--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If someone says, 'Hey, I ran 100 miles…" description: "\"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, no..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bill-bowerman-27013_differences_if-someone-says-hey-i-ran-100-miles-this_971185.jpg" --- # If someone says, 'Hey, I ran 100 miles this week. How far… ![“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.” quote by Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bill-bowerman-27013_differences_if-someone-says-hey-i-ran-100-miles-this_971185.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bill-bowerman-27013_differences_if-someone-says-hey-i-ran-100-miles-this_971185.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e2/bill-bowerman-27013_differences_if-someone-says-hey-i-ran-100-miles-this_971185.jpg) > “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.” [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True value lies in personal effort, not just measurable achievements. **In simple terms:** Effort matters more than distance. Key Takeaway Focus on personal improvement, not comparison. Themes effort humility performance Mood inspirational thoughtful Type coach philosophical When to use this quote - training sessions - personal goals - team sports Key Concepts motivation self‑worth competition Questions to Reflect On - What personal standards guide you? - How do you define success? A Different Perspective May downplay the importance of measurable progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Differences](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Fitness motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness-motivational/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Magic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/magic/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Motivational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivational/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Work out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-out/) ## Related quotes > [You have to run 75 to 100 miles a week if you expect to break the four-minute mile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-h-cooper/you-have-to-run-75-to-100-miles-a-week-if-you-expect-to-break-the/) [Kenneth H. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-h-cooper/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/i-think-people-can-handle-150-to-200-miles-a-week-but-something-has/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [The magic is in the man, not the 100 miles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/the-magic-is-in-the-man-not-the-100-miles/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [You can work out until you're blue in the face and run a thousand miles a week, but none of it will matter if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hollis/you-can-work-out-until-you-re-blue-in-the-face-and-run-a-thousand/) [Rachel Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hollis/) > [I put my body through hell. I run 120 miles a week, week in, week out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/i-put-my-body-through-hell-i-run-120-miles-a-week-week-in-week-out/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [You imagine running 120 miles a week, week in, week out, for the past four or five years. It takes a little bit out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/you-imagine-running-120-miles-a-week-week-in-week-out-for-the-past/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [I have been doing 120 miles a week, when normally I would do about 140.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-radcliffe/i-have-been-doing-120-miles-a-week-when-normally-i-would-do-about-140/) [Paula Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-radcliffe/) > [I run probably 35-40 miles a week, and I think 80 per cent of your body is what you eat. The biggest part is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-morrison/i-run-probably-35-40-miles-a-week-and-i-think-80-per-cent-of-your/) [Matthew Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-morrison/) > [I still run every other day. Longer at weekends. I probably do 35 miles a week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-coe/i-still-run-every-other-day-longer-at-weekends-i-probably-do-35-miles/) [Sebastian Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-coe/) > [Now I say that if you run more than 15 miles a week, it's for something other than aerobic fitness. Once you pass 15…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-h-cooper/now-i-say-that-if-you-run-more-than-15-miles-a-week-it-s-for/) [Kenneth H. Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-h-cooper/) > [“It is not how much training you do as much as it is how well you recover from it. Because if you do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-higdon/it-is-not-how-much-training-you-do-as-much-as-it-is-how-well-you/) [Hal Higdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-higdon/) > [What difference does it make, after all, what your position in life is if you dislike it yourself?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-difference-does-it-make-after-all-what-your-position-in-life-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/act-as-if-what-you-do-makes-a-difference-it-does/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“Whatever I damn well please, and what difference does that make to you? Ivy you ready to go?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sai-marie-johnson/whatever-i-damn-well-please-and-what-difference-does-that-make-to-you/) [Sai Marie Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sai-marie-johnson/) > [There can be no difference anywhere that does not make a difference somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/there-can-be-no-difference-anywhere-that-does-not-make-a-difference/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) ## More by Bill Bowerman > [Men of Oregon, I invite you to become students of your events. Running, one might say, is basically an absurd past-time upon which to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/men-of-oregon-i-invite-you-to-become-students-of-your-events-running/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/the-idea-that-the-harder-you-work-the-better-you-re-going-to-be-is/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [Don't give anything away. Never make it easy for the guys you are trying to beat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/don-t-give-anything-away-never-make-it-easy-for-the-guys-you-are/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [This killing of Israel athletes is an act of war. And if there's one place that war doesn't belong, it's here. 1200 years. From…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/this-killing-of-israel-athletes-is-an-act-of-war-and-if-there-s-one/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/a-teacher-is-never-too-smart-to-learn-from-his-pupils-but-while/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [Now to explore the limits of the one competitor above everyone else you've always loved to face: Steve Prefontaine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/now-to-explore-the-limits-of-the-one-competitor-above-everyone-else/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [If at the end of a race you know yourself that you have done your best, you're a winner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/if-at-the-end-of-a-race-you-know-yourself-that-you-have-done-your/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [The magic is in the man, not the 100 miles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/the-magic-is-in-the-man-not-the-100-miles/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/victory-is-in-having-done-your-best-if-you-ve-done-your-best-you-ve/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [God determines how fast you're going to run; I can help only with the mechanics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/god-determines-how-fast-you-re-going-to-run-i-can-help-only-with-the/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [God determines how fast you're going to run; I can only help with the mechanics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/god-determines-how-fast-you-re-going-to-run-i-can-only-help-with-the/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [The athlete makes himself, the coach doesn't make the athlete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/the-athlete-makes-himself-the-coach-doesn-t-make-the-athlete/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [I still bother with runners I call hamburgers. They're never going to run any record times, but they can always fulfill their own potential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/i-still-bother-with-runners-i-call-hamburgers-they-re-never-going-to/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [There is no bad weather, just soft runners.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/there-is-no-bad-weather-just-soft-runners/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) > [It's easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bowerman/it-s-easier-to-beg-forgiveness-than-ask-permission/) [Bill Bowerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) [Explore all 21 Bill Bowerman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bowerman/) ## More Differences quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Shortly after I turned 50, both Ted Turner and the AARP came into my life. The only difference? With AARP, there were benefits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-fonda/shortly-after-i-turned-50-both-ted-turner-and-the-aarp-came-into-my/) [Jane Fonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-fonda/) > [It must be assumed and established as a principle, that the right of private property must be regarded as sacred. Wherefore, the law ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/it-must-be-assumed-and-established-as-a-principle-that-the-right-of/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [There are those who open their hearts to others...who never think twice about giving of themselves. They are the wonderful warmhearted people who make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilda-radner/there-are-those-who-open-their-hearts-to-others-who-never-think-twice/) [Gilda Radner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilda-radner/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [One of the most basic principles for making and keeping peace within and between nations. . . is that in political, military, moral, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/one-of-the-most-basic-principles-for-making-and-keeping-peace-within/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [When the President starts talking about something, it makes a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/when-the-president-starts-talking-about-something-it-makes-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [In a world shaped and colored more and more by politicians, the nations meet politically, and hardly any other way to settle their differences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-priestley/in-a-world-shaped-and-colored-more-and-more-by-politicians-the/) [J. B. Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-priestley/) [Browse all 8,110 Differences quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/differences/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If someone says, 'Hey, I ran 100 miles this week. How far did you run?' ignore him! 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