--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Runners exalt the marathon as a public…" description: "\"Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private will, when months or years of solitary training, early mornings, lost weekends, rain and pain ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/nancy-gibbs-2206_cheer_runners-exalt-the-marathon-as-a-public-t_1053056.png" --- # Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private… ![“Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private will, when months or years of solitary training, early mornings, lost weekends, rain and pain mature into triumph or surrender. That's one reason the race-day crowds matter, the friends who come to cheer and stomp and flap their signs and push…” quote by Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/nancy-gibbs-2206_cheer_runners-exalt-the-marathon-as-a-public-t_1053056.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/nancy-gibbs-2206_cheer_runners-exalt-the-marathon-as-a-public-t_1053056.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/134/nancy-gibbs-2206_cheer_runners-exalt-the-marathon-as-a-public-t_1053056.png) > “Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private will, when months or years of solitary training, early mornings, lost weekends, rain and pain mature into triumph or surrender. That's one reason the race-day crowds matter, the friends who come to cheer and stomp and flap their signs and push the runners on.” [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The marathon showcases personal determination, turning solitary, into public triumph, while supportive crowds amplify motivation and shared experience. **In simple terms:** Marathons test will; crowds boost runners. Key Takeaway Embrace solitude, seek community support. Themes determination community endurance Mood inspired reflective Type motivational observational When to use this quote - training - race day - cheering spectators - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology social support goal achievement Questions to Reflect On - How does community influence personal goals? - What role does solitude play in preparation? A Different Perspective Crowds can distract from personal focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheer/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Crowds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds/) [Crowds Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crowds-matter-2530810/) [Early](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early/) [Early morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/early-morning/) [Exalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exalt/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Friends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friends/) [Lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lost/) [Marathon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathon/) [Marathon Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathon-public-2530808/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Mature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mature/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Mornings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mornings/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [Private](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/private/) [Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public/) [Push](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/push/) [Push Runners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/push-runners-2530809/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Rain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rain/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Runners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runners/) [Runners Exalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runners-exalt-2530807/) [Signs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/signs/) [Solitary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solitary/) [Stomp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stomp/) [Surrender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surrender/) [Test](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/test/) [Training](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/training/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) [Weekends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weekends/) [Who](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/who/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [“He can crumple me up or exalt me, He can do anything He chooses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/he-can-crumple-me-up-or-exalt-me-he-can-do-anything-he-chooses/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [Fixate your love on Him, be obedient to God's word, and don't seek the glory of this world. In doing these things, God will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-johnson/fixate-your-love-on-him-be-obedient-to-god-s-word-and-don-t-seek-the/) [Monica Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-johnson/) > [Western democracies exalt the ideal of social equality, but our economic system arguably emerged from 16th-century Calvinism, a religion whose members believed that God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/western-democracies-exalt-the-ideal-of-social-equality-but-our/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [You cannot exalt God and yourself at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-warren/you-cannot-exalt-god-and-yourself-at-the-same-time/) [Rick Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-warren/) > [Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/religious-folk/humble-yourselves-before-the-lord-and-he-will-exalt-you/) [Religious Folk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/religious-folk/) > [God aims to exalt Himself by working for those who wait for Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/god-aims-to-exalt-himself-by-working-for-those-who-wait-for-him-2/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“Therefore all in the world delight to exalt him and do not weary of him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lao-tzu/therefore-all-in-the-world-delight-to-exalt-him-and-do-not-weary-of/) [Lao Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lao-tzu/) > [This is life! It can harden and it can exalt!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/this-is-life-it-can-harden-and-it-can-exalt/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Civilization degrades the many to exalt the few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/civilization-degrades-the-many-to-exalt-the-few/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) > [Civilization degrades many in order to exalt the few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-bronson-alcott/civilization-degrades-many-in-order-to-exalt-the-few/) [Amos Bronson Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-bronson-alcott/) > [Stomp stomp I've arrived. Drop the beat nasty face why you looking at me. Flying flying flying flying through the sky. In my spaceship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessie-j/stomp-stomp-i-ve-arrived-drop-the-beat-nasty-face-why-you-looking-at/) [Jessie J](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessie-j/) > [For those who dont know, a year ago, this amazing mans life ended. He touched many people with his music (including myself). He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ream/for-those-who-dont-know-a-year-ago-this-amazing-mans-life-ended-he/) [Ream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ream/) > [To keep up appearances, I stomp my room and slam the door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-halse-anderson/to-keep-up-appearances-i-stomp-my-room-and-slam-the-door/) [Laurie Halse Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-halse-anderson/) > [Is this something new, having people stomp on you? Is it what I need to do for your pleasure?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-zappa/is-this-something-new-having-people-stomp-on-you-is-it-what-i-need-to/) [Frank Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-zappa/) > [Did you just seriously stomp your foot? I thought girls only did that on t.v.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-black/did-you-just-seriously-stomp-your-foot-i-thought-girls-only-did-that/) [Jacob Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-black/) ## More by Nancy Gibbs > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [The millennials were raised in a cocoon, their anxious parents afraid to let them go out in the park to play. So should we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/the-millennials-were-raised-in-a-cocoon-their-anxious-parents-afraid/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Be bored and see where it takes you, because the imagination's dusty wilderness is worth crossing if you want to sculpt your soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/be-bored-and-see-where-it-takes-you-because-the-imagination-s-dusty/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [As you probably know, I've written a lot about the presidency, so it's obviously exciting when you get to interview a president and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/as-you-probably-know-i-ve-written-a-lot-about-the-presidency-so-it-s/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ \[Former chief executives\] come away thinking that America needs a strong, functioning presidency to succeed, and they become very protective of that office. Democrats… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/former-chief-executives-come-away-thinking-that-america-needs-a/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [It's hard to think of any tool, any instrument, any object in history with which so many developed so close a relationship so quickly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/it-s-hard-to-think-of-any-tool-any-instrument-any-object-in-history/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [“Lydon Johnson realized he really was President, that his identity had changed by President Kennedy's shocking death, when aides who had been like family…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/lydon-johnson-realized-he-really-was-president-that-his-identity-had/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [A typical smart phone has more computing power than Apollo 11 when it landed a man on the moon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/a-typical-smart-phone-has-more-computing-power-than-apollo-11-when-it/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [George W. Bush, though a president's son, is cast as Reagan's heir even more than his father's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/george-w-bush-though-a-president-s-son-is-cast-as-reagan-s-heir-even/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [For God to be kept out of the classroom or out of America's public debate by nervous school administrators or overcautious politicians serves no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/for-god-to-be-kept-out-of-the-classroom-or-out-of-america-s-public/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [Pain is the most private experience, but its causes, whether natural or man-made, demand public accounting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/pain-is-the-most-private-experience-but-its-causes-whether-natural-or/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [On the court, Jason Collins is not a huge basketball star, but he has already claimed his place in civil rights history as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/on-the-court-jason-collins-is-not-a-huge-basketball-star-but-he-has/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [When you are a media celebrity, every word you speak is dissected, as are those you choose not to speak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/when-you-are-a-media-celebrity-every-word-you-speak-is-dissected-as/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [If you want to humble an empire it makes sense to maim its cathedrals. They are symbols of its faith, and when they crumple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/if-you-want-to-humble-an-empire-it-makes-sense-to-maim-its-cathedrals/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [“The wand is mighter then the sword.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/the-wand-is-mighter-then-the-sword/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) [Explore all 179 Nancy Gibbs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) ## More Cheer quotes > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Hardy thinks they're cheering for him. I'm not going to tell him differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-hoeppner/hardy-thinks-they-re-cheering-for-him-i-m-not-going-to-tell-him/) [Terry Hoeppner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-hoeppner/) > [When I step into the batters box. The fans, the noise, the cheers, they all disappear. For that moment, the world is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/when-i-step-into-the-batters-box-the-fans-the-noise-the-cheers-they/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [When the American people saw the LA riots and crowds of Blacks cheering O.J. Simpson (who was acquitted by the almost all Black jury),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/when-the-american-people-saw-the-la-riots-and-crowds-of-blacks/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [I'm neurotic in the sense that I can have a crowd of 300 people cheering you, applauding you, standing O, but one guy come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-m-neurotic-in-the-sense-that-i-can-have-a-crowd-of-300-people/) [Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/) > [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) > [“Kurt smiled a shy smile. "You're just trying to cheer me up," he said. "Course I am," Andy said. "You deserve to be full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/kurt-smiled-a-shy-smile-you-re-just-trying-to-cheer-me-up-he-said/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/be-of-good-cheer-do-not-think-of-today-s-failures-but-of-the-success/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I am, beneath everything else, a fan. I was fixed in this mode as a young boy and am awed by people who take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/i-am-beneath-everything-else-a-fan-i-was-fixed-in-this-mode-as-a/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [ People had been so attached to the Diane \[Cheers\] character that audiences and producers found it difficult to think of me in any other… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-long/people-had-been-so-attached-to-the-diane-cheers-character-that/) [Shelley Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-long/) > [I decided very early that I was going to be a reporter, that I would not cheer for the team. I don't denigrate people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-harwell/i-decided-very-early-that-i-was-going-to-be-a-reporter-that-i-would/) [Ernie Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-harwell/) > [It's fun, and a laugh for you... you can boo me and feel happy about yourself because you're part of the crowd that did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-goodes/it-s-fun-and-a-laugh-for-you-you-can-boo-me-and-feel-happy-about/) [Adam Goodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-goodes/) > [Poetical taste is the only magician whose wand is not broken. No hand, except its own, can dissolve the fabric of beauty in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/poetical-taste-is-the-only-magician-whose-wand-is-not-broken-no-hand/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [This is no time to be precious about locating the exact individuals directly involved in this particular terrorist attack… We know who the homicidal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/this-is-no-time-to-be-precious-about-locating-the-exact-individuals/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [Cheer up, you're never alone! There is probably at least 1 bug in your room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/cheer-up-you-re-never-alone-there-is-probably-at-least-1-bug-in-your/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) [Browse all 1,099 Cheer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private will, when months or years of solitary training, early mornings, lost weekends, rain and pain mature into triumph or surrender. 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