Paul Sparks Quotes

It hurts, but that’s all it does. The most difficult part of the training is training your mind. You build calluses on your feet to endure the road. You build calluses on your mind to endure the pain. There’s only one way to do that. You have to get out there and run.

When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter either. Then willpower will be no problem.

I think willpower is very valuable.

Do things that make your body and mind scream at you to quit, but don't.

Do something everyday for no other reason than you would rather not do it, so that when the hour of dire need draws nigh, it may find you not unnerved and untrained to stand the test.

I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.

All camps are hard, that's what they're intended to be. They make you focus when you're tired, when you don't feel like doing things, and to see how long you can retain and pay attention.

The marathon can humble you.

I see the beauty in boxing. It teaches me strength physically, but mostly mentally. I had to learn my strength, because for so long I could have been tougher than I was.

One of my biggest influences of all time would probably be one of my soccer coaches, Coach Darlington, from high school. He was always trying to get me to push myself really hard. No excuses. I always hated him, but it paid off. I think that's what life is all about... when you push through the hard stuff and it pays off.

I train hard every day, I don't know what the word 'impossible' means.

When I was about 15, I learnt that training hard doesn't get easier, you just learn to push harder. That's a powerful mentality to master.

I've done all my bike circuit cardio workouts when I know I gotta push my numbers higher and I gotta be better than I was before. It sucks. Your body doesn't want to do it, but I've done that. I know I have that in me.

There's nothing more powerful than to consider why you're running, no matter what pain you're going through during the race, if you know why you're running, then it'll be more satisfying at the end.

I had to play the cards that I was dealt to get better mentally, physically, and push myself to limits that I didn't think I was capable of.

I'm going to finish my runs hard, and I'm going to try to set the tone.

No matter the situation, I stay focused and motivated on my goals because that's the way I was raised.

Running taught me to have faith in my skills as a writer. I learned how much I can demand of myself, when I need a break, and when the break starts to get too long. I known how hard I am allowed to push myself.

By doing things when you are too tired, by pushing yourself farther than you thought you could - like running the track after a two-hour practice - you become a competitor. Each time you go beyond your perceived limit, you become mentally stronger.

If you want to do something that requires willpower - like going for a run after work - you have to conserve your willpower muscle during the day.

I found that to build mental toughness, you need to inconvenience yourself. The early morning runs, if you hate early mornings. The late night runs, if you hate late nights. The snowy cold, the worst conditions you can get, put yourself in those and really make it inconvenient and you start to get a genuine expectation of winning for the price you have to pay.

I became a player who goes to a lot of effort while training, who can rely on his will and his mental strengths.

...most men and women will yield to the strong currents sucking them into the seas of ruin. Only the strongest in mind and spirit will swim against that current.

Me and running don’t always see eye to eye. Some days it hurts more than others. But it doesn’t mean I don’t do it. I deal with it and I keep running because not everything that is good for you, always feels good for you.

You can always be stronger.