It is the brain, not the heart or lungs, that is the critical organ. — Roger Bannister Brain Copy Share Image
Just because they say it's impossible doesn't mean you can't do it. — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
It had always been a British preoccupation to hold this mile record. — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
I couldn't touch my toes with straight legs, but I could break 4 minutes for the mile. — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
Without the concentration of the mind and the will, performance would not result. — Roger Bannister Concentration Copy Share Image
If a man coaches himself, then he has only himself to blame when he is beaten. — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
My family actually lived in the same village for about 400 years. They had great stability until the last century. People lived… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
The essence of sports is that while you're doing it, nothing else matters, but after you stop, there is a place, generally… — Roger Bannister Essence Copy Share Image
May is a very early time in the year and the weather is usually bad. You cannot run a fast mile race… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves — Roger Bannister Distance runner Copy Share Image
I was playing rugby and the other games English school children do, and there was an event in which races were run,… — Roger Bannister Children Copy Share Image
My introduction to track racing was through the background of cross country running, which is not a sport perhaps as popular in… — Roger Bannister America Copy Share Image
I was involved in music, acting, and some running, but my firm wish was to become a doctor. That was the formative… — Roger Bannister Acting Copy Share Image
My athleticism was really the core to social acceptance, because in those days the overwhelming number of students came from more of… — Roger Bannister Acceptance Copy Share Image
I couldn't disappoint people. I did not want to fail and exhaust myself, because I was the kind of runner who trained… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
The human spirit is indomitable. No one can ever say you must not run faster than this or jump higher than that.… — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
Whether we athletes liked it or not, the 4-minute mile had become rather like an Everest: a challenge to the human spirit,… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
I was always a great bundle of energy. As a child, instead of walking, I would run. And so running, which is… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
Mothers, unless they were very poor, didn't work. Both of my parents had to leave education. My mother had to work in… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
I raced supremely well. I felt I was as well fitted to do it as I had ever been, and as perhaps… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
When I was about to break a world record and become well known, my mother used to say that for her the… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
The reason sport is attractive to many of the general public is that it's filled with reversals. What you think may happen… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
I found longer races boring. I found the mile just perfect. — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
If there was the opportunity to climb a mountain, or to go ballooning, or some adventurous activity, I would always be keen… — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
I enjoy singing, and the instruments which truly move me are the horn, the trumpet and the cello. — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
It's amazing that more people have climbed Mount Everest than have broken the 4-minute mile. — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
If I faltered, there would be no arms to hold me and the world would be a cold and forbidding place. — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
I came from such a simple origin, without any great privilege, and I would say I also wanted to make a mark.… — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
I think that is a universal adolescent feeling, trying to find your place. The adolescent who is perfectly adjusted to his environment,… — Roger Bannister Adolescent Copy Share Image
Our concept of a family holiday was going to a guest house in the Lake district or Wales where walking was part… — Roger Bannister Copy Share Image
The man who can drive himself further once the effort gets painful is the man who will win. — Roger Bannister Drive Copy Share Image
No longer conscious of my movement, I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and… — Roger Bannister Beauty Copy Share Image
I've always been very impatient. At age 10 I frankly found life boring, and I can remember age 9 having the awful… — Roger Bannister Age Copy Share Image
Our house was bombed, and the roof fell in. We were sitting under the stairs of the basement, and we were quite… — Roger Bannister Athlete Copy Share Image
