Steve Prefontaine Quotes

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.

No matter how hard you train, Somebody will train harder. No matter how hard you run, Somebody will run harder. No matter how hard you want it, Somebody will want it more, I am Somebody.

Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the great.

The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die.

Success isn't how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.

You said I was weak. You said I couldn't do it. Thank you. You gave me everything I needed to prove you wrong.

A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

I can endure more pain then anyone you've met. That's why I win, because I can endure more pain.

You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.

Don't let fatigue make a coward of you.

What kind of crazy nut would spend two or three hours a day just running?

Every once in a while I think, 'What am I doing out here running, busting myself up? Life could be so much easier. The other guys are out having fun, doing other things, why not me?'

Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.

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

I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.

Having a true faith is the most difficult thing in the world. Many will try to take it from you.

I run to see who has the most guts.

What I like most about track is the feeling I get after a good run.

If he's having a good day and running the right race, nobody can beat Frank Shorter at 10,000 meters... nobody except me.

I've been in international competition, and now I know what the big boys can do. You don't go out and just run. There's an offense and a defense.

I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting.

Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off.

Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run

A race is a work of art.

Running gives me confidence.

PRE. For your dedication and loyalty to your principles and beliefs. For your love,warmth and friendship. For your family and friends. You are missed by so many and you will never be forgotten.

How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races?

Nobody likes tainted victories.

As far as being a coach, it's always fascinated me. It's a greater responsibility than most people give it credit for because you're dealing with people.

I like to make something beautiful when I run ... it's style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative.

Kids made fun of me because I was a slow learner, because I was hyperactive, because of a lot of things. Running gave me confidence.

What I want is to be number one.

No one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me.

To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.

I have a positive mental attitude, and I think I'm divine, but I also think it takes a heck of a lot of blood, sweat and tears.