Betsy Hodges Quotes

I am a marathon runner. I ran the New York City marathon and almost died. I tried to run, like, a two-minute mile early on in the race. I was crazy enough to think I could win. After seven miles I thought I would die, but I slowed down my pace and kept going.

Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private will, when months or years of solitary training, early mornings, lost weekends, rain and pain mature into triumph or surrender. That's one reason the race-day crowds matter, the friends who come to cheer and stomp and flap their signs and push the runners on.

Marathons are hard because of the physical pain, the pounding on the muscles, joints, tendons.

During the Tour you get tired, you get exhausted, you're in pain and you can get sick for a few days but still have to ride through it.

Where the marathon starts is after 30 kilometers. That's where you feel pain everywhere in your body. The muscles are really aching, and only the most prepared and well-organized athlete is going to do well after that.

Running a marathon is unlike anything I have done. You can recall all those bad weights sessions or the work you had to do in pre-season, but marathon running is worse than any of it, probably the hardest thing I have had to do in my entire life.

Pain is that last quarter of a mile. You feel it, but when you’re through racing, your whole body just feels elated. So the pain is worth it.

It wasn't until my late twenties that I learned that by working out I had given myself a great gift. I learned that nothing good comes without work and a certain amount of pain. When I finish a set that leaves me shaking, I know more about myself. When something gets bad, I know it can't be as bad as that workout.

We pursue exercise even though empirically we see no benefit from the energy we're spending and we're hurting. So empirically we should quit. The why is exactly the same thing. You persist even though there are some short-term stresses and even though there is some uncertainty.

Wrestling school was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. It just killed me.

With anything you do in life, there are days where you're worn out and you don't want to do it for a second.

The last three or four reps is what makes the muscle grow. This area of pain divides the champion from someone else who is not a champion. That's what most people lack, having the guts to go on and just say they'll go through the pain no matter what happens.

Running a marathon is something I've always wanted to do.

New nemeses keep racing fresh, but I also find challenge in going longer, with only the distance as foe. I run my first 50-mile race, journey across the Grand Canyon and back, circumnavigate Mount St. Helens.

I don't have great running technique, but I like to run. I've heard from countless people that the last six miles of the marathon is all mental. But what better city to have this in than New York City where there are millions of people there supporting you?

When you're at your absolute, most exhausted... That's when you have to be at the top of your game.

Often the best guys are just those that can suffer longer, who don't give up. And it's so easy to give up, when you're on a mountain and it's really hurting. We go through a lot physically.

I ran my first marathon in Florida in 1985. I had never run more than nine miles.

Pain is weakness leaving the body,

I'm so happy to have done this, and now I can say I ran the New York City Marathon.

Joy is something you can experience even when life is not pleasurable. Even in the midst of a long run, when your legs are burning, you can still feel joy.

The 2008 season was very long and extremely hard - probably the toughest of my career.

In camp, you're supposed to get comfortable at being uncomfortable; you have to be ready for when you are being punched in the mouth.

I always try to remind myself, when it's tough, when your body's sore and you're hurting, I try to sit back and tell myself, 'Would you rather be doing anything else in the world at this moment?'

Every game is mentally and physically tough but we get through it and it makes you stronger.