Haile Gebrselassie Quotes

I love running and I will always run.

In my life I do a lot of things but I never forget my training.

When I had no shoes I was comfortable - I used to run barefoot. When I wore shoes it was difficult. To run in shoes was ok, but at the beginning of my career it was hard.

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

The more you are getting older, you lose a little something. Of course there is another advantage, because of your long experience you can use it.

You know, I want to help my country. Definitely I can help them, simply by winning races. Sure, they can follow my path to a good career. But for me it is not enough. I want to be more than that. In everything I want to be a role model.

He was not a runner, my father, but he was quick. I always remember it was very difficult to escape from him when he was angry. If he wanted to beat us he would always catch us. Even me, he could always catch me.

My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money. Then I won a Mercedes at the world championships and I gave it to him. From the moment it arrived my father said: 'Good, you can support not just yourself but me too'.

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.

You lose the speed before the stamina.

Life is a kind of struggle. Life is a sort of fight.

When you promise something, you must fulfill it.

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.

I'm retiring from competitive running, not from running. You cannot stop running, this is my life.

If your body is damaged, wounded, it can be fixed, but if inside, mentally, you are wounded you cannot fix it, it's hard.

You know the marathon in my country is just exceptional. It's like soccer in England. If England win the world cup and Ethiopia win the marathon - it's the same.

I feel a social responsibility. We need to open people's eyes. There is a lack of education in Ethiopia.

This is what I wanted. They tell me that London is the best field in history. I wanted to be part of that. Because everyone will be there it will be a wonderful challenge for me. You can see the best runners, how they look, how they run. For me to beat the best is what counts.

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

At the end of the day, people want to see how fast you run.

I think if you come first with a new world record, that is the best.

Age for me is just a number.

Considering that the race is star-studded no runner will be willing to set the pace for the others. This is why a record will be almost impossible.