Cross country running a sport known for its challenging natural terrains and unpredictable weather, demands, strength, determination and resilience from athletes.
Runners also called harriers compete over diverse courses that include grasslands, muddy areas, woodlands, hills and even water bodies.
This sport distinct from traditional track and field events typically takes place in autumn and winter when the ground is softer.
The essence of cross-country running extends beyond just physical endurance; it’s a metaphor for life’s journey embodying personal growth and mental toughness.
Races vary in length with men usually running five to six miles and women three to four miles making cross-country running a unique and demanding athletic endeavor.
Here are some of the best quotes about cross country running.
Motivational Cross Country Running Quotes
The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare. ~ Juma Ikangaa.
The freedom of Cross Country is so primitive. It’s woman vs. nature. ~ Lynn Jennings.
Cross country is the sport that teaches you to conquer your fears, push through pain, and rise above the challenges that come your way. ~ Molly Huddle.
I loved cross country right from the start. I loved the open territory and going the distance. ~ Bill Rodgers.
Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste death but once. ~ Julius Caesar.
Cross country embodies risk, just like life. ~ Nick Steele.
Been cross country a time or two and look at it now, it’s just like new. ~ Wynonna Judd.
Enter with the torch in the stadium. 80,000 people screaming. I was waiting downstairs for the start for 10 hours; I was so tired with the torch. I give the torch to the combined ski cross country that they win gold in Lillehammer in 1994. ~ Alberto Tomba.
In the beginning of crosscountry travel by car, the thing that was almost as common as cars driving crosscountry was crosscountry road memoirs. ~ Hal Higdon.
Cross country: no half times, no time outs, no substitutions. It must be the only true sport. ~ Joe Henderson
Crosswords, cross birds, I cross country with a couple of those. ~ Pusha T.
See Also: Marathon Quotes
Quotes About Cross Country Running
Cross country running is the sport of the soul. ~ George Sheehan
Somewhere in the world, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win. ~ Tom Fleming.
It’s more like a crosscountry run. It’s a perfectly normal course of action for a man to alter his future plans, as he gets older and wiser. ~ Romeo Marrishaw.
Running taught me valuable lessons. In crosscountry competitions, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did. ~ Nelson Mandela.
Success is not a 100yard dash. It’s more like a crosscountry run. ~ Romeo Marrishaw
Cross country running is like poetry in motion, where the earth becomes your canvas and your feet the brushstrokes. ~ Joan Benoit Samuelson.
Not just running! Something that needs endurance! Something that needs stamina! Like, longdistance running! Crosscountry running! ~ Jim Jacobs.
When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less. ~ Paul Brown.
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win. ~ Roger Bannister.
Cross country running is a journey of selfdiscovery, where you find strength, courage, and resilience within yourself. ~ Bernard Lagat.
Crosscountry was introduced into the summer Olympic games in 1912 with Sweden taking the gold medal. ~ Skye ArthurBanning.
Don’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get. ~ Michael Phelps.
I love running cross country… On a track, I feel like a hamster. ~ Robin Williams.
Crosscountry runners do it in the woods. ~ Hal Higdon.
Best Cross Country Running Quotes
Cross country is about finding your limits and then pushing beyond them. ~ Bill Rodgers
I really like crosscountry. You’re one with the mud. ~ Lynn Jennings
I prayed for crosscountry to go away. ~ Eileen Heisler
Cross Country is like poker. You have to be holding five good cards all the time. ~ Rollie Geiger
If it’s crosscountry ski season, I’ll be out doing that, or snowshoeing up in Quebec. In my California home, I go to the local Y and I like doing yoga. It’s been hugely beneficial to me in injury avoidance. ~ Neil Peart.
What I want is to be number one. ~ Steve Prefontaine.
Harvard was the first college to introduce crosscountry as a training event for track and field in 1880. ~ Skye ArthurBanning.
In my junior year in 1957, the crosscountry runners were issued canvas shoes with thin, hard soles that had no cushioning, no lateral support, and almost no heelthey were what a later generation call minimalist. ~ Ed Ayres.
Cross country running is about embracing the challenge, finding your inner strength, and discovering the beauty of nature along the way. ~ Shalane Flanagan.
Cross country running is a sport that requires perseverance, determination, and the willingness to push through pain to achieve greatness. ~ Deena Kastor.
The most exciting sport in France, however, is cross country bicycle racing. ~ James A. FitzPatrick
Cross country is a sport that reveals your true character. It’s about digging deep, facing adversity, and never giving up. ~ Meb Keflezighi.
Cross-Country Quotes for Runners
I’m traveling crosscountry taking Polaroid pictures of people walking other people’s dogs. It’s pretty hard to tell, but I didn’t become an artist because it was easy. ~ Seth MacFarlane.
Cross country was something that started off as a punishment from my father for low grades. I guess he didn’t realize it would take off so well. It gave me something to do with my free time and it taught me to be accountable. ~ A.J. Ellison.
Cross country will test your will, your courage, and ultimately your discipline. ~ Nick Steele
Everyone in life is looking for a certain rush. Racing is where I get mine. ~ John Trautmann.
In crosscountry skiing, athletes propel themselves over distances of ten and twenty miles – a physical challenge that places intense demands on the ability of their red blood cells to deliver oxygen to their muscles. ~ Malcolm Gladwell.
Cross country running teaches you the value of hard work, discipline, and sacrifice. It’s a microcosm of life. ~ Frank Shorter.
I’m wasted on crosscountry! We Dwarves are natural sprinters, very dangerous over short distances. ~ J. R. R. Tolkien
It makes me feel like I can conquer anything that comes at me. I’m never tapped out. I’m never tired around my two kids. I owe a lot of that to running. ~ Travis Barker.
In a world of give and take, give what it takes. There is no bench in crosscountry. ~ Hal Higdon
Crosscountry track, greyhound bus ride. ~ Snoop Dog
Crosscountry I can handle. But downhill it was total terror all the way. I have a feeling I’m gonna regret this tomorrow. ~ Peter S. Fischer.
As crosscountry skiers, we tend to be a bit fanatical, because it’s our own energy that makes you go. ~ Dean Glaze
In the winter, I enjoy crosscountry skiing and raising orchids and amaryllises. If I could grow tropical flowers as perennials, I would, especially hibiscus and Mandevilla. ~ Diane Ackerman.
Inspirational Cross Country Running Quotes
Cross country is a mental sport and we’re all insane. ~ Unknown
The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start. ~ John Bingham.
Cross country is where you discover what lies beyond your comfort zone and realize that you are capable of more than you ever imagined. ~ Kara Goucher.
You know you are a cross country runner when your shoes have more mileage than your car. ~ Wilbert Gilbry
I hated every minute of training, but I said ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.’ ~ Muhammad Ali.
Pushing too hard, too soon is the most common cause of cross-country injuries. ~ Jeff Galloway.
The start of a World Cross Country event is like riding a horse in the middle of a buffalo stampede. It’s a thrill if you keep up, but one slip and you’re nothing but hoof prints. ~ Ed Eyestone.
Cross country is the essence of simplicity and freedom, a pure expression of the joy of running. ~ Alberto Salazar
I think you should take the bike on a crosscountry trip. It’s something you’ve always wanted to do. ~ Andrew W. Marlowe
Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. ~ Lou Holtz.
Famous Cross Country Running Quotes
Running cross country is the closest man will ever get to flying. ~ Joseph Vanderstel
Cross Country: No half times, no time outs, no substitutions. It must be the only true sport. ~ Chuck Norris
I found I could also be good at cross country. I don’t think my running style has anything to do with it. If you have speed and your body feels good, you can do any distance. ~ Catherine Ndereba.
The most common reason why crosscountry runners don’t achieve their goal is that they get injured. ~ Jeff Galloway
Sport is about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute – Sport, like all life, is about taking risks. ~ Sir Roger Bannister.
Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country. ~ Steven Wright
Crosscountry is my first great love in running. Like anyone’s first love, I remember it with great sentimentality. ~ Hal Higdon.
The trail is for biking, walking, cross country skiing, and horseback riding. ~ Rex Riffle
Run often. Run long. But never outrun your joy of running. ~ Julie Isphording.
You know you run cross country when you are freakishly good at estimating distances. ~ Unknown
Cross country taught me my own temporary weakness; excuses are temporary if you choose to let go of them. ~ Nick Steele.
She wants to ride, a horse cross country. She wants to feel, wind brush against her skin. ~ Anita Cochran
Pushing too hard, too soon is the most common cause of crosscountry injuries. ~ Jeff Galloway
Popular Cross Country Running Quotes
No marathon gets easier later. The halfway point only marks the end of the beginning. ~ Joe Henderson.
Today the world crosscountry championships is the highest regarded international competition in crosscountry running. ~ Skye ArthurBanning.
Crosscountry runners are judged both as individuals and as a team. ~ Skye ArthurBanning.
Run like hell and get the agony over with. ~ Clarence DeMar.
Exercise is so amazing from the inside out. I feel so alive and have so much energy. ~ Unknown.
My crosscountry shoes have more miles than your car. ~ Hal Higdon
I run every day. It’s like medicine. ~ Jennifer Carpenter
Cross country runners sacrifice activities to study and run. In the process, hidden sources of strength, creativity, and confidence are discovered which are applied to everything else in their lives. ~ Jeff Galloway.
I hope this amazing collection of cross-country running quotes will inspire and motivate you.
