Too many people I meet believe that you can sit in a chair and be given motivation. With exercise and fitness, you get it by doing. The mental qualities you need are all linked like a chain. If you give exercise a try and see results, even if it's as simple as feeling good that you get out the door, you'll become motivated to repeat the exercise. Seeing results is inspiring.

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.

To suddenly be a hero on a world basis was hard for me to understand. God gave me a gift. I got the chance to use it. I didn't think I deserved what people were saying. My talent is just more visible than theirs.

You go into the disease as one person and come out of it as a different person. It has changed my perspective on everything. Things that used to upset me no longer do.

I'll never do that again!

In addition to the well-known benefits of health and well-being derived from exercise, there are other unique advantages to being a runner. You are more attuned to not only your body but also the world around you. The outdoor life you lead as a runner gives you a special relationship with your surroundings: nature, the climate, the seasons. As you depend on these things to accommodate your activity, you grow to understand and appreciate them.

My goal has always been to introduce other people to running. They might accomplish something they never thought they could.