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There is something about the ritual of the race - putting on the number, lining up, being timed - that brings out the best in us.

Grete Waitz

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Grete Waitz
Age: 57 †
Born: 1953
Born: October 1
Died: 2011
Died: April 19
Athletics Competitor
Long-Distance Runner
Marathon Runner
Olympic Athlete
Oslo
Norway
Grete Andersen
Numbers
Lining
Race
Athletics
Running
Marathon
Best
Timing
Something
Ritual
Brings
Putting
Number
Timed

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My basic philosophy can be summed up by an expression we use in Norwegian: hurry slowly. Get there, but be patient.
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To suddenly be a hero on a world basis was hard for me to understand. God gave me a gift. I got the chance to use it. I didn't think I deserved what people were saying. My talent is just more visible than theirs.
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Running gives me a clearer perspective on the world, and it makes me feel special. I've never been a traditional tourist. I've always seen the world by running, and that has allowed me to view things in a different way. Places look different in the early-morning hours, when the streets are deserted.
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My goal has always been to introduce other people to running. They might accomplish something they never thought they could.
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I am about to get involved with the biggest cancer hospital in Norway. They are building a fitness center to work with patients. I will be a consultant.
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The worst injury I ever had was a stress fracture from running.
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Even today, in retirement, I find it very distracting if there is conversation during a run. I work out as much for my head as I do for my body. I'm a thinker. A lot of my ideas come to me more easily when I am running. That is why I like to run in the morning.
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I am a private person and that has always been my personality.
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For a couple of days after chemotherapy, food tastes really bland, even the best foods. I haven't been sick, but have been a little tired. I haven't lost any weight.
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I don't think I would have been such a good runner if I hadn't enjoyed it.
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In terms of fitness and battling through cancer, exercise helps you stay strong physically and mentally.
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I am living in Norway, where I am under the care of the best cancer doctor in Norway and I can be closer to my family.
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Spend at least some of your training time, and other parts of your day, concentrating on what you are doing in training and visualizing your success.
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Every day I spend time on the treadmill. I am walking faster, stronger and harder than I was two months ago.
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You've got to look for tough competition. You've got to want to beat the best.
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I'll never do that again!
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Some people feel 'transformed' from the first day they begin running others feel that it's just plain hard work. Most of us realize it is both. I know how great running can feel, but I also know it can feel not so great, even downright awful! It can be fun, but it takes work to have that fun.
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When I came to New York in 1978, I was a full-time school teacher and track runner, and determined to retire from competitive running. But winning the New York City Marathon kept me running for another decade.
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Sustained motivation is essential to achieving your potential.
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What spurs a person to get more serious is highly individual, but I have found that no matter what a person's level of ability, motivation must come from within, or it will not last.
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