“Hills are terrific for running”

You cannot always run at your best.

I believe in keeping running simple and, in regard to shoes, that would mean no gimmicks, unnecessary cushioning, etc

Don’t feel guilty about driving somewhere nice to run. If people can drive to a park to eat hot dogs, you can drive there to run.

Running is a very natural activity. If you get too caught up, you find yourself constantly seeking to make running something that it isn’t.

The advice I have for beginners is the same philosophy that I have for runners of all levels of experience and ability — consistency, a sane approach, moderation and making your running an enjoyable, rather than dreaded, part of your life.

However, I’ve also trained as much as 130 miles per week during periods when I worked a full-time job. It ultimately becomes second nature. It becomes a habit, a routine part of your daily life

I believe in gradual experimentation with running shoes.

I ran my fastest marathon in the rain.

My biggest weakness as a endurance athlete has been in not drinking enough water after training, thereby racing sometimes while dehydrated.

My guess is many top athletes, distance runners included, use performance-enhancing drugs, enough so that the problem must be tackled.

Always take the long term view and train and race smart, with a bit of caution.

The starting line of the New York Marathon is kind of like a giant time bomb behind you about to go off. It is the most spectacular start in sport.

Every time I bomb out, I have to come back. I have a feeling after a bad race that my next one will be good.

Aiming for the marathon is a task of sorts which can include terrific highs and lows.

Good health, peace of mind, being outdoors, camaraderie – those are all wonderful things that come to you when running. But for me, the real pull of running – the proverbial icing on the cake – has always been racing.

Having your goal to focus on is key, but don’t let it become more important than your excellence next year and the year after.

As Beverly Hills becomes more Iranian-Jewish, it is becoming politically conservative.

But coming home that day, walking downhill with a panorama of valley and hills before me, I turned my gaze inward, and what I saw, stopped me in my tracks.

Yeah, I’m old as the hills and you would think I’d be out to pasture someplace because I’ve done everything, but nothing has changed.

Nothing really happened – I was elected in ’86 – until 1992, and that’s when the Anita Hill debacle happened.