Roger Bannister Quotes

I may not be the most physical player, that's not my nature. But I am a competitor and I play as hard as I can.

When you're running and you are there, there's a little person that talks to you and that little person says “Oh, I'm tired”, “My lounge's about to pop”, “I'm so hurt”, “I'm so tired”, “There's no way I can possibly continue”. And you wanna quit. Right? That person, if you learn how to defeat that person when you're running you will learn how to not quit when things get hard in your life.

There's a difference in thinking you are a champion and knowing that you are.

As far as the anxiety, I have no idea about it. I don't feel like I have any nervousness out there. I'm just a guy who really cares about being competitive and that's the bottom line.

I learned, for me to play at my best, I need to play with an edge.

Learning how to compete is one of the most important things that an athlete can do. You can train as well as you possibly can and go compete and completely choke.

I'm always going to feel like the underdog. I feel like that's the kind of mind-set I want to have and if I do lose that mind-set, I want somebody to slap me in the face and say, 'Hey, pick it up and get back to the roots.'

He says he was physically not right, that's fine but the mentality, even if you're not right, you're still in a fight and you still show what you have deep down inside, and I don't think he showed the mettle that he needed to show in that fight in order to beat a guy like Miranda.

When you're busy doing your own stuff it's like running a race. You try not to look over your shoulder to see who else is in the race, you do the best you can.

When thoughts tell you it’s too late, dismiss them. You haven’t dreamed your best dream. You haven’t run your best race.

The only competition that matters is the one that takes place within yourself.

I often lose motivation, but it's something I accept as normal.

If I didn't even stand a chance of winning races and competing for the title, I don't think I would be that interested in continuing my career.

It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.

I want to run every race with a big heart.

It's okay to doubt yourself, it's okay to feel down; just never give up.

When you have the chance to fight for victory or a podium finish, you have the motivation to push that extra bit out of yourself.

The fight isn't over until you win it, Fitz. That's all you have to remember. No matter what the other man says.

I drew my strength from fear. Fear of losing. I don't remember the games I won, only the games I lost.

People think this is all about the top players hitting tenins balls and they talk about technique and strategy and how important that is. But they don't understand the essence of competition. This is one-on-one, two players out there fighting each other with everything they have, trying to bring the best out of themselves. And the difference at this level of the game is all in the head and in the heart.

I don't have anything against United. Playing them won't make me run any faster or try any harder.

I don't need to be told what I am or what I should do or if I beat this guy it means I'm good or if I lose to that guy it means I'm bad. I'm at peace with myself, and I know what I do every day in my training will speak for itself, and success will be a byproduct.

I never felt I was better than anybody, but I always felt I could compete with anybody.

It doesn't matter how tall you are if you have heart and you're a competitor.

When I find myself whining, and I'm like, 'God, it's wet,' there will always be one guy who never got into the heat tent, who didn't get past the coffee, and he's still there, and this guy is smiling. You know, I gotta get over myself.