Food for Run and Thought 32

「I thought about how many preconceived prejudices would crumble when I trotted right along for 26 miles.」Bobbi Gibb, first woman to finish the Boston Marathon, 1966

「Nobody cares if you're not a good dancer. Just get up and dance. The same holds true for racing. Whether first or last, we all cross that same finish line. Just get out there and run.」Dean Karnazes, Ultrarunner and best-selling author

「It's the one thing that's mine. My runs everyday are my thing. It's my therapy, my hour to myself. Nobody can really take it away from me... It's such a huge part of me. I love to say that I'm a runner.」Summer Sanders, Olympic gold-medalist in swimming

「I just think running makes me feel more disciplined. It makes me feel more committed, to not only my job, but to life. It makes me feel I'm doing all I can do to be as good as I can be.」Michael Waltrip, Race car driver

「The great thing about running is that somebody like me can go out there and actually achieve things. Particularly with this wonderful system of community races where you can enter and do as well as you can despite all that. I can work at it, I can apply myself, I can even learn stuff, my training methods and really achieve something.」Peter Sagal, Marathoner and host of NPR's "Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me!"