“The idea of losing the three at Hayward Field and the idea of losing my specialty to someone who wasn’t running his specialty. Mostly, the idea of losing in front of my people. They haven’t forgotten about me.”

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.

Don’t let fatigue make a coward of you.

As far as being a coach, it’s always fascinated me. It’s a greater responsibility than most people give it credit for because you’re dealing with people.

What kind of crazy nut would spend two or three hours a day just running?

A race is a work of art.

If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail.

Kids made fun of me because I was a slow learner, because I was hyperactive, because of a lot of things. Running gave me confidence.

That field hath eyen, and the wood hath ears.

The fields have eyes, and the woods have ears.

On the field, you come into sync with your teammates and coaches and together you achieve something that you could never do on your own.

As an athlete, when you are on that field and the fans get really engaged and you can feel their energy and passion and true love of the game, it is absolutely a spiritual experience.

No one will ever win a 5,000-meter by running an easy two miles. Not against me.

Being over seventy is like being engaged in a war. All our friends are going or gone and we survive amongst the dead and the dying as on a battlefield.

I have been a wanderer among distant fields. I have sailed down mighty rivers.

In a democracy, there should be representation from every field.