50+ Best Motivational Race Signs

Funny and Inspirational Spectator Signs

If you have ever run a marathon, then you know the power of the motivational spectator sign. Many are quite humorous, just enough to keep you going. But several are also very motivational, just the emotional pickup you need to keep going. Either way, funny or inspiring, these are some of the best race signs out there.

If you're not a runner, consider creating a couple of these race signs the next time you have the opportunity to be a spectator in a race. Many of them are famous Disney quotes, quotes from famous runners, or inspirational literary quotes.

These 52 motivational race signs are ALL a part of the Writers Who Run 10k Race in North Carolina every June. What makes it so unique is that they are staked into the ground along the race several days before the race takes place. They are printed on waterproof plastic corrugated cardboard on both sides so that the runners can be inspired both coming and going, even if no spectators show up.

Without further ado, here are the best quotes for writers who run.

1. "Just Do It." ~ Nike

2. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith." ~ 2 Timothy 4:7

3. "I am not fast." ~ Baymax, Big Hero 6

4. "Whether a mile or a marathon, you get there the same way... a step at a time. Such is life."

~ Baylor Barbee

5. "I could never resist the call of the trail." ~ Buffalo Bill

6. "A brain and some shoes are essential for racing success... if it comes down to it, pick the shoes. More people finish races with no brains than no shoes." ~ Don Kardong

7. "To infinity and beyond!" ~ Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story

8. "Even miracles take a little time." ~ Fairy Godmother, Cinderella

9. "Just keep swimming." ~ Dory, Finding Nemo

10. "Habits are necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive." ~ Edith Wharton

11. "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

12. "Being active every day makes it easier to hear that inner voice." ~ Haruki Murakami

13. "The very things that hold you down are going to lift you up." ~ Timothy Mouse, Dumbo

14. "I just felt like running." ~ Forrest Gump, Forrest Gump

15. "Hills are speed work in disguise." ~ Frank Shorter

16. "Why aren't you signed up for the 401k?"

"I'd never be able to run that far." ~ Scott Adams, Dilbert

17. "Is anybody worried but me?" ~ Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh

18. "Speed is not the writer's best friend." ~ Gary Schmidt

19. "Getting published is a side effect of becoming a better writer." ~ Gabriela Pereira

20. "Life's not a spectator sport. If watchin' is all you're gonna do, then your'e gonna watch your life go by without ya." ~ Laverne, The Hunchback of Notre Dame

21. "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." ~ Isaiah 40:31

22. "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us." ~ Hebrews 12:1

23. "Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." ~ Haruki Murakami

24. "The mile has a classic symmetry. It's a play in 4 acts." ~ John Landy

25. "If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon." ~ Katherine Switzer

26. "All it takes is faith and trust." ~ Peter Pan

27. "I am on my way. I can go the distance. I don't care how far, somehow I'll be strong. I know every mile will be worth my while. I will go most anywhere to find where I belong." ~ Hercules, Hercules

28. "The real purpose of running isn't to win a race; it's to test the limits of the human heart."

 ~ Bill Bowerman

29. "Road racing = rock 'n roll; track = Carnegie Hall; trail running = country." ~ Marty Liquori

30. "Don't be afraid to give up the good and go for the great." ~ Steve Prefontaine

31. "Rapid motion through space elates one." ~ James Joyce

32. "If you walk the footsteps of a stranger, you'll learn things you never knew you never knew."

 ~ Pocahontas, Pocahontas

33. "A trail through the mountains, if used, becomes a path in a short time, but, if unused, becomes blocked by grass over an equally short time." ~ Mencius

34. "Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it." ~ Rapunzel, Tangled

35. "Ohana means family, family means nobody gets left behind. Or forgotten." 

 ~ Lilo, Lilo and Stitch

36. "Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one." ~ Grandmother Willow, Pocahontas

37. "To laugh yourself is to love yourself." ~ Mickey Mouse

38. "Even if you fall flat on your face, at least you are moving forward." ~ Sue Luke

39. "You control your destiny - you don't need magic to do it. And there are no magical shortcuts to solving your problems." ~ Merida, Brave

40. "If you focus on what you left behind, you'll never be able to see what lies ahead."

 ~ Gusteau, Ratatouille

41. "Some people are worth melting for." ~ Olaf, Frozen

42. "Put your faith in what you most believe in." ~ Tarzan, Tarzan

43. "Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail." ~ Robert Motherwell

44. "Please be careful. Stick to the path. Don't run, because if you fall, the cake will get dirty."

 ~ Mother, Little Red Riding Hood

45. "Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."

 ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

46. "Pain is weakness leaving the body." ~ Tim Sobal

47. "The mile has all the elements of a drama." ~ Sir Roger Bannister

48. "Our life finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything." ~ William Shakespeare

49. "It is better to burn out than to fade away." ~ Tom Petty

50. "Oh yes the past can hurt. But you can either run from it or learn from it."

 ~ Rafiki, The Lion King

51. "I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me." ~ Ralph, Wreck-It-Ralph

52. "The moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow." ~ Henry David Thoreau

What's your favorite race sign (either from here or elsewhere)? Share in the comments!

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