I don't know why the running world is so infatuated with with that quote "To give less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." What the hell is "the gift"? I bet a hundred bucks that Pre was drunk when he said that and didn't even know what the hell he was talking about.
running talent?
It means if you give any less than what you're capable of (effort-wise) then you're simply wasting the gift (running talent) that has been bestowed upon you.
Could you seriously not figure that out yourself???
Well, Pre was always lamenting about how he had no talent
...and certainly not everyone has talent, so that quote would apply to few
Not a Pre Fan wrote:
Well, Pre was always lamenting about how he had no talent
That's what decent runners do. This accomplishes two things:
1) Gives them an out if they don't perform well.
2) Allows them to brag about their "guts" or how tough their training is if they can compete with others who are more talented.
Pre was outrageously talented. What a suck for saying something like that.
Everyone has talent. Some more than others and that quote would not only apply to "elite" runners.
Anybody, of any talent level, should never give less than an honest effort.
JW
An Observant Person wrote:
That's what decent runners do. This accomplishes two things:
1) Gives them an out if they don't perform well.
2) Allows them to brag about their "guts" or how tough their training is if they can compete with others who are more talented.
Pre was outrageously talented. What a suck for saying something like that.
Agreed. It's a shame that the sycophants, authors, and moviemakers have spent the past 20+ years promoting the idea that Pre was nothing more than a hard-worker who ran against dilettantes. Saying you're a harder worker than everyone else doesn't make it so.
Not a Pre Fan wrote:
...so that quote would apply to few
i always thought it meant be grateful for being able to run, that's the real gift. and to not use it is a waste. i.e. it applies to _most_ people, not a few.
when you are giving your best no matter how much talent you have then you have done everything you could and then you can be happy!
the Gift of life, you cretins! don't waste it!
The gift is to be able to run and to run well. For some that means 27:30 (like Pre), for others that means to chase a sub-30 10k or a sub-2:20 marathon or a sub-4:30 mile for high schoolers, or just the 20:00 5k for beginners. Maybe Pre meant this as it applies only to himself (as in HIS gift). But I think of it the way that I just wrote it. Not that I ever think of that quote, but I do think about not wasting the gift of being able to run all the time.
If you don't, and you generally take running for granted, you either:
a) don't really love running. You just do it because you aren't better at something else.
or
b) you love running, but have NEVER had it taken away from you.
Trust me, if you LOVE running, as in LOVE it more than sex or your family, you know what he's talking about.
ive got a quote for Pre..."how about dont drink and drive"
The gift of life you moron.
why would anyone love running more than sex or family? get a clue
pre also said something like "i dont race to see who is the fastest, i race to see who has the most guts"
wonderful, but the faster runner wins the race, i think sometimes runners use this "guts" idea to run dumb races
and so far as "the gift" is concerned well im agnostic/ border line atheist so i dont put much stock i that nonsence
Pre definitely had oodles of talent. If Jared the Subway guy started training his ass off and ended up running the 5000 meters in the Olympics, HE could talk about guts.
Or if Al Roker broke the world record in the 10K
poop wrote:
why would anyone love running more than sex or family? get a clue
For starters I had run for seven years and close to 20,000 miles before I ever had sex, and my family was no picnic.
Ever have your mom get mad at you over being in her way while you are on your weight bench and decide to throw one of the weight plates at you? It hit me too, but didn't hurt because she couldn't get it moving fast enough because the closest one to her was a 10 pound plate and she couldn't throw it fast enough.
how about you get a clue? I didn't say you didn't love it or love it enough. I just said that that was AN EXAMPLE of loving it.
Madein_82 wrote:
pre also said something like "i dont race to see who is the fastest, i race to see who has the most guts"
wonderful, but the faster runner wins the race, i think sometimes runners use this "guts" idea to run dumb races
and so far as "the gift" is concerned well im agnostic/ border line atheist so i dont put much stock i that nonsence
I see you don't subscribe to the ideas of punctuation, capital letters, or spelling either. Bravo for you.
Pre was agnostic as well, that quote is not religious. Who says that God had to give us all gifts? I say Nature gave me mine, all of mine, excepting my attention to detail and being able to write, those I did myself.