Nobody's going to win all the time. On the highway of life you can't always be in the fast lane.

You have to dream intentionally. Most people dream a dream when they are asleep. But to be a writer, you have to dream while you are awake, intentionally.

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.

Judging the mistakes of strangers is an easy thing to do - and it feels pretty good.

I keep to this routine every day without variation. The repetition itself becomes the important thing; it's a form of mesmerism. I mesmerize myself to reach a deeper state of mind.

In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.

I don't know how many good books I still have in me; I hope there are another four or five.