Athletes around the world know that in order to be the best in their sport, they have to 'Believe in the Run.' Hundreds of these individuals wrote in to tell us why they believe. Their responses ran the gamut from believing that the run will make them a better athlete in their sport to believing the run was a catalyst for dramatic weight loss. Check out the inspirational, touching and down-right feisty quotes below.

Sara, a soccer player: “Every exhausting breath and every exhausting stride makes me know how far I can push myself.”

“Whenever I finish track season, I’m literally miles ahead of the competition for football.” -Pete, a football player and track runner.

Melanie wrote that running boosts her self-esteem, “Running makes me feel powerful and confident in all areas of my life.”

Young, a soccer player, commented on how the run helps his game in the last crucial moments: “You’re down a goal with only five minutes left, you feel everything start to ache and hurt. That’s when all the training and running that you’ve worked so long and hard on kicks in. It gives you that extra step, that extra push, and maybe, that extra goal.”

Connor, a football player, put it bluntly, “It may hurt in the gym, but it only hurts your opponent on the field.”

A basketball player sent us this comment, “When you're playing ball, sprinting up and down the court with nine other people, you can't always tell when someone has been doing their running, but you can definitely tell when someone hasn't been.”

Patrick, a soccer player, wrote that the run is “...what gives you that push to score that goal in a clutch, it’s the difference between average and greatness.”

Baller Jerome passionately said, “Every practice I run as fast I can. Whenever I don’t come in first, I make sure the next time we run you’ll come in last. When all is said and done, I’ll keep on running while you’re sitting there resting because when you rest, I train harder.”

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