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As an athlete, you are literally programmed to endure a specific amount of pain.

We're constantly told that running will ruin our knees and outrage our hearts, but for nearly all of human existence, it was associated with freedom, vitality, and eternal youth.

There has never been a great athlete who died not knowing what pain is.

Perhaps there is no agony worse than the tedium I experienced waiting for Something to Happen.

I feel like if we're not running, we're basically disrespecting our bodies. When you're running, you're really using your body for what it's meant to do.

People die because they find living too painful.

People play with pain all the time.

Marathons are hard because of the physical pain, the pounding on the muscles, joints, tendons.

That's the great paradox of living on this earth, that in the midst of great pain you can have great joy as well. If we didn't have those things we'd just be numb.

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.