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" If anybody wants to beat me, let them run a world record. "
Steve Prefontaine
Anybody
World
Wants
Related Quotes:
" 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 Prefontaine
More
End
People
" World records at 19. I don't want that. Later, yes. And when it comes, I'll learn to live with it, but it won't be my first love. "
Steve Prefontaine
Learn
Live
Love
" If I lose forcing the pace all the way, well, at least I can live with myself. But if it's a slow pace, and I get beaten by a kicker who leaches off the front, then I'll always wonder, 'What if...?' "
Steve Prefontaine
Lose
Wonder
Slow
" If he's having a good day and running the right race, nobody can beat Frank Shorter at 10,000 meters... nobody except me. "
Steve Prefontaine
Day
Race
Good Day
" I decided that if I was going to continue in track, that I didn't want to lose, that I wasn't going to lose. "
Steve Prefontaine
Continue
Want
Going
" People say I should be running for a gold medal for the old red, white and blue and all that bull, but it's not gonna be that way. "
Steve Prefontaine
Red
Say
White
" If the Olympics come around, and I'm in shape, then I'll compete. But I won't be representing the United States; I'll be representing myself. "
Steve Prefontaine
Compete
Shape
United States
" 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 Prefontaine
Me
Slow
Fun
" American athletes, especially distance runners, are at a big disadvantage against the rest of the world. We're expected to live by all the rules, like not being able to coach, but still train and make our own living. "
Steve Prefontaine
Live
Own
World
" A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they're capable of understanding. "
Steve Prefontaine
Understanding
People
Look
" 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. "
Steve Prefontaine
Artist
Paint
Museum
" To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift. "
Steve Prefontaine
Sacrifice
Gift
Best
" I used to say, 'Hey, man, what kind of a stupid question is that?' to a newspaperman asking me heavy things right after a race when I'm still in an emotional state. Now I at least try to answer. "
Steve Prefontaine
Kind
Man
Say
" What does it prove, running in the AAU meet? "
Steve Prefontaine
Meet
Running
Prove
" 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?' "
Steve Prefontaine
Having Fun
Think
Myself
" 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. "
Steve Prefontaine
Tears
Think
Sweat
" I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting. "
Steve Prefontaine
Run
Just
Go
" This is my last year at Oregon, and it means a lot to me. The people have been great to me up there, so if I have to run three races to win the Pac-8 title, I'll do it. Oh, sure, I'll probably be tired, but the people shouting will carry me across the finish line. "
Steve Prefontaine
Great
Run
Tired
" You probably choose x-country because you were too small to play football. "
Steve Prefontaine
You
Choose
Football
" Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it. "
Steve Prefontaine
Somebody
Me
May
" 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. "
Steve Prefontaine
Race
Work
Win
" If you can make money with your talents, why not? "
Steve Prefontaine
You
Your
Money
" To hell with love of country - I compete for myself. "
Steve Prefontaine
Hell
Country
Compete
" For me, running against the Poles and Czechs would be like running against high school kids. And I hate all this gung-ho, run-for-the-red-white-and-blue attitude that the AAU spouts. If that's important to some people, fine, more power to 'em. But, damn it, I wish they'd leave me alone to do what I want to do - run against the best. "
Steve Prefontaine
Me
Alone
Best
" What I want is to be number one. "
Steve Prefontaine
Want
Number
" If I want to go to Europe and get thrashed by the Europeans, that's my business. Every race I lose I learn from and get tougher. "
Steve Prefontaine
Learn
Go
Business
" It's not who's the best - it's who can take the most pain. "
Steve Prefontaine
Pain
Who
Take
" Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off. "
Steve Prefontaine
Inside
Want
Wait
" I like to be able to go out to dinner once in a while. I like to be able to drive my MG up the McKenzie River on a weekday afternoon. I like to be able to pay my bills on time. "
Steve Prefontaine
Go
Like
Dinner
" I don't care about being on television. "
Steve Prefontaine
About
Being
Television