a few more hours of rest, which was all I needed, so I felt fine despite our marathon evening of debauchery. ~ Nicole Peeler

The most important thing is to understand that this career is not about speed. It's about stamina. This is a marathon. It's not a 50-meter sprint. You have to persevere and understand it takes a lot of time. You have to know you're going to knock on 100 doors and 99 of them are going to close in your face. ~ Jaime Camil

NYC Marathon cancelled: runners are scrambling to find some other meaningless accomplishment to use as a proxy for control over their lives. ~ Nils Parker

In an era when man can no longer dash out of his cave and slay a mammoth, he simply slips on his Lycra and goes for a run. ~ Phil Hewitt

I was unable to walk for a whole week after that, so much did the race take out of me. But it was the most pleasant exhaustion I have ever known. ~ Emil Zatopek

For Indigenous peoples , the impact of separating us from our heritage goes directly to the heart that pumps life through our peoples. To expect a people to be able to enjoy their culture without their cultural heritage and their sacred belongings is equivalent to amputating their legs and digging up the ground and asking them to run a marathon. ~ Mick Dodson

Even though I can't tell others whether they should chase their marathon dreams, I highly recommend they do something completely out of character, something they never in a million years thought they'd do, something they may fail miserably at. Because sometimes the places where you end up finding your true self are the places you never thought to look. That, and I don't want to be the only one who sucks at something. ~ Dawn Dais

I started out on a treadmill - and I just did my first marathon. And all while sitting in a wheelchair. ~ Jarod Kintz

And then there's the perverse joy of subtly working in references to marathon training in daily life, say at the post office or while waiting outside my first-graders' classrooms at the end of the school day. ~ Sarah Bowen Shea

There are times when you run a marathon and you wonder, Why am I doing this? But you take a drink of water, and around the next bend, you get your wind back, remember the finish line, and keep going. ~ Steve Jobs

I've had a lot of success over the years racing in New York, but the main point is that I feel the marathon is a different event, a lot more my event. ~ Paula Radcliffe

It's about having an active lifestyle, staying healthy, and making the right decisions. Life is about balance. Not everybody wants to run a marathon, but we could all start working out and being active, whether you walk to work or take an extra flight of stairs. ~ Apolo Ohno

Leadership is a journey, not a destination. It is a marathon, not a sprint. It is a process, not an outcome. (quoting John Donahoe) ~ Bill George

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

A marathon is a like a roller coaster ... You might toss your cookies, jump for joy, pass out, or have to close your eyes and just breathe. Even when it is going smooth, all of a sudden there can be a drop or even better, an acceleration. Hang on, stick to your plan, and enjoy every step of the way. I can't wait to do another ... or maybe ten! Get after it! ~ Carrie Tollefson

And yes, to answer you seriously, I am beginning to be ... well, not bored, but tempted; afraid, but tempted. When you've been in pain for a long time, when you wake up every morning with a rising sense of hysteria, then boredom is what you want, marathon sleeps, a silence in yourself. ~ Truman Capote

You wouldn't train for a marathon & then give up a mile before the finish line. Same goes with your life & dreams. ~ Dawn Gluskin

Cut! Go again."
And again, and again, and again. Finally, after the fourth of fifth take I yelled down the hill to the director: "This isn't a fucking marathon! If we're going to go again, tell him on the bloody bike to slow down."
David turned to me and said, "Having a bit of trouble, Captain?"
"That's all right for you to say," I laughed breathlessly, "but I'm carrying a rucksack on my back with your fucking hand in a glass jar inside ~ John Barrowman

Boston is the cream of the crop of the marathon world. It has such history that you feel such honor just being a part of it. All the other races have pacers to get you to a Boston qualifying time. ~ Summer Sanders

Man, he wasn't going to need a stress test anytime soon. If his heart could get through a kiss from her, he could probably run a marathon.
While dragging a car behind him.
Sideways to the road. ~ J.R. Ward

Winning times in the New York City Marathon have not dropped all that much over the years, but rather U.S. runners went backward. In 1983, there were 267 U.S. men who broke 2:20 in a marathon, and by 2000 that number was down to 27. ~ Alberto Salazar

Training for a marathon is much like climbing a ladder. Each ring is a short-term goal that must be met in sequence in order to reach the long-term goal at the top of the ladder. ~ Richard Benyo

Remember, it's the pace that kills, never the distance. ~ Bill Jones

I don't know that you'll understand this, but once upon a time, long ago, I was a scholar and a marathon man, but that fella's gone now, dead I suppose, but I remember something he thought, which was that if you don't learn the mistakes of the past, you'll be doomed to repeat them. Well we've been making a mistake with people like you, because public trials are bullshit and executions are games for winners - all this time we should have been giving back pain. That's the real lesson. That's the loser's share, just pain, pure and simple, pain and torture, no hotshot lawyers running around trying to see that justice is done. I think we'd have a nice peaceful place here if all you warmakers knew you better not start something because if you lost, agony was just around the bend. That's what I'd like to give you. Agony. Not what you're suffering now. I mean a lifetime of it, 'cause that's the only degree of justice I think we're ready for down here yet, and I know any humanist might disagree with me too, but I don't think you will, because you had a lot to do with educating me, I'm like you now, except I'm better at it, because you're going to die and I've still got a long way to go. ~ William Goldman

It looks like a marathon. And I'm proud that I'm not a DNF (did not finish). I'm not a DNF yet. I just kept going. I think that's been the key is just to keep going and really try to get better and try to be as truthful as I can and hope that good things come my way. ~ Jennifer Beals

I was formed by 'The Forsyte Saga' marathon. There was something about seeing all those events telescoped that was unbelievably moving: that sense of time as something that can be tinkered with. ~ Richard Greenberg

As long as possible, I would really like to complete one marathon per year. Though my time has been slowing down as I get older, it has become a very important part of my life. ~ Haruki Murakami

There's more to marathon day than running long. Learning how your body reacts to the early alarm, light breakfast and warm-up is key. Minimize surprises come race day. Run long the same time of day as the race. ~ Gina Greenlee

Writing is like running a marathon. One needs stamina and perseverance. The right preparation and pacing get results. ~ K.J. Kilton

I thought about running a marathon a long time ago, but I'm just not a runner. ~ Shannon Miller

Success breeds success on a marathon route. If you can prove to yourself that you are doing well, then invariably you will do even better. ~ Phil Hewitt

When it comes to how we fare in the marathon of life, effort counts tremendously. ~ Angela Duckworth

I always do an all-night horror marathon on Saturdays where we start at seven and go until five in the morning. ~ Quentin Tarantino

...when the Gods finished creating woman, they stood back and looked at what they'd done. They had given her a body strong enough to run a marathon, a mind fast enough to do six things at once, a heart big enough to love even while it was breaking, hands that could paint a masterpiece or feed a family or write a symphony. And they were afraid, because they saw that what they made was stronger than they were. They knew they had to create a secret weapon, one thing they could use to destroy her. So they gave her children. ~ Donna Ball

At 10 minutes to seven on a dark, cool evening in Mexico City in 1968, John Stephen Akwari of Tanzania painfully hobbled into the Olympic Stadium-the last man to finish the marathon. The winner had already been crowned, and the victory ceremony was long finished. So the stadium was almost empty and Akwari - alone, his leg bloody and bandaged - struggled to circle the track to the finish line. When asked why he had continued the grueling struggle, the young man from Tanzania answered softly: My country did not send me 9,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 9,000 miles to finish the race. ~ Walter Inglis Anderson

If youre a vegan who ran a marathon & got your dogs from a shelter, how do you decide which thing to wedge into the conversation first? ~ Ken Jennings

I enter myself in races. I did a triathlon, and I have done a marathon a couple of times. ~ Stephen Mangan

My brother was a big marathoner. He was a great collegiate runner at Beloit College. He won his conference's races, and he did tons of marathons. I would go out and run with him every once in a while just to hang out with him. ~ Tate Donovan

All discomfort is not equal. Learning to listen will help you distinguish among effort, fatigue and pain. To what degree, under what conditions and over what period of time your body experiences these sensations will determine how you respond. ~ Gina Greenlee

Just as Drake turned six weeks old, I decided I wanted to lose some baby weight. Chip and I were both still getting used to the idea that we had a baby of our own now, but I felt it was okay to leave him with Chip for a half hour or so in the mornings so I could take a short run up and down Third Street. I left Drake in the little swing he loved, kissed Chip good-bye, and off I went.
Chip was so sweet and supportive. When I got back he was standing in the doorway saying, "Way to go, baby!" He handed me a banana and asked if I'd had any cramps or anything. I hadn't. I actually felt great.
I walked in and discovered Chip had prepared an elaborate breakfast for me, as if I'd run a marathon or something. I hadn't done more than a half-mile walk-run, but he wanted to celebrate the idea that I was trying to get myself back together physically. He'd actually driven to the store and back and bought fresh fruit and real maple syrup and orange juice for me.
I sat down to eat, and I looked over at Drake. He was sound asleep in his swing, still wearing nothing but his diaper. "Chip, did you take Drake to the grocery store without any clothes on?"
Chip gave me a real funny look. He said, "What?"
I gave him a funny look back.
"Oh my gosh," he said. "I totally forgot Drake was here. He was so quiet."
"Chip!" I yelled, totally freaked out.
I was a first-time mom. Can you imagine?
Anyone who's met Chip knows he can get a little sidetracked, but th ~ Joanna Gaines

I was on a path, and I became determined to give it everything I had - no matter what. ~ Eleanor Brownn

Her heart was beating a marathon somewhere in the region of her throat, her skin felt hot and stretched taut over her bones, and she was damp in places she was tolerably certain unmarried gentlewomen were not supposed to be damp in. ~ Gail Carriger

Marathon running, like golf, is a game for players, not winners. That is why Callaway sells golf clubs and Nike sells running shoes. But running is unique in that the world's best racers are on the same course, at the same time, as amateurs, who have as much chance of winning as your average weekend warrior would scoring a touchdown in the NFL. ~ Hunter S. Thompson

I am a marathon worker and marathon mother. I'll spend three or four days completely swallowed up by work. And if I make it home in time to say good night, I may have one good hour with the girls, maybe a brief family dinner or a family walk with the dog, and then it is back on the computer to prepare for tomorrow's shows. ~ Mika Brzezinski

This cyberwar will be a continuous marathon war that will only compound and hyper-evolve in stealth, sophistication and easy entry due to the accelerated evolution of "as a service" attack strategies for sale on the dark web. ~ James Scott, Senior Fellow, Institute For Critical Infrastructure Technology

They were like magnets completely drawn to each other, mirroring one another's movements and stances. They were like the opposite poles north and south completely different to one another yet they seemed to reflect and bring out the rare pure beauty and goodness within each other. Her heart thumped and walloped around in her chest cavity as if she had just completed a marathon. Her stomach fluttered nervously at the mere sight of him looking at her like that way. ~ Ali Harper

In a marathon, if you run too fast, you get exhausted. If you run too slow, you never make it. ~ Uday Kotak

I was visiting Marcus and his wife when a friend asked if she could talk to me alone. Teresa was the spouse of a Team member who'd served with Chris. We hadn't spent a lot of time together, but we'd always had a connection.
"I have something I want to give you," she said. "I don't know if it's going to seem corny to you or what, but I kind of want to do it for me."
She pressed a medal into my hand. I looked at it--it was the medal she'd received for completing the Boston Marathon.
"You and Chris kept me going," she explained. "It was almost eerie how, when my legs were tired and I wanted to quit, Randy Travis's song came on the iPod. It was the one he played at the memorial. My iPod was on random shuffle but it was always at just the right moment. I would hear that song and it would spur me on."
Maybe Chris was somehow behind that. People have told me of other inspirational incidents; each one, from simple to grand, has touched me with its beauty. ~ Taya Kyle

I don't mind a chase, baby. Whether it's a sprint or a marathon makes no difference to me. I'll reach the finish line eventually. I don't know what you're running from, but I don't give up easy. I'll be seeing you soon. ~ Aidan Willows

What little reality television I've seen seems to be about economic desperation. Like the marathon dancing of the Great Depression, which should give us pause. People willing to eat flies and worms for a sum that is less than the weekly paycheck of the show's producer. I haven't seen "reality television" that is other than this kind of painful, sadistic exploitation of fit young people looking for agents. ~ Lorrie Moore

For every runner who tours the world running marathons, there are thousands who run to hear the leaves and listen to the rain, and look to the day when it is suddenly as easy as a bird in flight. ~ George Sheehan

While I do not want anyone to miss out on possibly living forever with God, I have come to realize that the Christian life is a marathon. People grow in their faith at different paces depending on their own circumstances in life. The key is to share, love, and encourage people to put their faith in Christ, and when they don't respond, we simply offer a place of forgiveness to come back to if or when their heart changes. We do not judge or police those who choose not to accept Christ, but we wish them the best of luck. They're going to need it. ~ Jase Robertson

The next Friday, I went to visit my favorite Englishman for game night. Justus groaned when I bragged about our plans for an all-night Godzilla marathon, but I knew he was glad to be rid of me. He liked to go out and get his freak on, whether he'd admit it or not. Every man has needs, and his were never satisfied when I tagged along. Maybe I was a little mean to the women, but it irritated me that he didn't have standards. ~ Dannika Dark

I think comedy is the most difficult thing in the world, I really do. ~ Martha Graham

When I went to the starting line of the 1976 Olympic marathon in Montreal, it was with the unsettling conviction that some of my competitors were cheaters. ~ Don Kardong

Few things in life match the thrill of a marathon. ~ Fred Lebow

I definitely want to show how beautiful the marathon can be. I am the opponent of all those who find the marathon bad: the psychologists, the physiologists, the doubters. I make the marathon beautiful for myself and for others. That's why I'm here. ~ Uta Pippig

The mountains look on Marathon And Marathon looks on the sea; And musing there an hour alone, I dreamed that Greece might still be free. ~ Robert Byron

I slept as the person in Plutarch that ran from Marathon to Athens without a pause would have slept if he had not fallen dead, the creature. ~ Patrick O'Brian

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

His eyes drifted leisurely back up to my face and he smiled at me appreciatively, "Kelsey, when a man spends time with a beautiful woman, he needs to pace himself. I quirked my eyebrow at him and laughed. "Yeah, I'm a regular marathon alright." He kissed my fingers. "Exactly. A wise man never sprints ... in a marathon. ~ Colleen Houck

Wounded Warriors tell me they're not just going to walk again, they're going to run, and they're going to run marathons! ~ Michelle Obama

Rickey sometimes wondered what would have become of them if the Peychaud crew hadn't imploded one night in a marathon of apocalyptic drunkenness. No one remembered much of this night, but by the end of it, two cars were totaled, the sous chef and the bartender were in Charity Hospital, the chef was in jail, and the grill guy's wife was filing for divorce. The owner decided to close the place and they found themselves jobless. Rickey guessed this kind of thing was known as a wake-up call ~ Poppy Z. Brite

The marathon is a charismatic event. It has everything. It has drama. It has competition. Every jogger can't dream of being an Olympic champion, but he can dream of finishing a marathon. ~ Fred Lebow

I used to carbo load. But then I ran my first marathon, actually on a whim. All I could think of was that I needed protein. I remember going to the grocery store and buying one of those roasted chickens. I remember downing a bunch of that and, yes, I had some carbs, but that's what I felt I needed. ~ Summer Sanders

I like the marathon because it's one race where you can find out who's really the toughest. On the track, sometimes a guy can just pull away, and you want to stay with him but you don't have the leg speed. The marathon is slow enough that anyone can stay with you if he wants, if he has the will. The marathon is ultimately a test of will. ~ Alberto Salazar

Since my fried left me,I've got nothing to do but walking.I walk to forget.I walk,I escape,I get further.My friend will not come back,now I am a marathon man. ~ Shel Silverstein

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

If an athlete takes a shortcut - literally, for example, by running a street that shortens the marathon route by a quarter mile - he or she doesn't have an insurmountable advantage. But it's an unfair advantage, and in a field of equally matched athletes, it's more than enough to make a difference. ~ Don Kardong

I always say if the marathon is a part-time interest, you will only get part-time results. ~ Bill Rodgers

Marathon runners, by default, must have resilient minds. ~ Ed Caesar

Parenting is a marathon, and we have to remember our long-term goal of raising beautiful people who love God and others. ~ Kristen Welch

If you've given a dollar, you are part of the Marathon of Hope . ~ Terry Fox

Sometimes it's just surreal out there, while you're running a marathon. People just standing out in the cold, even the rain, cheering for you, blasting music for you. It's an awesome show of camaraderie and community. ~ John Roberts

You shall become the person you are. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

We didn't crumble after 9/11. We didn't falter after the Boston Marathon. But we're America. Americans will never, ever stand down. We endure. We overcome. We own the finish line. ~ Joe Biden

I would say to people is, that investigation, as it has already been stated, is a marathon and not a sprint. But it is one of great concern to the American people. And so we're committed to keeping people informed. ~ Barack Obama

Two days after the Boston marathon bombings, there was a drone strike in Yemen attacking a peaceful village, which killed a target who could very easily have been apprehended. But, of course, it is just easier to terrorise people. The drones are a terrorist weapon; they not only kill targets but also terrorise other people. ~ Noam Chomsky

I sit with my grief. I mother it. I hold its small, hot hand. I don't say, shhh. I don't say, it is okay. I wait until it is done having feelings. Then we stand and we go wash the dishes. We crack open bedroom doors, step over the creaks, and kiss the children. We are sore from this grief, like we've returned from a run, like we are training for a marathon. I'm with you all the way, says my grief, whispering, and then we splash our face with water and stretch, one big shadow and one small. ~ Callista Buchen

I am a runner. Last October, there was a marathon here in Beijing. I didn't participate this time, but friends told me that the run wasn't prepared too well. The organizers had only arranged about three hours' worth of food and water supplies. Most people don't finish within three hours, however. Too bad for them - or so it seemed. In fact, however, even those finishing last were perfectly taken care of, particularly during the fourth and fifth hour when demand is highest. ~ Zhang Xin

About three weeks before the marathon, I decided that I should probably start running. I don't like to run, so I had been working out, but not actually running. I went to a state park and I ran a 5K, or 3.2-mile, trail run. It was not pretty. ~ Noah Galloway

No drugs here, no manipulation of neurotransmitters that leaves our worldly problems unattended. And no talking cures because explicit insight is not needed. All that is required is courage: the courage to encounter discomfort and stay with it long enough to be changed by it, strengthened. ~ Jason Dias

You have to forget your last marathon before you try another. Your mind can't know what's coming. ~ Frank Shorter

A novel takes the courage of a marathon runner, and as long as you have to run, you might as well be a winning marathon runner. Serendipity and blind faith faith in yourself won't hurt a thing. All the bastards in the world will snicker and sneer because they haven't the talent to zip up their flies by themselves. To hell with them, particularly the critics. Stand in there, son, no matter how badly you are battered and hurt. ~ Leon Uris

One of these days, I'd like to put together a revue of all my music, which would probably turn into a marathon. There's a couple of hit songs from almost every phase of my career. At the same time, visually, if you don't handle it properly, it could be a cacophony of craziness, because there's just so many different kinds of music. ~ Natalie Cole

Just as you can't become a marathon runner by watching marathons on TV, likewise for science, you have to go through the thought processes of doing science and not just watch your instructor do it. ~ Eric Mazur

But most of all I was inspired by the stirring examples of all the other runners. In some pictures they would seem like tiny dots in a mosaic, but each had a separate narrative starting a few months or a lifetime earlier and finishing that day in the New York City Marathon, the race with 37,000 stories. ~ Mark Sutcliffe

All over Greece, strangers of a certain age will greet one another with the question, "And where were you and what did you do when Xerxes came to Marathon?" Then they exchange lies. ~ Gore Vidal

Running for office is similar to being a trial lawyer in a very long trial. It requires adrenaline and stamina; it requires being in shape mentally and emotionally. It's a marathon. ~ Kamala Harris

Pheidippides ran twenty-six miles from Marathon to Athens with news of the Greek victory. ~ Mark Rowlands

Our favorite: a former garbage dump converted into a riverside park. I first ran there more than 30 years ago when a marathon passed through this park that later became home to Pre's Trail. ~ Joe Henderson

Yeah, yeah, success is a ladder, a marathon instead of a sprint and all that crap. Everyone can TELL you stuff like that, but you really have to understand advice in relation to YOURSELF, or it's all just nice intellectual theory. ~ Felicia Day

It was Saturday evening and we were in the throes of a Veronica Mars marathon (season two DVD). I decided that when I left "Ms. Townsend, Ice Princess" behind, the New Sadie was going to be like Veronica Mars. She was plucky, cute as a button and she had a smart mouth. ~ Kristen Ashley

I gave birth to my first son in April 1986. I thought it would be a good goal to get back in shape after having a baby if I ran the New York City Marathon. I ran in it November 1986. I had just shot the 'Sports Illustrated' swimsuit issue, so I was in great shape. ~ Kim Alexis

I think I liked writing a novel better. Obviously, it's more rewarding. It's that marathon thing where it sucks when you're doing it, but you're proud of yourself at the end, and you've done it, and at the very least, nobody can take that away from you. ~ Drew Magary