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.
In the rainy season, sometimes to get to the first lesson we had to run really quick, because we had to cross the river to school and we'd have to go up and down the bank to find a place to cross because there is no bridge.
Being a great athlete is something that requires a lot of training and dedication, it does not come as easily as some people may think.
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.
In my life I do a lot of things but I never forget my training.
Why should I say I will retire in three or four years? You retire the very moment you utter those words.
My father didn't think running was sensible. He told me running is just wasting time.
I feel a social responsibility. We need to open people's eyes. There is a lack of education in Ethiopia.
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.
That is not enough. Sport has been great for me, a great learning place that if you want to achieve you can, even if you are from the poorest part of Africa.
Athletics is in my blood.
You know for me when I promise something I want to deliver. If you don't, you have to disappear.
I have to change a lot of things before I become a good marathon runner.
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.
I was the kind of child who worked hard every day with the cows and sheep - I was a very aggressive boy.
What can you do if a part of it is uphill? You can't work out another route. You've just got to run the one they give you. But they tell me London is a nice course. Even the cobbles, I hope, are not very much of a problem for me.
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.
I'm a runner first before anything else.
When you talk about world record times, you have to understand that everything must be perfect the weather, the course, the temperature. It is not always enough to be in good shape.
I'm retiring from competitive running, not from running. You cannot stop running, this is my life.
I used to run to school, 10k every day. And this at altitude, perfect preparation, really.
You lose the speed before the stamina.
I want to avoid injuries by running only road.
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.
Considering that the race is star-studded no runner will be willing to set the pace for the others. This is why a record will be almost impossible.
