Quote

I never plan to run at a certain pace. All my career my motto has been 'no limits.' I don't try to run with a set time in mind, sticking to set splits, because what happens if you're ahead of your splits - are you going to slow down?

As a scientist, I play in the top league - the Olympics, the World Championships - and I want to be in the lead. As a runner, I set personal goals, and I want to push beyond my own personal limits. I was very happy when I practiced for several months and then reached my goal to run a marathon in 2:50.

I could never give up athletics. Running is what I will always do. Even if, maybe, the authorities could have stopped me from running in 2009, they could not have stopped me in the fields. I would have carried on with my running; it doesn't matter. When I run I feel free, my mind is free.

Often I feel like I can run forever. If someone told me I had to run for 10 hours, I probably could.

Even though running is work for me, I always miss it if I take a break. A lot of people find running relaxing, but I can never switch off from timing and competing against myself.

As an athlete, you can train for so many years to be a 5K/10K runner. That's who you are, and it's hard to change that. Not using that technique - almost like a sprint - that's when you have to loosen up and just save as much energy as you can.

When you treat yourself right, you run better and more efficiently. Which means you don't have to go 100 miles an hour to get everything done.

If you want to be a successful runner, you have to consider everything. It's no good just thinking about endurance and not to develop fine speed.

I used to try to run five miles every other day, which I worked up to and I was doing it, but I was subjected to my own thoughts for forty minutes without any sensory input, and I couldn't stand what I thought.

I already have natural speed, which I don't need to work on, so in training I've been working more on my endurance.