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" It's hard to run a mile when you're not a miler and to kick when you've led all the way. "
Steve Prefontaine
Way
Run
Mile
Related Quotes:
" 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
" To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift. "
Steve Prefontaine
Sacrifice
Gift
Best
" What I like most about track is the feeling I get inside after a good run. "
Steve Prefontaine
Like
Run
Good
" When people go to a track meet, they're looking for something, a world record, something that hasn't been done before. You get all this magnetic energy, people focusing on one thing at the same time. I really get excited about it. It makes me want to compete even more. It makes it all worthwhile, all the hours of hard work. "
Steve Prefontaine
Time
Hard Work
Me
" 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. "
Steve Prefontaine
People
Music
Style
" 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 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
" Nobody likes tainted victories. "
Steve Prefontaine
Victories
Tainted
Nobody
" Did you ever run behind a slow pack? You get a trailing wind and a lot of body odor. "
Steve Prefontaine
Behind
Body
Run
" It doesn't feel that good when you're ahead the whole way. "
Steve Prefontaine
Ahead
Feel
You
" I know places you better speak low if you've been to college. Men will come across the room and cold-deck you if you hold your glass wrong. "
Steve Prefontaine
Men
Know
College
" The AAU doesn't care about the athletes; why should I care about them? "
Steve Prefontaine
Care
Should
Athletes
" 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 knew I had to show everybody that I could excel at something. But I didn't know what. "
Steve Prefontaine
Show
Something
Everybody
" I'm the one who has made all the sacrifices. Those are my American records, not the country's. "
Steve Prefontaine
Records
Country
American
" You probably choose x-country because you were too small to play football. "
Steve Prefontaine
You
Choose
Football
" 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
" 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
" Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it. "
Steve Prefontaine
Somebody
Me
May
" 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
" 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
" It's not who's the best - it's who can take the most pain. "
Steve Prefontaine
Pain
Who
Take
" What I want is to be number one. "
Steve Prefontaine
Want
Number
" 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
Achievement
Always
Back
" What does it prove, running in the AAU meet? "
Steve Prefontaine
Meet
Running
Prove
" 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
" 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
" 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
" I don't just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting. "
Steve Prefontaine
Run
Just
Go
" No one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me. "
Steve Prefontaine
Two
Easy
Me