"In a race, the ambitious contestant will want to stay fairly close to the leaders. He should be careful not to kill himself off at the start. He should let somebody else lead if the course is wet or the wind is blowing against him, and should watch the ground for good footing and keep a wary eye on his opponents to prevent being spiked or boxed. However, if the pace is too slow, he will want to take the lead. When fatigue strikes, the runner will want to call upon all his pluck. He must forget weariness by thinking of form and concentrating upon running as effortlessly and relaxed as possible. When the pace whips up at the start of the last half-mile, he remembers that he can always go a little farther and faster than he thinks he can. Mental fatigue comes before physical fatigue; in fact more races are lost through inability to resist mental fatigue than for any other reason. How many times have you heard a defeated runner ruefully exclaim after a race; "I could have run faster. I just didn't put out. I didn't know I had so much strength left.""
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Novelists from the United StatesChildren's authorsHistorical novelistsPeople from OklahomaNewbery Medal winners
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
p. 257
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harold_Keith
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Harold Keith
Harold Verne Keith (April 8, 1903 – February 24, 1998) was a Newbery Medal-winning American author. Keith was born and raised in Oklahoma, where he also lived and died. The state was his abiding passion and he used Oklahoma as the setting for most of his books.
62 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Harold Keith →
Related Quotes
"Clem Rogers had not given up on his determination to have Will acquire an education. He still believed Will could get…"
"Jeff smiled to himself and went on eating. He had heard his father discuss the issues so often that he knew them forw…"
"Boys everywhere are quick to recognize and respect any kind of talent in each other, and one of Will Rogers' best tal…"
"The Kemper authorities outfitted each cadet in beautiful gray-blue uniforms with braid down each side of the trouser …"
"Mary and Clem were the very soul of hospitality, and the Rogers house was seldom without visitors. It was Mary's cust…"
"Will's early years were much like those of other children in ranch houses or on farms. He rarely went to town because…"
"Those were stirring times out on that wild frontier- rough, dangerous times in many ways. But to young Will Rogers, g…"
"From his earliest childhood Will Rogers had strongly defined characteristics. He was by nature affectionate and fun-l…"
"Just behind the school there was a one-hundred-and-sixty acre blue grass pasture, and Will and Charley and some of th…"
"Several years ago Ty Cobb, the veteran manager of the Detroit American League baseball team, put on his gray uniform …"