Why race? The need to be tested, perhaps; the need to take risks; and the chance to be number one.

Fitness is just a stage you pass through on the way to becoming a racer.

Of all the races, there is no better stage for heroism than a marathon.

There are as many reasons for running as there are days in the year, years in my life. But mostly I run because I am an animal and a child, an artist and a saint. So, too, are you. Find your own play, your own self-renewing compulsion, and you will become the person you are meant to be.

Running makes you an athlete in all areas of life...trained in the basics, prepared for whatever comes, ready to fill each hour and deal with the decisive moment.

Like everyone else, I want to be challenged. I want to find out whether or not I am a coward. I want to see how much effort I can put out . . . what I can endure . . . if I measure up. Running allows that.

Every runner is an experiment of one.