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Several of my critics have said, 'Bowerman just tacks up a piece of paper in the locker room and turns his runners loose.' They're partially right. I do give the athletes a relatively free rein and for good reason. One of my principles is? 'Don't overcoach.'

Bill Bowerman

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Bill Bowerman
Age: 88 †
Born: 1911
Born: February 19
Died: 1999
Died: December 25
Athletics Competitor
Coach
Entrepreneur
Track And Field Coach
Portland
Oregon
William Jay Bowerman
Give
Paper
Athletes
Reason
Room
Runners
Right
Pieces
Relatively
Tacks
Giving
Rooms
Loose
Rein
Good
Principles
Several
Locker
Turns
Athlete
Lockers
Free
Critics
Partially
Running
Piece
Reins

More quotes by Bill Bowerman

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The idea that the harder you work, the better you're going to be is just garbage. The greatest improvement is made by the man or woman who works most intelligently.
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A teacher is never too smart to learn from his pupils.
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A teacher is never too smart to learn from his pupils. But while runners differ, basic principles never change. So it's a matter of fitting your current practices to fit the event and the individual. See, what's good for you might not be worth a darn for the next guy.
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Don't give anything away. Never make it easy for the guys you are trying to beat.
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If at the end of a race you know yourself that you have done your best, you're a winner.
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Everything you need is already inside.
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I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They're never going to run any record times. But they can fulfill their own potential.
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I think people can handle 150 to 200 miles a week. But something has to give somewhere. If he's a student, how's he going to study? He may be at the age of chasing and courtship, and that's an important form of sport and recreation, too.
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If someone says, 'Hey, I ran 100 miles this week. How far did you run?' ignore him! What the hell difference does it make?.... The magic is in the man, not the 100 miles.
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God determines how fast you're going to run I can help only with the mechanics.
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Now to explore the limits of the one competitor above everyone else you've always loved to face: Steve Prefontaine.
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To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete* in the world.
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