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.
STEVE PREFONTAINENo one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me.
More Steve Prefontaine Quotes
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Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, ‘I’ve never seen anyone run like that before.’ It’s more than just a race, it’s a style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.
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If he’s having a good day and running the right race, nobody can beat Frank Shorter at 10,000 meters, nobody except me.
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If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
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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.
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I don’t just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting.
STEVE PREFONTAINE -
A race is a work of art.
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You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
STEVE PREFONTAINE -
No one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me.
STEVE PREFONTAINE -
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.
STEVE PREFONTAINE -
Having a true faith is the most difficult thing in the world. Many will try to take it from you.
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Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.
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The idea of losing the three at Hayward Field and the idea of losing my specialty to someone who wasn’t running his specialty. Mostly, the idea of losing in front of my people. They haven’t forgotten about me.
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My philosophy is that I’m an artist. I perform an art not with a paint brush or a camera. I perform with bodily movement. Instead of exhibiting my art in a museum or a book or on canvas, I exhibit my art in front of the multitudes.
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Something inside of me just said ‘Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,’ and I just took off.
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What I want is to be number one.
STEVE PREFONTAINE