Competition is pretty much the essence of everything, it gives humans drive.

I'm not maximized yet.

To do the best that I possibly could in my world makes me pretty happy.

The desire definitely comes from within. There are only a few people who make it to this level and those are the ones who have that innate desire.

There's never going to be a decathlon that you're going to have 10 events that your satisfied with. You're always, always going to be dissatisfied in something, and that always draws you back to try to retry that the next time you do a decathlon. It's like you go for the perfect 10.

I wouldn't say there was a moment of realization when I wanted to be a runner; it was always just something I was.

I always liked running as a kid. You know how eating chocolate or ice cream makes you feel good? That's the same way that running and competing makes me feel.