They're very tenacious. They're dedicated. Once a woman decides she's going to do something, she'll probably stick to it. The only problem with women is if there's anything wrong with them, they won't tell you. They'll get out there and run on one leg. They don't moan and groan like a lot of men do.

My most frequent admonition to athletes and coaches is: train, do not strain.

Well, no athlete respects a big, fat coach who's going to stand there and rest the watch on his stomach.

They have a word in Finnish called sisu, which basically means guts. It’s the strongest word in the Finnish language. You tell a Finn he doesn’t have sisu, that’s like spitting in his face.

Athletes need to enjoy their training. They don't enjoy going down to the track with a coach making them do repetitions until they're exhausted. From enjoyment comes the will to win.

It's just a matter of understanding what's necessary and discipline yourself to do it.

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.