When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time.
All athletes need three things: commitment, discipline and hard work. Without that it’s hard to keep running.
I can’t change everything by myself but I can be one of the people who are trying to change the situation.
Always, if you win mentally, you can win physically as well.
You must do as your people do. If my people are poor, I must be poor. People ask me, ‘Why don’t you find a personal coach or a private car?’ I can’t. Then I won’t be part of my people.
First, do enough training. Then believe in yourself and say: I can do it. Tomorrow is my day. And then say: the person in front of me, he is just a human being as well; he has two legs, I have two legs, that is all. That is mentally how you prepare.
I always tell young athletes the same thing, ‘Wherever you go, whatever you do, what must your top priority be? Running.’
In my life I do a lot of things but I never forget my training.
For me a day without training is like a day without eating.
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.