The essence of sports is that while you're doing it, nothing else matters, but after you stop, there is a place, generally not very important, where you would put it. Roger Bannister More Quotes by Roger Bannister More Quotes From Roger Bannister If a man coaches himself, then he has only himself to blame when he is beaten. Roger Bannister blame running men It's amazing that more people have climbed Mount Everest than have broken the 4-minute mile. Roger Bannister climbing-mount-everest broken people I was always a great bundle of energy. As a child, instead of walking, I would run. And so running, which is a pain to a lot of people, was always a pleasure to me because it was so easy. Roger Bannister running sports children I raced supremely well. I felt I was as well fitted to do it as I had ever been, and as perhaps I might ever be. I went climbing three weeks before, because I was feeling fed up with running. Roger Bannister athlete running sports If there was the opportunity to climb a mountain, or to go ballooning, or some adventurous activity, I would always be keen to do it. I loved the countryside. Roger Bannister athlete opportunity sports I came from such a simple origin, without any great privilege, and I would say I also wanted to make a mark. It wasn't until I was about 15 that I appeared in a race. Roger Bannister athlete simple sports I wanted to be a neurologist. That seemed to be the most difficult, most intriguing, and the most important aspect of medicine, which had links with psychology, aggression, behavior, and human affairs. Roger Bannister medicine athlete sports Mothers, unless they were very poor, didn't work. Both of my parents had to leave education. My mother had to work in a cotton mill until 18 or 19, when she took some training in domestic science. Roger Bannister athlete mother sports Life was very simple. My parents had come from the North of England, which is a fairly rugged, bleak, hard-working part of England, and so there was not the expectation of luxury. Roger Bannister hard-work athlete sports I lived on the top of one hill and the school was at the top of another hill. Nobody ever went to school by car - we didn't have any cars during the war. So that to and from school was itself a training. Roger Bannister athlete sports war May is a very early time in the year and the weather is usually bad. You cannot run a fast mile race if there is a strong wind, because it makes your running uneven. Roger Bannister strong athlete running I found longer races boring. I found the mile just perfect. Roger Bannister race athlete perfect My concentration was really on getting to university and becoming a doctor. My parents let me know that school marks were important. Achievement was something which came by hard work. Roger Bannister hard-work athlete sports I was involved in music, acting, and some running, but my firm wish was to become a doctor. That was the formative age when I had decided on the pattern of my career. Roger Bannister doctors athlete running My athleticism was really the core to social acceptance, because in those days the overwhelming number of students came from more of a public school background than I did. Roger Bannister athlete sports school The mile has all the elements of a drama. Roger Bannister elements running drama When I was about to break a world record and become well known, my mother used to say that for her the important thing was for me to become a doctor - a career which had not been possible in her generation and in her society. Sport was something to be set aside. Roger Bannister athlete mother sports You get very tired, and there was a certain amount of pain and you slow up. Your legs are so tired that you are in fact slowing. If you don't keep running, keep your blood circulating, the muscles stop pumping the blood back and you get dizzy. Roger Bannister pain running sports I think that is a universal adolescent feeling, trying to find your place. The adolescent who is perfectly adjusted to his environment, I've yet to meet. Roger Bannister athlete feelings thinking Athletics is a luxury. Roger Bannister luxury athletic athlete
