--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I am a lonely runner, but I am a…" description: "\"I am a lonely runner, but I am a long-distance runner.\" — Louise Bourgeois" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/louise-bourgeois-8996_distance_i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-dis_351459.png" --- # I am a lonely runner, but I am a long-distance runner. ![“I am a lonely runner, but I am a long-distance runner.” quote by Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/louise-bourgeois-8996_distance_i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-dis_351459.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/louise-bourgeois-8996_distance_i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-dis_351459.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/louise-bourgeois-8996_distance_i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-dis_351459.png) > “I am a lonely runner, but I am a long-distance runner.” [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Loneliness can coexist with endurance; perseverance in distance running mirrors personal resilience despite isolation. **In simple terms:** Loneliness and endurance coexist. Key Takeaway Embrace perseverance despite solitude. Themes loneliness endurance resilience self-reliance athletics Mood contemplative determined Type psychological motivational When to use this quote - marathon training - solo projects - mental health coping Key Concepts psychology of solitude physical stamina metaphor for life Questions to Reflect On - How does solitude fuel your drive? - When is connection essential? A Different Perspective May ignore need for community support. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Distance runner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance-runner/) [Loneliness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loneliness/) [Lonely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lonely/) [Long distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-distance/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Runner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runner/) [Runners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runners/) ## Related quotes > [The novelist is more a marathon runner than long-distance runner and the kind of courage it takes working in such isolation cannot be underestimated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobsha-learner/the-novelist-is-more-a-marathon-runner-than-long-distance-runner-and/) [Tobsha Learner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobsha-learner/) > [To be a champion long-distance runner you have to run on the edge of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toshihiko-seko/to-be-a-champion-long-distance-runner-you-have-to-run-on-the-edge-of/) Toshihiko Seko > [Actually, ambition won't get you that far. You'll shift gears. You'll see something that's shinier. But if you believe... then you're the long-distance runner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-abell/actually-ambition-won-t-get-you-that-far-you-ll-shift-gears-you-ll/) [Sam Abell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-abell/) > [I've been a runner a long time. When I first got into it, I started doing small triathlons in Chicago, and I just did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-rancic/i-ve-been-a-runner-a-long-time-when-i-first-got-into-it-i-started/) [Bill Rancic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-rancic/) > [Swimming is probably the ultimate of burnout sports. It's ironic because millions of people who swim as their regular exercise love the meditation aspect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-nyad/swimming-is-probably-the-ultimate-of-burnout-sports-it-s-ironic/) [Diana Nyad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-nyad/) > [They say the breaks even up in the long run, and the trick is to be a long-distance runner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-knox/they-say-the-breaks-even-up-in-the-long-run-and-the-trick-is-to-be-a/) [Chuck Knox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-knox/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Man is a distance runner as a consequence of hundreds of thousands of years of chasing antelopes, horses, elephants, wild cattle, and deer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-shepard/man-is-a-distance-runner-as-a-consequence-of-hundreds-of-thousands-of/) [Paul Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-shepard/) > [The so-called new Russian man is characterized mainly by his complete exhaustion. You may find yourself wondering if he has the strength to enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/the-so-called-new-russian-man-is-characterized-mainly-by-his-complete/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [Long-distance runners have to be very strange people. You have to really want to do it. You don't have to win or beat someone,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-corbitt/long-distance-runners-have-to-be-very-strange-people-you-have-to/) [Ted Corbitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-corbitt/) > [I do identify with Olympic athletes quite a lot because they have to push to reach a certain plateau and some of them go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-jordan/i-do-identify-with-olympic-athletes-quite-a-lot-because-they-have-to/) [Lawrence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-jordan/) > [In a long distance race, everyone gets tired. The winner is the runner who figures out where to put the tired, figures out how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/in-a-long-distance-race-everyone-gets-tired-the-winner-is-the-runner/) [Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/) > [For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/for-me-running-is-both-exercise-and-a-metaphor-running-day-after-day/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“As I prepare for my marathon qualifier, I continue to run on Wednesdays with the regular group. We continue to navigate a path near…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-andrew-powell/as-i-prepare-for-my-marathon-qualifier-i-continue-to-run-on/) [Robert Andrew Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-andrew-powell/) > [That's one reason I think the 1,500 is so exciting. You have to be strong, have to be a distance runner. But in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-cain/that-s-one-reason-i-think-the-1-500-is-so-exciting-you-have-to-be/) [Mary Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-cain/) ## More by Louise Bourgeois > [Artists have to be useful. They have to fill a role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/artists-have-to-be-useful-they-have-to-fill-a-role/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [I am a searcher... I always was... and I still am... searching for the missing piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-searcher-i-always-was-and-i-still-am-searching-for-the-missing/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [My life has been regulated by insomnia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/my-life-has-been-regulated-by-insomnia/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [The colour blue - that is my colour - and the colour blue means you have left the drabness of day-to-day reality to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/the-colour-blue-that-is-my-colour-and-the-colour-blue-means-you-have/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Artists are born not made. There's nothing you can do for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/artists-are-born-not-made-there-s-nothing-you-can-do-for-them/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Everywhere in the modern world there is neglect, the need to be recognized, which is not satisfied. Art is a way of recognizing oneself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/everywhere-in-the-modern-world-there-is-neglect-the-need-to-be/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [It is not so much where my motivation comes from but rather how it manages to survive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/it-is-not-so-much-where-my-motivation-comes-from-but-rather-how-it/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Art is manipulation without intervention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/art-is-manipulation-without-intervention/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Surrealism is anathema for me. Because the surrealists made a joke of everything. And I consider life a tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/surrealism-is-anathema-for-me-because-the-surrealists-made-a-joke-of/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [I work like a bee and feel that I accomplish little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-work-like-a-bee-and-feel-that-i-accomplish-little/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [“there are many realities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/there-are-many-realities/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Horizontality is a desire to give up, to sleep. Verticality is an attempt to escape. Hanging and floating are states of ambivalence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/horizontality-is-a-desire-to-give-up-to-sleep-verticality-is-an/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Clothing is . . . an exercise in memory. It makes me explore the past: how did I feel when I wore that. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/clothing-is-an-exercise-in-memory-it-makes-me-explore-the-past-how/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [What modern art means is that you have to keep finding new ways to express yourself, to express the problems, that there are no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/what-modern-art-means-is-that-you-have-to-keep-finding-new-ways-to/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) > [Everyone should have the right to marry. To make a commitment to love someone forever is a beautiful thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/everyone-should-have-the-right-to-marry-to-make-a-commitment-to-love/) [Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) [Explore all 76 Louise Bourgeois quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/) ## More Distance quotes > [Distance is a test of love. many will fail for those who can't withstand it, but for those who can, theres only one answer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/distance-is-a-test-of-love-many-will-fail-for-those-who-can-t/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I raised another shot. "That sound you hear is the heads of moral conservatives spontaneously exploding in the distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thurman/i-raised-another-shot-that-sound-you-hear-is-the-heads-of-moral/) [Rob Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thurman/) > [I think hair gel was invented to make it easier to identify assholes from a distance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demetri-martin/i-think-hair-gel-was-invented-to-make-it-easier-to-identify-assholes/) [Demetri Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demetri-martin/) > [Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howell/distance-sometimes-endears-friendship-and-absence-sweeteneth-it/) [James Howell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howell/) > [Prison experience puts distance between me and any person who hasn't been there, done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-mcconnell/prison-experience-puts-distance-between-me-and-any-person-who-hasn-t/) [Patricia McConnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-mcconnell/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [She watched the prairies the rivers, the towns slipping past at an untouchable distance below - and she noted that the sense of detachment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/she-watched-the-prairies-the-rivers-the-towns-slipping-past-at-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [Memories seem to surface in no particular order, with no time attached. Yesterday can seem as distant as last year. My life now consists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-olsson/memories-seem-to-surface-in-no-particular-order-with-no-time-attached/) [Linda Olsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-olsson/) > [I've never bought this idea of taking a therapeutic distance. If I see a student or house staff cry, I take great faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/i-ve-never-bought-this-idea-of-taking-a-therapeutic-distance-if-i-see/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) > [Combining the experience of a seasoned university president with the analysis of a respected legal scholar, Derek Bok explores what he concludes are 'signs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-h-t-rhodes/combining-the-experience-of-a-seasoned-university-president-with-the/) Frank H. T. Rhodes > [To be a champion long-distance runner you have to run on the edge of death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toshihiko-seko/to-be-a-champion-long-distance-runner-you-have-to-run-on-the-edge-of/) Toshihiko Seko > [The sectaries of a persecuted religion, depressed by fear, animated with resentment, and perhaps heated by enthusiasm, are seldom in a proper temper of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-sectaries-of-a-persecuted-religion-depressed-by-fear-animated/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [Within walking distance of any spot on Earth there's probably more than enough mystery to investigate in a lifetime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alix-kates-shulman/within-walking-distance-of-any-spot-on-earth-there-s-probably-more/) [Alix Kates Shulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alix-kates-shulman/) > [It takes a little more time to get into the role, but not very much more. In making a record you don't have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-callas/it-takes-a-little-more-time-to-get-into-the-role-but-not-very-much/) [Maria Callas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-callas/) Browse all 3,296 Distance quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I am a lonely runner, but I am a long-distance runner.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Louise Bourgeois" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-distance-runner/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Distance" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-distance-runner/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/louise-bourgeois-8996_distance_i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-dis_351459.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/louise-bourgeois-8996_distance_i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-dis_351459.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/073/louise-bourgeois-8996_distance_i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-dis_351459.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I am a lonely runner, but I am a long-distance runner.” — Louise Bourgeois", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Louise Bourgeois", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I am a lonely runner, but...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-distance-runner/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/i-am-a-lonely-runner-but-i-am-a-long-distance-runner/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```