Quotes By Haile Gebrselassie
Once you have commitment, you need the discipline and hard work to get you there.
Haile Gebrselassie
My father didn't think running was sensible. He told me running is just wasting time.
Haile Gebrselassie
I used to run to school, 10k every day. And this at altitude, perfect preparation, really.
Haile Gebrselassie
My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money. Then I won a Mercedes at the world championships and I gave it to him. From the moment it arrived my father said: 'Good, you can support not just yourself but me too'.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
First, do enough training. Then believe in yourself and say: I can do it. Tomorrow is my day. And then say: the person in front of me, he is just a human being as well; he has two legs, I have two legs, that is all. That is mentally how you prepare.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
I'm lucky. The best possible place in the world for training is Addis Ababa, so I am home all the time except when I am racing. I like to be there, near my family, my kids, also the real estate business I run with my wife.
Haile Gebrselassie
I can't change everything by myself but I can be one of the people who are trying to change the situation.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time.
Haile Gebrselassie
You know for me when I promise something I want to deliver. If you don't, you have to disappear.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
When I wake up at 5 in the morning is it just to jog? Definitely not, I give it all of my efforts.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie
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.
Haile Gebrselassie