A lot of people run a race to see who is fastest. I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more.
Steve Prefontaine

How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races?
Steve Prefontaine

I run to see who has the most guts.
Steve Prefontaine

I'm going to work so that it's a pure guts race at the end, and if it is, I am the only one who can win it.
Steve Prefontaine

Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.
Steve Prefontaine

Something inside of me just said 'Hey, wait a minute, I want to beat him,' and I just took off.
Steve Prefontaine

To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
Steve Prefontaine

What I want is to be number one.
Steve Prefontaine

You have to wonder at times what you're doing out there. Over the years, I've given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.
Steve Prefontaine