You've got to look for tough competition. You've got to want to beat the best.

I don't think I would have been such a good runner if I hadn't enjoyed it.

I am a private person and that has always been my personality.

For every finish-line tape a runner breaks -- complete with the cheers of the crowd and the clicking of hundreds of cameras -- there are the hours of hard and often lonely work that rarely gets talked about.

Sustained motivation is essential to achieving your potential.

Spend at least some of your training time, and other parts of your day, concentrating on what you are doing in training and visualizing your success.

When I came to New York in 1978, I was a full-time school teacher and track runner, and determined to retire from competitive running. But winning the New York City Marathon kept me running for another decade.