As far as I can tell, A. Lou Vickery, author of books on baseball and more, isn’t a runner. But he sure sounds like he knows what it takes to make it in our sport. Here’s a choice quote from him: “Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more.”
At some point, almost all runners who have reached their potential have been the ones who did what seems like plenty, and a little bit more—a couple extra miles, two more hill repeats, an extra stretching session instead of spending that time playing video games.