Bill Bowerman Quotes

The real purpose of running isn't to win a race, it's to test the limits of the human heart.

The idea that the harder you work, the better you're going to be is just garbage. The greatest improvement is made by the man or woman who works most intelligently.

Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won.

There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people.

Everything you need is already inside.

If you have a body, you are an athlete!

The athlete makes himself, the coach doesn't make the athlete.

Don't give anything away. Never make it easy for the guys you are trying to beat.

To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.

If someone says, 'Hey, I ran 100 miles this week. How far did you run?' ignore him! What the hell difference does it make?.... The magic is in the man, not the 100 miles.

If at the end of a race you know yourself that you have done your best, you're a winner.

There is no bad weather, just soft runners.

God determines how fast you're going to run; I can help only with the mechanics.

It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.

A teacher is never too smart to learn from his pupils.

I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They're never going to run any record times. But they can fulfill their own potential.

Now to explore the limits of the one competitor above everyone else you've always loved to face: Steve Prefontaine.