The best pace is a suicide pace, and today looks like a good day to die.
Interpretation
Push your limits to achieve greatness, even if it feels risky.
Steve Prefontaine's quote embodies the idea of embracing intensity and commitment to one's goals. It suggests that to reach the pinnacle of performance, one must be willing to push beyond comfort zones, often at great personal risk, as true breakthroughs can only be achieved when one is willing to confront their limits head-on.
In practice
In a motivational speech to athletes before a competition.
How does a kid from Coos Bay, with one leg longer than the other win races? All my life people have been telling me, 'You're too small Pre', 'You're not fast enough Pre', 'Give up your foolish dream Steve'. But they forgot something, I HAVE TO WIN.
The AAU doesn't care about the athletes; why should I care about them?
Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's a style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative.
This is my last year at Oregon, and it means a lot to me. The people have been great to me up there, so if I have to run three races to win the Pac-8 title, I'll do it. Oh, sure, I'll probably be tired, but the people shouting will carry me across the finish line.
World records at 19. I don't want that. Later, yes. And when it comes, I'll learn to live with it, but it won't be my first love.
I'm the one who has made all the sacrifices. Those are my American records, not the country's.
There is a basic law that like attracts like. Negative thinking definitely attracts negative results. Conversely, if a person habitually thinks optimistically and hopefully, his positive thinking sets in motion creative forces - and success instead of eluding him flows toward him.
Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start somewhere.
In the dim background of mind we know what we ought to be doing but somehow we cannot start.
A man who procrastinates in his choosing will inevitably have his choice made for him by circumstance.
I am made for running. Because when you run, you could be anyone. You hone yourself into a body, nothing more or less than a body. You respond as a body, to the body. If you are racing to win, you have no thoughts but the body's thoughts, no goals but the body's goals. You obliterate yourself in the name of speed. You negate yourself in order to make it past the finish line.
If you take control of your behavior, your emotions will fall into place.
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