40 Steve Prefontaine Quotes On Success In Life

Steve Roland “Pre” Prefontaine was an American long-distance runner who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics. While running for the Oregon Track Club, Prefontaine set American records at every distance from 2,000 to 10,000 meters, as he prepared for the 1976 Olympics. Prefontaine’s career, alongside those of Jim Ryun, Frank Shorter, and Bill Rodgers, generated considerable media coverage, which helped inspire the 1970s “running boom.” He died when aged 24 in an automobile accident near his residence in Eugene, Oregon. One of the premier track meets in the world, the Prefontaine Classic, is held annually in Eugene in his honor. Prefontaine’s celebrity and charisma later resulted in two 1990s feature films about his short life. These Steve Prefontaine quotes will motivate you.

Best Steve Prefontaine Quotes

1. “No matter how hard you train, Somebody will train harder. No matter how hard you run, Somebody will run harder. No matter how hard you want it, Somebody will want it more, I am Somebody.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
2. “To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
3. “The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
4. “Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.” ~ Steve Prefontaine, Steve Prefontaine quotes on success
5. “You said I was weak. You said I couldn’t do it. Thank you. You gave me everything I needed to prove you wrong.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
6. “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

7. “Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

8. “You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
9. “If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.” ~ Steve Prefontaine , Steve Prefontaine quotes on preparation
10. “I can endure more pain then anyone you’ve met. That’s why I win, because I can endure more pain.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
11. “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

12. “Don’t let fatigue make a coward of you.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

13. “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
14. “What kind of crazy nut would spend two or three hours a day just running?” ~ Steve Prefontaine
15. “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, Steve Prefontaine quotes guts 
16. “Something inside of me just said ‘Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,’ and I just took off.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
17. “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

18. “Don’t be afraid to give up the good for the great.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

19. “How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, ‘You’re too small Pre’, ‘You’re not fast enough Pre’, ‘Give up your foolish dream Steve’. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
20. “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
21. “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

22. “What I like most about track is the feeling I get after a good run.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

23. “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
24. “I don’t care about being on television.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
25. “My philosophy is that I’m an artist. I perform an art, not with a paintbrush 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

26. “I don’t just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

27. “I’ve been in international competition, and now I know what the big boys can do. You don’t go out and just run. There’s an offense and a defense.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
28. “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
29. “Running gives me confidence.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
30. “PRE. For your dedication and loyalty to your principles and beliefs. For your love,warmth and friendship. For your family and friends. You are missed by so many and you will never be forgotten.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

31. “How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races?” ~ Steve Prefontaine

32. “What I want is to be number one.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
33. “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
34. “As far as being a coach, it’s always fascinated me. It’s a greater responsibility than most people give it credit for because you’re dealing with people.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
35. “I run to see who has the most guts.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

36. “A race is a work of art.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

37. “I like to make something beautiful when I run … it’s style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
38. “Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run” ~ Steve Prefontaine
39. “The idea of losing the three at Hayward Field and the idea of losing my specialty to someone who wasn’t running his specialty. Mostly, the idea of losing in front of my people. They haven’t forgotten about me.” ~ Steve Prefontaine
40. “No one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me.” ~ Steve Prefontaine

Comment Your Favourite Steve Prefontaine Quotes Below!