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

I was always a great bundle of energy. As a child, instead of walking, I would run. And so running, which is a pain to a lot of people, was always a pleasure to me because it was so easy.

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.

Sport is not about being wrapped up in cotton wool. Sport as about adapting to the unexpected and being able to modify plans at the last minute. Sport, like all life, is about taking risks.

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

I raced supremely well. I felt I was as well fitted to do it as I had ever been, and as perhaps I might ever be. I went climbing three weeks before, because I was feeling fed up with running.