I honestly believe it comes down to how mentally strong you are. You're just barely moving but what is going on up in your head is what's keeping you moving… It's the person that wants to move faster. It's the person who decides that he doesn't want to slow down. It's the one who wants to get across the line before the next guy. And that's all a conscious decision. It's a choice. In race situations you choose to be successful or you choose to fail.

Some individuals dream of great accomplishments, while others stay awake and do them.

Daily exercise dosage: thirty minutes of elevated heart rate, taken daily, a magic bullet against the ills of modern life. That's actually how running starts for most of us. If we progress beyond that formula, it is because we discover an appetite that turns running into something more: a challenge, a security blanket, a fulfillment unavailable in otherwise sedentary lives. Dr. Kenneth Cooper has said that if you're running more than fifteen miles a week, you're running for something other than cardiovascular health. Yes. Exactly.

Need energy? Go for a run. Your legs are dynamos.

Thinking about embarking on a new lifestyle, improving your current lifestyle or setting new running goals? The first step in that process is being honest. It's not enough to want to change or achieve. You have to know what price you're willing to pay to do it. Sometimes it's just not that easy. I have to train rigorously to run marathons. Marathon training divides my life neatly into two categories: what I have to do because I'm training for a marathon and what I can't do because I'm training for a marathon. What I have found, and what I think you'll find, is that small sacrifices yield large benefits. By moving a little more, eating a little less, and making better choices more often, you'll be surprised at how your body will respond. More importantly, your spirit will be lifted as you live up to your best expectations.

Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going.

Long distance training can be a positive & constructive form of selfishness. After all, once you're at the starting line, you're there by yourself. No one can run a single step for you. No one can jump in and help you. No one but you can make the decisions about what to do to keep going. It's all up to you.

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

I try to stay in the moment. I try to be present and to not get ahead of myself. Many times a low point comes as a result of suffering and thinking about how much more suffering is still ahead. I try to remain in the moment and just put one foot in front of the other to the best of my ability and not to think about anything else except for each individual forward stride.

Plenty of undersized ducklings grow into golden running swans. In running, it's no help to be a muscular giant. It's your legs, your heart, your lungs and your brain that need to be strong, not your pecs or your biceps... There's only one moral that matters in running - do the work.

Greatness… it's just something we made up. Somehow we've come to believe that greatness is a gift reserved for a chosen few – for prodigies, for superstars – and the rest of us can only stand by watching. You can forget that. Greatness is not some rare DNA strand. It's not some precious thing. Greatness is no more unique to us than breathing. We're all capable of it. All of us.

I think that most people's biggest obstacle on race day will be mental rather than physical. Expect to have doubts and fears, worries and unanswered questions. Expect that if you have never run it before, you cannot know how far 26.2 miles really is. Expect that you may have thoughts - even if they are not serious - of quitting. But also expect that you can overcome all of these feelings and finish strong.

Relax, it's just running. Of course it can be the most intoxicating, captivating, meaningful part of your life. But it's still just running. Nobody's making you do it, and you're not going to save the world doing it. So find what you enjoy about running, and then follow your bliss.

Fail, it's not in my dictionary. I've got a good dictionary up there and the words 'fail' and 'failure' have been ruled out for years. I don't know what people are talking about who use that word. All I do know is temporary non-success, even if I've got to wait another 20 years for what I'm after, and I try to put that into people, no matter what their object in life.

I have made many mistakes as a new runner. I have stopped and started my running program at least half a dozen times. I have tethered my ego to my mileage and felt humiliated when I've come up short. I have attempted speeds that were too fast because I thought that's how fast real runners go. But through it all, I have given my body permission to do what it can, to let its slow improvements be enough to make me proud – no matter how many runners pass me. Recently, after a run, I stood before the full-length mirror in my bedroom. I admired my body, despite the blemishes that time has left behind. I admired the sweat that clung to my collarbone like a badge of honor. And I admired my legs, which are capable of carrying me farther than I ever imagined.

No single workout better prepares us for a goal race than a tune-up race. While we can simulate many of the physical demands of racing by running hard intervals or a time trial, that simulation is far removed from the experience of toeing the line. Racing is about nerves. And confidence. And self-control. It's about the ability to deal with inadequate parking, delayed start times, bad weather, a shortage of porta-potties, and any other obstacle that crops up in a race environment. And, of course, it's about putting the mental and physical pieces together to produce our best performance. Tune-up races prepare us for all of this, both melding the elements of our training fitness and familiarizing us with the situational aspects of race day.

As I get older I see that running has changed for me. What used to be about burning calories is now more about burning up what is false. Lies I used to tell myself about who I was and what I could do, friendships that cannot withstand hills or miles, the approval I no longer need to seek, and solidarity that cannot bear silence. I run to burn up what I don't need and ignite what I do.

The longer you are stuck in a rut, the more you are inclined to think that you've hit the edge of your abilities. You've touched the genetic third rail and so there's no further progress possible, right? Hogwash. Every runner, at some point, experiences doubt. Change your attitude. Believe in yourself. Go back to your progress as a runner and focus on the positives. Your breakthrough may be one race away; it could be years away. The time frame doesn't matter. What does matter is that you recognize it's out there. Go find it.

Success does not come to the most righteous and rigorously disciplined but to those who continue running.

Frustration is the first step towards improvement. I have no incentive to improve if I'm content with what I can do and if I'm completely satisfied with my pace, distance and form as a runner. It's only when I face frustration and use it to fuel my dedication that I feel myself moving forwards.