166 Running Quotes to Motivate and Inspire You to Stay Fit

Running is one of the preferred exercise to burn calories. But it’s not as simple as it sounds. Running is just not a put one foot in front of the other, it’s kind of full-body work out which requires a lot of self-discipline, determination and will-power. Like any other exercise ; it’s beneficial for physical as well as mental fitness. We have compiled the best running quotes for the runners and joggers to motivate them. These will also inspire to non-runners as well you generate the escape velocity to put in their shoes, tie laces and move on the road.

Running Quotes

1. “Mindful running is the medicine which throws out all the negativity from mind and body.” ~ Invajy

2. “Long distance running is 90 percent mental and the other half is physical.” ~ Rich Davis

3. “Run, run and run….. the more your body cries out as a sweat, more physically and mentally fit you are.” ~ Invajy

4. “Running is my private time, my therapy, my religion.” ~ Gail W. Kislevitz

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

6. “Run like hell and get the agony over with.” ~ Clarence DeMar
7. “Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
8. “Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
9. “Life equals running and when we stop running maybe that’s how we’ll know life is finally finished.” ~ Patrick Ness
10. “Ask yourself: “Can I give more?” The answer is usually: “Yes.” ~ Paul Tergat

Also Read: Fitness Quotes to motivate you for workout

Running Motivation Quotes

11. “You can alter mood by running.”~ Tumpal Sihombing
12. “Just stick with it. What seems hard now will one day be your warm-up” ~ Anonymous
13. “If you still look cute after running, you didn’t go hard enough.” ~ Anonymous
14. “Waking up early in the morning and jogging for half an hour is all you need to overcome your mental health issues.” ~ Invajy
15. “Running is a lot like life. Only 10 percent of it is exciting. 90 percent of it is slog and drudge.” ~ Dave Bedford
16. “The reason we race isn’t so much to beat each other,… but to be with each other.” ~ Christopher McDougall
17. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”~ Eleanor Roosevelt
18. “Run in the morning … before your brain figures out what your body is doing!” ~ Anonymous
19. “In running, it doesn’t matter whether you come in first, in the middle of the pack, or last. You can say, ‘I have finished.’ There is a lot of satisfaction in that.” ~ Fred Lebow
20. “Unless you puke, faint, or die, keep going!” ~ Jillian Michaels

Inspirational Running Quotes

21. “If we had a drug that did what exercise did, it would be the biggest revolution ever and would be promoted all over the world. And all you have to do is go out for a run.”~ Greg Wells
22. “Nothing lifts me out of a bad mood better than a hard workout on my treadmill. It never fails. To us, exercise is nothing short of a miracle.” ~ Cher
23. “The marathon can humble you.” ~ Bill Rodgers
24. “Running is kind of like a coffee. The first time you drink it you might not like it. It’s bitter and leaves a bad taste in your mouth but you kind of like the way it makes you feel. However, after a few times, it starts to taste better and then all of a sudden you’re hooked and it’s the new best part of waking up.” ~ Amy Hastings
25. “Exercise is so amazing from the inside out. I feel so alive and have so much energy.” ~ Vanessa Hudgens
26. “One run can change your day; many runs can change your life.” ~ Anonymous
27. “Running allows me to set my mind free. Nothing seems impossible. Nothing unattainable.” ~ Kara Goucher
28. “I’ll be happy if running and I can grow old together.” ~ Haruki Murakami
29. “Running is all about positive frame of mind. Stay positive, work hard and make it happen.” ~ Invajy
30. “I am 100 percent convinced that working out is part of what makes me so happy.” ~ Jennifer Lopez

Motivational Running Quotes

31. “The obsession with running is really an obsession with the potential for more and more life.” ~ George Sheehan
32. “I really love going places without a map. When I went running in Paris, I headed for a monument or a statue that I could see off in the distance. To get back where I started, I simply used the GPS on my phone.” ~ Brooklyn Decker
33. “The pain of running relieves the pain of living.” ~ Jacqueline Simon Gunn
34. “Running is the quickest endorphin hit I can get. I like to do it really early in the morning, before everyone gets up. It gives me a clear head and sort of resets the clock. It’s like, ‘OK, I got that out of the way. Now I can deal with people.’” ~ Julie Bowen
35. “If you don’t think you were born to run you’re not only denying history. You’re denying who you are.” ~ Christopher McDougall
36. “For me, working out is a form of therapy, its cathartic for me, it’s a good stress reliever. I know that when I go to the gym I am taking care of myself and I know I’ll feel so much better afterwards.” ~ Bob Harper
37. “Two joggers passed, shoes cheerfully slapping against the pavement.” ~ Sara Shepard
38. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” ~ Confucius
39. “There’s a great empowerment that I get from running, not only from the endorphins . . . Being a runner, to me, has made being depressed impossible. If ever I’m going through something emotional and just go outside for a run, you can rest assured that I’ll come back with clarity and empowerment.” ~ Alanis Morissette
40. “Someone who is busier than you is running right now.” ~ Nike

Running Quotes

41. “Exercise is like meditation for me. And I’m giving myself that time . . . I cannot live without it now. When you have such a good workout, it clears everything up mentally, physically, and you just have a better day.” ~ Minka Kelly
42. “If you don’t have answers to your problems after a four-hour run, you ain’t getting them.” ~ Christopher McDougall
43. “[Working out] really did make me feel better and kind of saved me. It gave me a bit of sanity . . . I’m serious about my exercise. I don’t just doodle around. I see people at the gym talking on their cell phones. If they think their bodies are really going to change . . . I mean, you’ve got to put in the effort!” ~ LeAnn Rimes
44. “After all, if you run far enough, no one can catch you.” ~ V.E. Schwab
45. “I never listen to music when I run – I listen to the beat of my heart. I like to feel the blood pumping in my veins. If I’m running for a long time, I take my hydration pack. I like to disappear up a mountain or into the woods and come back two hours later.” ~ Fred Sirieux
46. “I’ve learned that it’s what you do with the miles, rather than how many you’ve run” ~ Rod DeHaven
47. “Just keep moving. Someone said this to me a long time ago. It’s a Buddhist saying, I think: ‘There is no wasted effort.’” ~ Lauren Graham
48. “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
49. “It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect. It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise.” ~ Eminem
50. “Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”~ T.S. Elliot

Motivational Quotes for Runners

51. “Running is about finding your inner peace, and so is a life well lived.” ~ Dean Karnazes
52. “It makes me feel like I can conquer anything that comes at me. I’m never tapped out. I’m never tired around my two kids. I owe a lot of that to running.” ~ Travis Barker
53. “Nothing, not even pain, lasts forever. If I can just keep putting one foot in front of the other, I will eventually get to the end.” ~ Kim Cowart
54. “I woke up on my birthday and said, ‘I want to run 10 miles.’ I just wanted to see if I could run double-digit mileage.” ~ Sterling K. Brown
55. “Don’t fear moving slowly forward…fear standing still.” ~ Kathleen Harris
56. “Running has been my main form of exercise. I’ve been running five or six days a week. I love it.” ~ Natalie Coughlin
57. “If you still look cute after running, you didn’t go hard enough.” ~ Anonymous
58. “It started to become what I looked forward to most; it was the only time I got to be in my own head.” ~ Rob Riggle
59. “There is something magical about running; after a certain distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul.” ~ Kristin Armstrong
60. “I remember looking at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and thinking, ‘What have I signed up for here?’ It’s one of those things where you’re like, ‘Okay, here we go!’ Your corral starts off and you start running, and I guess the adrenaline kind of gets you going, and you’re literally off to the races; you’re fine.” ~ Al Roker

Quotes about Running

61. “Running is the basis of all the training that I do…it’s like an escape.” ~ Ellie Goulding
62. “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
63. “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
64. “Don’t be afraid to fail. It’s not the end of the world and in many ways it’s the first step toward learning something better and getting better at it.” ~ Jon Hamm
65. “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
66. “Fast running isn’t forced. You have to relax and let the run come out of you.” ~ Desiree Linden
67. “I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy… I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” ~ Art Williams
68. “To me, sweat is workout bliss.” ~ Brooke Burke-Charvet
69. “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
70. “Running is my alone time. I have people around me all the time, all day. The only time I have alone is when I’m running, or when I’m at church. Running’s easier to fit in.” ~ Mario Lopez

Best Running Quotes

71. “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon.” ~ Kathrine Switzer
72. “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” ~ John Bingham
73. “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, just never give up.”~ Dean Karnazes
74. “You would run much slower if you were dragging something behind you, like a knapsack or a sheriff.” ~ Lemony Snicket
75. “There are times when I feel lazy and just want to stay in bed all day, but I know that working out is the best way to get those endorphins going, which will make me feel better emotionally and physically.” ~ Heather Locklear
76. “Running is great for your body. It will increase your energy levels and helps you to clear your mind.” ~ Heidi Klum
77. “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
78. “Of all the sports I’ve tried, some have come and gone but running has always been there for me. It’s the simplest of things to do: shove your trainers on and just go.” ~ Mel C
79. “A runner must run with dreams in his heart.” ~ Emil Zatopek
80. “All great achievements require time.” ~ Maya Angelou

Running Quotes about Pain

81. “It’s not so much that I began to run, but that I continued.” ~ Hal Higdon
82. “Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine.” ~ John Trautmann
83. “I feel like when I am running, it not only helps change me physically, it also improves my state of mind.” ~ Derek Hough
84. “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
85. “Never underestimate the power that one good workout can have on your mind. Keeping the dream alive is half the battle.” ~ Kara Goucher
86. “If I continue to set goals and accomplish those goals, that means I’m doing something right.” ~ Kevin Hart
87. “It’s no fun to sit down and talk about what exercise has to do with life… go drip that sweat, run until we’re fatigued, to where the mind can’t ponder the past or the future, well, then you’ve got something… It’s fun to feel healthy, and it’s fun to feel good.” ~ Matthew McConaughey
88. “You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
89. “My feeling is that any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy.” ~ John Bryant
90. “I love running but I think you have to find a work out routine that really speaks to you beyond trying to get goals for your body. For me, running, I need it as much for my head and to clear my head as I do for keeping in shape.” ~ Meghan Markle

Jogging Quotes

91. “I love the way that it makes my body feel and it’s just my time for myself where I can get out there and think and let my mind go.” ~ Laila Ali
92. “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
93. “A lot of people run a race to see who’s the fastest. I run to see who has the most guts.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
94. “Quality is much better than quantity. One home run is much better than two doubles.” ~ Steve Jobs
95. “Why race? The need to be tested, perhaps; the need to take risks; and the chance to be number one.” ~ George Sheehan
96. “I’m all about breaking mental boundaries, and training for a marathon falls right into the Jedi mind-training I need.” ~ Alicia Keys
97. “You have a choice. You can throw in the towel, or you can use it to wipe the sweat off of your face.” ~ Gatorade
98. “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” ~ Bill Bowerman
99. “I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” ~ Michael Jordan
100. “This is the hardest thing I’ve ever put my body through, but for me, running is a mental game. I’ve learned that if I can convince myself to just keep putting one foot in front of the other, then I can run as far as I want to.” ~ Chip Gaines

Cool Running Quotes

101. “Running is something you can do and be alone in your thoughts, and I like that.” ~ Carole Radziwill
102. “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
103. “Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running.” ~ Julie Isphording
104. “Run! Life’s too short to walk. Unless you don’t know where you’re running to, then move very slowly.”~ Neil A. Hogan
105. “Something happens to me when I run. People think it’s crazy when I say it. All of my ideas come in when I run. That is my time where it’s just me, where I get to create.” ~ Theo Rossi
106. “Running is the classical road to self-consciousness, self-awareness, and self-reliance.” ~ Noel Carroll
107. “I started running to escape the memories that drinking couldn’t cover up”~ Dean Karnazes
108. “Runners just do it – they run for the finish line even if someone else has reached it first.” ~ Anonymous
109. “No marathon gets easier later. The halfway point only marks the end of the beginning.” ~ Joe Henderson
110. “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

Short Running Quotes

111. “Don’t dream of winning, train for it!” ~ Mo Farah
112. “As we run, we become.” ~ Amby Burfoot
113. “When you run, the road belongs to you.”~ Toni Sorenson
114. “I run every day. It’s like medicine.” ~ Jennifer Carpenter
115. “Things that hurt, instruct.” ~ Benjamin Franklin
116. “Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see.” ~ Jimmy Buffett
117. “The only failure is not to try.” ~ George Clooney
118. “Your body is made to move so move it.”~ Toni Sorenson
119. “If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” ~ Fred DeVito
120. “Be so good they can’t ignore you.” ~ Steve Martin

Famous Running Quotes

121. “It’s amazing how the same pace in practice can feel so much harder than on race day. Stay confident. Trust the process.” ~ Sara Hall
122. “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
123. “When I’m working 16-hour days and I can’t work out, I get angry very easily. It’s because I’m missing all those good endorphins. For me, exercise equals happiness.” ~ Heather Morris
124. “When it’s pouring rain and you’re bowling along through the wet, there’s satisfaction in knowing you’re out there and the others aren’t.” ~ Peter Snell
125. “Just running the streets was absolutely everything and more than I possibly expected.” ~ Jennie Finch
126. “I like what it does for my mind. If I’ve had a bad day, if I’m feeling stressed out, if I’m feeling overwhelmed – it takes it all away. It’s my antidote for everything. If I feel any sort of emotional upheaval, I go for a jog and I feel better.” ~ Kelly Ripa
127. “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
128. “If the sun comes up, I have a chance.” ~ Venus Williams
129. “Step one to running a marathon: You run. There is no step two.” ~ Barney Stinson
130. “Running is in my blood – the adrenaline flows before the races, the love/hate of butterflies in your stomach.” ~ Marcus O’Sullivan

Funny Running Quotes

131. “It’s an acquired skill, being able to discuss your love life, children, and friends, all while you’re running! But we have mastered it.” ~ Reese Witherspoon
132. “Coming back to running after a few weeks off is really tough. It’s humbling. Nothing wrong with a large dose of humility.” ~ Davina McCall
133. “Running a marathon is not a question of whether it will be painful, but when it will be painful. It does help to have a sense of humor, but I’m also respectful of the race.” ~ Will Ferrell
134. “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
135. “I choose the things that I want to do, and they all revolve around one thing: food. Even my running has to do with food. I run to stay in shape so I can eat what I want.” ~ Bobby Flay
136. “I like trails more than roads. I’ve jumped over my share of rattlesnakes. I’ve seen mountain lions, coyotes, bobcats, skunks, hawks.” ~ Reggie Miller
137. “Children run everywhere for a reason – it’s fun. Grown-ups can forget that sometimes.”~ Jim Butcher
138. “I love running cross country. On a track, I feel like a hamster.” ~ Robin Williams
139. “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
140. “A good laugh and a long run are the two best cures for anything.” ~ Anonymous

Running Quotes

141. “Jogging is very beneficial. It’s good for your legs and your feet. It’s also very good for the ground. It makes it feel needed.” ~ Charles M. Schultz
142. “Running is therapy anyone can afford.”~ Toni Sorenson
143. “My doctor told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel ten years older already.” ~ Milton Berle
144. “Don’t be a jogger, they’re the one’s who find dead bodies.” ~ Amanda Brooks
145. “The trouble with jogging is that, by the time you realize you’re not in shape for it, it’s too far to walk back.” ~ Franklin P. Jones
146. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” ~ Aristotle
147. “Running is nothing more than a series of arguments between the part of your brain that wants to stop and the part that wants to keep going.” ~ Anonymous
148. “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” ~ Haruki Murakami
149. “I always run without music. Being disconnected is what I’m addicted to more than anything. There aren’t many places where you can be without your phone and computer. I’ve started to crave and enjoy that time alone.” ~ Christy Turlington
150. “I’ve got 99 problems, so I went on a run to ignore them all.” ~ Anonymous

Run Quotes

151. “Once you’re beat mentally, you might as well not even go to the starting line.” ~ Todd Williams
152. “Every marathon I ran, I knew I had a faster one in me.” ~ Dick Beardsley
153. “I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I’m damned if I’m going to use up mine running up and down a street.” ~ Neil Armstrong
154. “We can’t all be heroes because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by.” ~ Will Rogers
155. “Good things come slow – especially in distance running.” ~ Bill Dellinger
156. “There is magic in misery. Just ask any runner.” ~ Dean Karnazes
157. “I am a running joke. Waking up at 4:30 am and jogging anywhere from 11 to 23 miles has been nothing short of horrifying.” ~ Ryan Reynolds
158. “If you’ve never had a bad day running, you’re probably doing something wrong. If you’ve never had a good day running, you’re definitely doing something wrong.”~ Mark Remy
159. “I go running when I have to. When the ice cream truck is doing sixty.” ~ Wendy Liebman
160. “Running is alone time that lets my brain unspool the tangles that build up over days” ~ Bob Hneisen

Quotes about Running & Jogging

161. “There are many challenges to long-distance running, but one of the greatest is the question of where to put one’s house keys.” ~ Gabrielle Zevin
162. “Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
163. “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
164. “Running has always been a relief and a sanctuary – something that makes me feel good, both physically and mentally. For me it’s not so much about the health benefits. Those are great, but I believe that the best thing about running is the joy it brings to life.” ~ Kara Goucher
165. “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
166. “Whoever established the high road and how high it should be should be fired.” ~ Sandra Bullock

Thank you for reading this. Which running quote did you like in the above list? Please let us know your favorite jogging quotes in the comments section.

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