marathon-runners

"Frankfurt is the perfect race for me. I am really excited to have the chance to come back"

"Mostly I judge myself when we do long intervals on the roads. We run 4km at about 3:30 (per kilometre) pace. Then for one kilometre easier at 4:00 pace. We do that five times. If I finish that feeling like I can continue that’s when I know I am feeling good and ready to go"

"I had one lady who was running alongside me until the 41km mark, but I decided to make the final push, edged her out, and secured second place"

"If given a chance to represent my country, I will be glad because it’s a global event and prestigious to compete at that level"

"I'm so excited to have emerged second in my first major marathon. Special thanks go to my husband, who gave me full support and guidance during my preparations because if I was doing it alone, I couldn't have made it"

"After a break to recover my first training sessions went so well that I really wanted to run another marathon in the autumn. I am in the best shape of my life and did not want to waste it"

"I was very pleased about the result I had - with a very small preparation - for Hamburg, so that result was very good for me. I had a couple of small injuries along the way, so I had to scrap a couple of sessions"

"While we were lining up, I was scared looking at my fellow elite runners because their personal best times were higher than mine,"

"So far in my training not only am I looking at time but also how I am feeling"

"I asked myself, ‘Will I make it to the podium?’ I decided to run my race, and it worked out well for me"

"I want to get a personal best and finish in the top three"

"That is my aim. I want to be in top three. I think 2:23 or 2:22 is within reach"

"When the pacemakers dropped because they were pacing up to 30km, I decided to run my race"

""Every person who participates in sport can learn those values, make friendships, and bridge differences. That’s the real power of sport.”"

"“I’m still passionate and busy in the world of sport and about the impact it can have on people’s lives. I feel that it is my purpose in life, to use sport to impact people in a positive way,”"

"I was not even happy in Beijing.No one has ever done what I did today"

"“It was an extraordinary journey to get to the Olympics in 1992. So just to be able to walk out to the stadium and represent my country was amazing.""

"I want to improve the records for both distances and the hardest to achieve is the 10k"

"I have never been happier"

"We have a good coach, who has helped us very much with our training. The coach’s wisdom and the technical activities we do in Bekoji have helped it to produce so many good athletes."

"“Especially in today’s demanding way of life, you have to be able to push back and understand that for you to achieve that goal, you need to put in the action required to make it happen.”"

"“Nothing could be more devastating to your ability to perform than arriving at the starting line in a less than ideal frame of mind,”"

""My best days still start with a run in the mountains – I run for good health, energy, and to clear my head!”"

"I wanted to train more for the outdoor season than the indoor season, so I changed my training totally, I already have natural speed which I don’t need to work on, so in training I’ve been working more on my endurance. Now I think I can run faster outdoors than I previously thought I was capable of."

"“For everything, you had to run,”"

"“I feel very emotional being back, it was a moment that changed my life forever,”"

"“I wasn’t planning on being president but I was the chosen one! People proposed me as the candidate and I was elected,”"

"“I’ve watched the video many times down the years, not the race itself, but the 26th lap. It makes me emotional and speechless every time.""

""The moment created a friendship, an emotional moment, and a significant message to the world.”"

"“Sport taught me how to give back to others, and share what you have for their improvement. It paved the way to a better life and gave me great lessons in leadership for when I became the president.”"

"“It requires honesty and pragmatism, asking yourself again if you are disciplined and can you be honest enough to pull yourself back in line when that discipline goes pear-shaped?”"

"“And it’s the prestige of competing in one of the world’s top 10 marathon majors, that we believe the 2014 Cape Town Marathon will become.”"

"“The answer is quite simple: it’s not so much about the training and diet as it is about just one simple action: committing yourself to doing it.”"

"After I won gold in Barcelona, many women runners started thinking that it is possible to win big competitions,"

"This year has been fantastic, and the big bonus is the marriage on top of the Olympics."

"“I loved the opportunities that I had and it was 10-15 of the most amazing years of my life. And I love it where I am now trying to help produce the next generation of South African distance runners.”"

"“I always ran hard and athletes knew when I was in the race it would be a hard race. I ran fast from 1500m all the way up to the marathon. I broke world records, got an Olympic medal and won a world title.""

"I won the 5k and 10k at the Olympics and would hope I have done enough to win the athlete of the year."

"“We are an ultra-mad country where people normally think a marathon is for sissies and you have to run 90 kilometres to be considered a proper runner”"

"“A day that starts with a run is a better day. I retired 10 years ago and have run the odd marathon as a charity participant running with people trying to finish their first marathon, but nothing more than that, really”"

"‘'We believe that sport will continue to play an important role in the sustainable social development and transformation space within South Africa, in particular with respect to Women and transformation, and taking children off the streets.’'"

"“I have had the privilege to race many big City Marathons in different cities and countries around the world. Each City Marathon had its own unique but challenging experience, each being emotional and rewarding as I experienced each city’s atmosphere, its people, its cultures and its land-marks. These races have left a long standing connection to the respective City’s. It will be a privilege to bring such a unique experience to Cape Town and for Cape Town to be able to host such an event to so many people in South Africa and around the world.”"

"Most of the girls can’t stay with me in training, it just has to be guys."

"We became friends and she's the woman I admire most."

"There’s always a lot of competition, so whenever I win a race at that distance, I’m really thrilled."

"“You can benefit from the best training programme in the world, but without a certain degree of motivation and discipline, one can quite easily fail,”"

"“It should also be remembered that Elana is not only popular in South Africa now, but also in Ethiopia because of Barcelona 1992. It creates a very good vibe of peace and unity.”"

"“The market was far away from our village, so we'd run all the way. To get water, you had to run. To pick up wood, you had to run.”"

"Everybody expects me to win the gold medal, I have to do it, especially after what my sister has achieved. I have to do the same, if not better."

"Our results have gone down very much. Our neighbour and main rival Kenya has taken over on every international competition. We have to take lessons from those competitions, we have to look deep into Ethiopian athletics and identify what went wrong and bring our glorious days back."