Beating John Landy was my defining race.

If I faltered, there would be no arms to hold me and the world would be a cold and forbidding place.

It is the brain, not the heart or lungs, that is the critical organ.

I wanted to be a neurologist. That seemed to be the most difficult, most intriguing, and the most important aspect of medicine, which had links with psychology, aggression, behavior, and human affairs.

The Athletic Association competed against the University. So there was an event. You cannot break world records unless it is an established event, and you have three timekeepers, and the whole thing is organized.

No longer conscious of my movement, I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never dreamt existed.

It seems quite impossible to walk in America.