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.
STEVE PREFONTAINEKids made fun of me because I was a slow learner, because I was hyperactive, because of a lot of things. Running gave me confidence.
STEVE PREFONTAINEA 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 PREFONTAINEYou 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 PREFONTAINEI run to see who has the most guts.
STEVE PREFONTAINESuccess isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.
STEVE PREFONTAINEIf he’s having a good day and running the right race, nobody can beat Frank Shorter at 10,000 meters, nobody except me.
STEVE PREFONTAINEEvery 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?’
STEVE PREFONTAINESomebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.
STEVE PREFONTAINEDon’t let fatigue make a coward of you.
STEVE PREFONTAINEWhat I like most about track is the feeling I get after a good run.
STEVE PREFONTAINEA race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding.
STEVE PREFONTAINEWhat I want is to be number one.
STEVE PREFONTAINEI like to make something beautiful when I run … it’s style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.
STEVE PREFONTAINERunning gives me confidence.
STEVE PREFONTAINEYou cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.
STEVE PREFONTAINENo one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me.
STEVE PREFONTAINE