If your body is damaged, wounded, it can be fixed, but if inside, mentally, you are wounded you cannot fix it, it's hard.
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.
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.
I remember in particular my first victory when I achieved a very fast time in what were perfect conditions but since then the wind has always been a factor against me.
My father thought sport was something fun - he didn't know it was a way to make money.
I have seen things few of my countrymen have. The first time I went on an aeroplane I couldn't work out how the lavatories worked up in the sky.
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.
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.
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.
If I don't train enough, of course I'm nervous.
Since I achieved something, running has exploded in my country.
Athletes have to be confident and I am thinking like that.
What is important is to win.
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.
Eradicate poverty. This is all that matters in my country. When I am out training I think about this a lot; when I am running it is going over in my mind. As a country we cannot move forward until we eradicate poverty.
I want to go down in history.
I wanted to be famous. I wanted people to talk about me.
When I run in Ethiopia, I look out and see eucalyptus trees and rivers.
I think if you come first with a new world record, that is the best.
Schooling is so important.
I find the business world hard.
I wanted to experience New York, to look up and see buildings.
I haven't done a marathon for a long time. So we'll see. I will need good luck.
If you are a really good marathoner, you have to run New York.
