If I don't train enough, of course I'm nervous.

Many people know that Ethiopia is poor. When I break a world record, maybe people get to know something else about Ethiopia, something good. We can't make planes or cars, we don't have the materials. We do what we can.

My school was six miles away from where I lived on the farm. I had to walk and run, there and back every day, through gorges and over rivers. If I was late, there was a very big stick waiting for me.

My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money.

My father didn't think running was sensible. He told me running is just wasting time.

Why should I say I will retire in three or four years? You retire the very moment you utter those words.

I love running and I will always run.