Emil Zatopek

You can't climb up to the second floor without a ladder. When you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it, then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try for a goal that's reasonable, and then gradually raise it. ”

To boast of a performance which I cannot beat is merely stupid vanity. And if I can beat it that means there is nothing special about it. What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come. ”

When I was young, I was too slow. I thought I must learn to run fast by practicing to run fast, so I ran 100 meters fast 20 times. Then I came back, slow, slow, slow. ”

The athlete of today is not an athlete alone. He's the center of a team - doctors, scientists, coaches, agents and so on. ”

Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast. ”

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon. ”

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon. ”

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head. ”

A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket. ”

Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater. ”