Deena Kastor Quotations

I think it's important to keep mantras fresh (sometimes the same verse can get stale). That being said, I love this powerful statement: 'Define yourself.' I rehearsed it a million times during the 2005 Chicago Marathon [her first win].

One step at a time, I get to make positive choices to fulfill my dreams.

I felt my throat start to close up, and I didn't think I was getting enough oxygen. I was scared, and I thought about quitting. But you don't want to quit when you've trained so hard and long for one race.

I simply adore the exhaustion that comes with training hard.

The beauty of running is its simplicity; the beauty of runners is that we all have a similar drive to improve. We are either trying to run a personal best, or toeing the line for the first time, which will snowball into a future of trying to run personal bests. We road racers are a tight community of mileage-happy, limit-pushing athletes.

Marathons are extraordinarily difficult, but if you've got the training under your belt, and if you can run smart, the races take care of themselves. When you have the enthusiasm and the passion, you end up figuring how to excel.

As athletes, we have ups and downs. Unfortunately, you can't pick the days they come on.

It's definitely one of my goals to be part of that elite group of sub-2:20 women, ... I am going to run an aggressive race.

I chose London because of the great field. I thrive and love running against the best. I assume the other athletes will run more tactically now, but I understand that some of them also want a fast time.

The fact that I won makes it a little sweeter.