“If he’s having a good day and running the right race, nobody can beat Frank Shorter at 10,000 meters, nobody except me.”

What I want is to be number one.

No matter how hard you train, Somebody will train harder. No matter how hard you run, Somebody will run harder. No matter how hard you want it, Somebody will want it more, I am Somebody.

A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding.

Every once in a while I think, ‘What am I doing out here running, busting myself up? Life could be so much easier. The other guys are out having fun, doing other things, why not me?’

Having a true faith is the most difficult thing in the world. Many will try to take it from you.

You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.

What I like most about track is the feeling I get after a good run.

You said I was weak. You said I couldn’t do it. Thank you. You gave me everything I needed to prove you wrong.

Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run.

I’ve been in international competition, and now I know what the big boys can do. You don’t go out and just run. There’s an offense and a defense.

I don’t just go out there and run. I like to give people watching something exciting.

You cannot propel yourself forward by patting yourself on the back.

Nobody likes tainted victories.

I like to make something beautiful when I run … it’s style. It’s doing something better than anyone else. It’s being creative.

Somebody may beat me, but they are going to have to bleed to do it.

I can endure more pain then anyone you’ve met. That’s why I win, because I can endure more pain.

A good story can take you on a fantastic journey.

The best colour in the whole world is the one that looks good on you.

Hope is not utopian and peace is a good that can always be attained.

I am more worried about being a good person than being the best football player in the world.

I’ve got a good mind to go out and join a club and beat you over the head with it.

What a strange illusion it is to suppose that beauty is goodness.

Actions are held to be good or bad, not on their own merits, but according to who does them.

On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.