Don’t Quit
Jim’miJ’ Kirwin
When the running plan goes wrong, as it sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the energy’s low and the miles are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When the mileage is pressing you down a bit-
Walk if you must, but don’t you quit!
Marathon training is tough with its twists and turns,
As every one of us eventually learns,
And too many runners turn about
When they might have won had they stuck it out,
Don’t give up though the pace hurts your pride,
You may succeed with another stride,
Often the goal is within the grasp
As the runner’s breath falters to a gasp;
Often the runner has given up
When he might have captured the finisher’s cup,
And he learned too late when the times were settled,
How close he was to the winner’s medal.
Success is failure turned inside out!
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the run when you are hardest hit,-
It’s when things seem the worse that you mustn’t quit!