The Quotable Runner: Great Moments of Wisdom, Inspiration, Wrongheadedness, and Humor (Hardcover)

by Mark Will-Weber (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Contents
Introduction
The Starting Line
Voices from the Midpack (and Elsewhere)
Coaches
Eat, Drink, But Be Wary
Training
Fear
Racing
Records
Cross-Country
Hills
In the Footsteps of Atalanta
The Marathon
The Mile
Mind Over Matter
The International Runner
Pain
The Olympics
Medals and Money
The Finish Line: Retirement
Victories and Defeats
Who's Who

A few of our favorite quotes:

"Bid me run and I will strive with things impossible." -Shakespeare

"Long distance running is particularly good training in perseverance." -Chairman Mao

"Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos." -Don Kardong

"Mental will is a muscle that needs exercise, like the muscles of the body." -Lynn Jennings

"If you want to win a race you have to go a little berserk." -Bill Rodgers

"Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it." -Oprah Winfrey "The mile has all the elements of drama." -Roger Bannister

"Mind is everything. Muscle - pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind." -Paavo Nurmi

"The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." -Juma Ikangaa
"Start slowly, then taper off." -Walt Stack

"Records are made to be broken." -Anonymous

Introduction by Mark Will-Weber

Compiling a book of quotations is a bit like prospecting. For long, unrewarded hours you sift through the silt, murk, and bottom mud which comprise the great body of sports literature and journalism-all for that rare nugget of gold.

I began work on The Quotable Runner without actually realizing that I was doing it. (I highly recommend this method for any lengthy task if you can arrange it.) The first few hundred quotations that I gathered were used at the bottom of race results, in batches of five or six quotes per race, which I passed on to the cross-country runners at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. As their coach, I thought it might be a fun way to jazz up the results sheets and inspire the runners to train with diligence and a new spark. Maybe a line from Zatopek, Nurmi, or Benoit would ignite a dre

About the Author
Mark Will-Weber is the editor of The Quotable Runner, Breakaway's best-selling title. Former editor of Runner's World.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Breakaway Books; 1st edition (January 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558214208
• ISBN-13: 978-1558214200
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #337,244 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spark the Runner in Your Life, December 4, 2002

By	A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "RIP MJ" (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Quotable Runner: Great Moments of Wisdom, Inspiration, Wrongheadedness, and Humor (Paperback)

"The Quotable Runner: Great Moments of Wisdom, Inspiration, Wrongheadedness, and Humor" is a gift book, but for the runner, it is a fun gift.

Runners aren't known for effusive Knute Rockne sorts of locker room speeches, or Yogi Berra witticisms, but, as seen here, they should be.

Quoted here are great runners and writers about running, from Shakespeare to high school mile record holder, Alan Webb.

Read what Lasse Viren, Emil Zatopek, Bill Bowerman, and Steve Prefontaine all had to say.

Readers of "Runner's World" may know many of these names, but there are some unexpected voices. Oprah Winfrey is there more than once, including, "I'm never going to run another marathon."

There's honesty. Distance star Rob de Castella on marathoning, "If you feel bad after 10 miles, you're in trouble. If you feel bad at 20 miles, you're normal. If you don't feel bad at 26 miles, you're abnormal."

There's wit. Don Kardong frankly said about registering a race with hills, "You entered a marathon with hills? You idiot."

Then there is the curious odd quotes. Finland's great Olympic marathoner, Lasse Viren enthusiastically revealed his secret to racing success, "Reindeer milk!" Whatever might be dubious about Viren's claim is difficult to argue. Viren won four gold medals.

A treat at the end is a few lines on each person quoted, a sort of mini-bio. I enjoyed learning the new names, and accomplishments of those quoted.

I fully recommend, "The Quotable Runner." It'll put a spark in your day as you head out on the lonely road on runners know.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book! It's been a great source of inspiration for me., July 24, 1999

By A Customer

If your a runner...and even if you're not this book will inspire you to do things that you never thought possible. It will help you make goals...and then gradually surpass them. This book describes running as more than just a sport, but a way of life. Thumbs up to Mark Will-Weber on putting together a book that defines the greatest past-time in the world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Need some inspiration?, April 24, 2001

By	freebird - See all my reviews

I just finished this book and it has been such an inspiration!! It is boiling over with insight and wisdom about what we all feel as runners. It touches the human spirit in the struggles and triumphs related to the experience of running and everyday life. Each chapter is filled with quotes from famous runners about such subjects as: The Starting Line, Coaches, Training, Fear, Racing, Hills, The Marathon, The Mile, Mind Over Matter, Pain, The Olympics, The Finish Line, Victories and Defeats. This book really captures the SOUL of running!