Whether we athletes liked it or not, the 4-minute mile had become rather like an Everest: a challenge to the human spirit, it was a barrier that seemed to defy all attempts to break it, an irksome reminder that men's striving might be in vain.

Our concept of a family holiday was going to a guest house in the Lake district or Wales, where walking was part of the holiday.

We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves

May is a very early time in the year and the weather is usually bad. You cannot run a fast mile race if there is a strong wind, because it makes your running uneven.

I enjoy singing, and the instruments which truly move me are the horn, the trumpet and the cello.

Without the concentration of the mind and the will, performance would not result.

If a man coaches himself, then he has only himself to blame when he is beaten.