Hal Higdon Quotes

There is no such thing as an average runner. We are all above average.

Keep your dream in front of you. Never let it go regardless of how farfetched it might seem.

Even when you have gone as far as you can, and everything hurts, and you are staring at the specter of self-doubt, you can find a bit more strength deep inside you, if you look closely enough.

Hills. We love them. We hate them. They make us strong. They make us weak. Today I chose to embrace hills.

It is not so much that I began to run, but that I continued.

Motivation remains key to the marathon: the motivation to begin; the motivation to continue; the motivation never to quit.

We all have bad days and bad workouts, when running gets ugly, when split times seem slow, when you wonder why you started. It will pass.

The most important day in any running program is rest. Rest days give your muscles time to recover so you can run again. Your muscles build in strength as you rest.

I run, therefore I am. And given the years improved fitness adds to our lives, if I did not run, maybe I would no longer be.

Some runners judge performance by whether they won or lost. Others define success or failure by how fast they ran. Only you can judge your performance. Avoid letting others sit in judgment of you.

Rested, Refreshed, and Ready to run, the three Rs of peak performance.

Putting miles in your training log is like putting money in the bank. You begin to draw interest on it immediately.

The pride in finishing a marathon is much greater than all the pain endured during the marathon.

The difference between the mile and the marathon is the difference between burning your fingers with a match and being slowly roasted over hot coals.

How would you describe the worst run you ever had? Precious!

What is the purpose of any one workout? Enjoyment? Improvement? Coach said so? Whatever, the hour you run often is the best hour of the day.

The marathon never ceases to be a race of joy, a race of wonder.

Whatever, the hour you run often is the best hour of the day.

I double-knot my shoe laces. It's a pain untying your shoes afterward-particularly if you get them wet-but so is stopping in the middle of a race to tie them.

In the big city, if the man next door happens to be a slum landlord, a Mafia bag man, or a long distance runner, what does it matter, as long as he puts his garbage out on Tuesdays?

Different people have different reasons for racing, but one is simply the incentive to get out and run, increase mileage and feel good.

Life is a series of hard and easy runs.

Running long offers a dress rehearsal. Running long teaches the stress of lifting feet 5,000 times per hour. Running long builds confidence.

I finished a marathon.

Finish: Even if you run a slower than expected time, you succeed in any marathon when you finish.

There's one rule of thumb that suggests that you need one day of recovery for every mile run in a race. Another rule of thumb...suggests one day...for every kilometer run in anger.

Each runner's capacity to absorb hard training is different. Find your own unique level of comfort and success will be yours.

It can be said that the first half of the marathon is 20 miles long; the second half, 6.2 more.