When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time.

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.

Some people start a sport just to reduce weight, or some say, 'My doctor ordered me to run and do exercise', and for others, they run for completely different benefits. But it is not like that with sport. We need to eat, we need to rest, but also we need to run.

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

I'm a runner first before anything else.

I was the kind of child who worked hard every day with the cows and sheep - I was a very aggressive boy.

I have seen things few of my countrymen have. The first time I went on an aeroplane I couldn't work out how the lavatories worked up in the sky.