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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.

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
People
Chance
Basis
Understand
Bases
Use
Suddenly
Didn
Gift
Hard
Hero
Think
Gave
Thinking
Talent
Deserved
World
Saying
Visible

More quotes by Grete Waitz

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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'll never do that again!
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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 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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I don't think I would have been such a good runner if I hadn't enjoyed it.
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The worst injury I ever had was a stress fracture from running.
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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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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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I am a private person and that has always been my personality.
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You've got to look for tough competition. You've got to want to beat the best.
Grete Waitz
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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.
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Sustained motivation is essential to achieving your potential.
Grete Waitz
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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.
Grete Waitz
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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.
Grete Waitz
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I love running. It's as simple as that ... it has given me endless rewards: physical, emotional, and professional. The benefits of running are lifelong. I ran as a child, and I intend to run into my old age.
Grete Waitz
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My goal has always been to introduce other people to running. They might accomplish something they never thought they could.
Grete Waitz
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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.
Grete Waitz
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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.
Grete Waitz
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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.
Grete Waitz