You can neither win nor lose if you don't run the race

You don't get too many chances to win a race like that. You want to lose it your way. I hate to sound like sour grapes.

The Worst of a Race is NOT losing it, it’s to NEVER Finish it.

Win or lose, do it fairly.

Win or lose, he realized that it was going to be very difficult to govern and that the better part of valor was to step aside.

You win some, you lose some.