Quotes By Haile Gebrselassie

I love running and I will always run.

For me a day without training is like a day without eating.

At the moment I am a little bit politician, yes. I think that could be my next step. It is not because I want power, it is because of what I think I could do for the people.

What is important is to win.

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.

Age for me is just a number.

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

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.

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.

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.