I didn't give myself enough breaks during the training year to recover. I didn't understand the power of periodization.

I like the marathon because it's one race where you can find out who's really the toughest. On the track, sometimes a guy can just pull away, and you want to stay with him but you don't have the leg speed. The marathon is slow enough that anyone can stay with you if he wants, if he has the will. The marathon is ultimately a test of will.

Winning times in the New York City Marathon have not dropped all that much over the years, but rather U.S. runners went backward. In 1983, there were 267 U.S. men who broke 2:20 in a marathon, and by 2000 that number was down to 27.

There are a lot of guys out there now who know they are not working as hard as other people. I can't fathom how they think.

We may train or peak for a certain race, but running is a lifetime sport.

The marathon is like a bullfight.

Trust me, my runners aren't going to run one event while looking past it to the second event. When they get on the line for the 10K, that's a do-or-die situation for them.