We sometimes need a little bit of inspiration, something to sharpen our gaze, help to improve focus, a mantra that runs through our heads as we near the end of a long run or race. We sometimes need something to help us build or confidence and self-efficacy, something to tell us we can do it. Sometimes all we need is a gentle push in order to take that first step out the front door. Sometimes an inspirational quote will help do all these things, which is my many of us turn towards them. So in this post I’ve compiled a list of 21 of my favourite inspirational quotes.

· “If people are doubting how far you can go, go so far that they cannot hear you anymore” – Michele Ruiz

· “Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection” - Mark Twain

· “You must tell yourself, no matter how hard it is or how hard it gets, I’m going to make it” – Les Brown

· “Some days it’s not about speed or miles. It’s just therapy” - Unknown

· “I do not aspire to get back to where I have been. I aspire to go further” -Unknown

· “Running. Sometimes legs feel like rocks. But rocks under pressure make diamonds. Running is power” - Nike

· “It’s easy training with friends, feeling great. But the battle is won on those down days, grafting away tired and solo” - Unknown

· “Ability is what you are capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it” - Lou Holtz

· “Running allows me to set my mind free. Nothing seems impossible. Nothing unattainable” – Kara Goucher

· “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

· “That's the thing about running: your greatest runs are rarely measured by racing success. They are moments in time when running allows you to see how wonderful your life is” – Kara Goucher

· “There is magic in misery. Just ask any runner” – Dean Karnazes

· “Make sure your worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears” – Laird Hamilton

· “Running is my private time, my therapy, my religion” – Gail W. Kislevitz

· “Don’t fear moving slowly forward. Fear standing still” – Kathleen Harris.

· “A runner must run with dreams in his heart” – Emil Zatopek

· “Running is a thing worth doing not because of the future rewards it bestows, but because of how it feeds our bodies, minds and souls in the present” – Kevin Nelson

· “If you want to become the best runner you can be, start now. Don’t spend the rest of your life wondering if you can do it” – Priscilla Welch

· “When it’s pouring rain and you’re bowling along through the wet, there’s a satisfaction in knowing you’re out there and others aren’t” – Peter Snell

· “Your mind will quit a thousand times before your body will. Feel the fear and do it anyway” – Susan Jeffers

· “It’s not important bout being better than someone else but to be better than you were yesterday” - Jigoro Kano

What are your favourite inspirational/running quotes? Let us know in the comments!