Quotes By Haile Gebrselassie

This hand is not very active always, because it was in this hand that I carried my books. My carrying hand was always my strongest. Now I think my other hand has developed more muscles from signing all those autographs.

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.

If you're planning only to make money and nothing else, you'll be broke.

I'm a runner first before anything else.

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.

Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.

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

I have to change a lot of things before I become a good marathon runner.

I always tell young athletes the same thing, 'Wherever you go, whatever you do, what must your top priority be? Running.'

I used to run to school, 10k every day. And this at altitude, perfect preparation, really.

Athletes have to be confident and I am thinking like that.

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 never satisfied.

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.

In the marathon a crazy athlete can just keep pushing from the beginning, at a championship you don't need a time just to win the race.

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.

I find the business world hard.

When I run in Ethiopia, I look out and see eucalyptus trees and rivers.

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.

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.

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

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

The marathon always starts after 30K. That's where the problems start. You start without any problems, without any pain. All the pain comes after 30K. Sometimes, it's possible to have pain even in the finger.

It is not my duty to spend my money in my country, but it is what I want to do. There is nowhere else I would like to invest.

You know for me when I promise something I want to deliver. If you don't, you have to disappear.

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.

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

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

When I wake up at 5 in the morning is it just to jog? Definitely not, I give it all of my efforts.

Since I achieved something, running has exploded in my country. For me sometimes it is difficult even to know who the athletes are who are competing at the highest level. There are thousands.