I think in running, to be honest, that even though athletes are very dedicated and are willing to train and do whatever they need to do to prepare, more often than not they're not in a very professional environment where you've got a high performance director and a coach that are really monitoring your daily activities.

I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards.

Early in my career I was accused of being overconfident and even cocky, but I really was confident that I had done the training and didn't see any other reason to say otherwise.

I'm doing great heart-wise. I get a complete stress test once a year, and those have gone well. I have stents in two arteries, and they are holding up. My other arteries haven't shown any additional clogging.

Whatever we accomplish in life, if it's solely for our own good, then it doesn't mean that much. The things you do that affect others in a positive way are the ones that count. Whatever facet of life you're in, God has given you a gift; do the best you can with that gift.

I'm interested in Dathan Ritzenhein's future in the marathon, and I believe that's where we need to address some issues he seems to have. He's had good marathon coaches - both Brad Hudson and me. He's figured out the fueling. He's got this incredible aerobic engine. But something's still wrong.

With my runners now, they get two month-long breaks during the year.