So many times you want to give up, but you cannot. That's what ultrarunning is all about. That's what life is all about.

Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. I've now come to believe that quite the opposite is the case.

A marathoner is a marathoner regardless of time. Virtually everyone who tries the marathon has put in training over months, and it is that exercise and that commitment, physical and mental, that gives meaning to the medal, not just the day's effort, be it fast or slow. It's all in conquering the challenge.

Here's what I know about runners. There is an unspoken but deeply felt bond that connects us to one another. We can go from stranger to trusted confidant in the space of a run or an hour gathered in a crowded auditorium. We can share our most intimate thoughts and know that they are protected by the unspoken code of the road. I know that running not only strengthens our bodies, it often fortifies our hearts and minds, conferring an inner resilience that mirrors our physical capabilities. And I have discovered that very often, courage, empathy, and character can be natural by-products of a running life.

Running is not, as it so often seems, only about what you did in your last race or about how many miles you ran last week. It is, in a much more important way, about community, about appreciating all the miles run by other runners, too.

Every mile I run is my first. Every hour on the roads a new beginning. Every day I put on my running clothes, I am born again. Seeing things as if for the first time, seeing the familiar as unfamiliar, the common as uncommon... There is no other way to run, no other way to live.

Winning is not about headlines and hardware. It's only about attitude. A winner is a person who goes out today and every day and attempts to be the best runner and best person he can be. Winning has nothing to do with racing. Most days don't have races anyway. Winning is about struggle and effort and optimism, and never, ever, ever giving up.

Wining isn't about today, it's about tomorrow. A winner never rests on his laurels. It's not good enough to win one race or have one good season. The winner is the person who gets up tomorrow morning & starts all over again, concentrating again on doing his best, whatever that might be.

All runners are tough. Everyone has to have a little fire in them, that even in tough times, can't be turned off.

Don't get stuck on the past. You always want to move in the direction you are going. Think positive. Stay positive. Believe in your dreams. Be strong and optimistic. You can always have bad days. Not every day is going to be your best race. There are going to be highs and lows in everyone's running career. Things can happen, but anything's possible. Surround yourself with people who believe in your dreams.

I will always be a runner. Running is just so accessible. I'll always do it. It doesn't matter where I go, I pack a pair of running shoes. Even if I'm going somewhere for a night, well, what if I wake up and want to go for a run? I can't leave these behind. I'll always enjoy it and I'll always live somewhere close to trails and I can always just get on to the trail and give 'er in the trees for a few minutes.

From my perspective, the things that are worth enjoying are free. Running shoes aren't free, but it doesn't cost anything to get out there and go for a run.

As runners, we all know pain. We have waged war between our mind and our body, when it hurts so much that you start to justify why you should slow down, how it's OK to let go. The best runners are those who aren't afraid to give their best, even when that may not be enough to win. At the end of the day, no matter how many people you beat or what time you run, what matters most is how you feel about your performance. You know how you handled the pain and if you did your very best.

I never once believed that someone or something else was responsible for my success. Running taught me long ago that there is danger in that kind of thinking. The moment you leave your future in the hands of things outside of your control is the moment you place it in the hands of circumstance. And circumstance doesn't much care about your success.

I realize now that I was wrong to believe that running had to serve some purpose - that without a race in the future there was no point to running. Pleasure is reason enough to engage in some actions. I was mistaken to think that running for the sake of running was no longer enough. It was before I started racing, and it would be enough even were I never to race again.

The long runs on the weekend are a genuine adventure for me—a physical challenge in an otherwise mostly cerebral, abstract sort of daily life. And you don't have to go to a mountain or anything. It starts right out the front door of your home.

People recognize that running a marathon involves a lot of effort and hard work. I may have a certain amount of talent to run well, but talent on its own doesn't count for very much unless I go out and do the training. That's true about anyone, at any level, wishing to run a marathon. To rise to the challenge of the marathon and complete the 26-mile distance involves a huge expenditure of effort and determination.

After all, the whole object in running is to test yourself. To find out what you're made of. To accomplish something you can be proud of no matter where you finish.

It comes with age, of course. The older we get, the greater the shift in proportions from life ahead of us to the living behind us, the more we look back and the less ahead.... But runners can't live in the past. Once we quit looking ahead, we become ex-runners... The past is a nice place to visit, but we can't live there.

Enjoy running for the sake of running, not the rewards of winning a race. George Sheehan said, 'Once you have decided that winning isn't everything, you become a winner.' This is the secret to longevity in running. You will never burn out if you love the process instead of the outcome.

Right before you head out running, it can be hard to remember exactly why you're doing it. You often have to override a nagging sense of futility, lacing up your shoes, telling yourself that no matter how unlikely it seems right now, after you finish you will be glad you went. It's only afterward that it makes sense, although even then it's hard to rationalize why. You just feel right. After a run, you feel at one with the world, as though some unspecified, innate need has been fulfilled. 

Games require skill. Running requires endurance, character, pride, physical strength, and mental toughness. Running is a test, not a game. A test of faith, belief, will, and trust in ones self. So hardcore that it needs a category all to itself to define the pain. When game players criticize, it's because they aren't willing to understand, not because they're stronger. Running is more than a sport; it's a lifestyle. If you have to ask us why we run, you'll never understand, so just accept.