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

"“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.”"

"“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.”"

"“For everything, you had to run,”"

"It was a hobby my dad I shared - he also loved riding,"

"I followed her until 400m was left - and I suddenly sped up and took the lead,"

"It was a beautiful childhood. When I went to school, when I looked after our cattle, I literally used to ride a horse wherever I went."

"My biggest influence has always been my commitment, training and working hard."

"I keep myself going on the track by telling myself, fight your fear, conquer your victory and always have hope."

"Kelvin Kiptum was a star. Arguably one of the world's finest sportsmen who broke barriers to secure a marathon record."

"My secret is training. Not any other thing."

"Kelvin was an amazingly talented athlete and had already achieved so much. He truly had a special talent and I have no doubt he would have gone on to have had an incredible career."

"I don't challenge myself to be better than the next person, rather better than myself. I think everyone should compete with themselves."

"So, when I feel like I want to give up or cry, I don’t. And the outcome is much more beautiful."

"I think learning to take something difficult in your stride is something life teaches you."

"Running teaches you patience, and I didn't want to give up. After all, if you don't give up, you just continue."

"I’m really excited to learn more rather than just focus on who is going to run and are they going to win or not."

"Maybe I’m searching for some very hard or stressful things. I don’t know. Maybe for me to stay in this sport I have to find out what is possible or impossible?"

"The real race begins when the pain starts."

"Challenging yourself is hard work, but it's okay to be scared, have doubts and to be worried. Just don’t run away and quit."

"I just feel like there is so much support and I want to do well for everyone else and it's the greatest motivator."

"I think sports have this great opportunity to bring joy and happiness into a world that’s sometimes a bit uneasy and disappointing and sad. It’s a great responsibility and honor to hopefully inspire people to be the best versions of themselves. If there are enough people in the world bringing the best versions of themselves to their work and families and communities, we would hopefully arrive at a place that is better. It’s an honor to be part of a culture and part of a group of women in the United States that’s doing it the right way, full of passion and dedication toward their sport."

"I'm always grateful to be on the starting line and grateful to see the finish line just like every other 30,000 runners out there. I'm just like them. The conditions are tough today, but it's just so great to be here."

"The future is still bright for me. In athletics you win and lose some,"

"Marathons are not for the fainthearted, so kudos to those who wished us well. We will strive to run at the summit as always and pray that we remain in good shape."

"I am not sure about my next race. But the idea is to go back on the drawing board and I believe I will be stronger and better with proper preparations,"

"I am happy that at least Kenya was on the podium. But looking at the situation critically, I still feel that I will continue being a star at least for the foreseeable future."

"We took up the challenge and gave it our all as the country's reputation was at stake."

"She was always encouraging us to push harder and up our game, so when she dropped out she urged us to continue putting pressure on our race adversaries."

"It was not easy in Oregon when Chepngetich pulled out. She is a champion and her experience would really have come in handy in our campaign for gold."

"I may not have won gold in Oregon but the silver has definitely opened up many doors for me,"

"Everything that is required for you to succeed begins with your mental state."

"When we meet together I remind them that the goal for a championship is like any other big marathon."

"You can run at any time, any where, given the conditions."

"“I am very happy to come and compete in the first Rock and Roll San Antonio Marathon. This will be my comeback race,”"

"I don't know if I will be in the Olympics, but if I am I will try my best."

"“I always felt I could close the gap once I started pushing the pace.”"

"If I had been able to run naked today, I would have. "Unfortunately I couldn’t, because my daughter was here watching… She wouldn’t like it if her mother was running without her clothes on."

"Takahashi’s run in Berlin made it so much easier for me. "It was like she broke a barrier. Before, women didn't think we could go under 2:20. In future, the next generation will run under 2:18. Maybe they will break 2:15 one day."

"From the Bible I have learned if you want something good, you must sacrifice."

"I still do intense interval training. I like miles and quarters best. In races I can set my mind, and I believe I could break 2:20 again."

"I don't run anybody else's race. When the gun goes off, I must evaluate with my own body and see. Then, as the race develops, I run accordingly. So you can say that I do not have a set tactic for any race."

"If I have nothing to sacrifice, I have nothing to gain."

"Covid-19 has taught us a lot of lessons. You might be very talented, yes, but at times, depending on circumstances, you may find yourself having nowhere to utilise your talent. It’s been long since the athletes had a meaningful competition and this should serve as a lesson for the future."

"The progress of the last 40 years has been mostly cultural, culminating, the last couple of years, in the broad legalization of same-sex marriage. But by many other measures, especially economic, things have gotten worse, thanks to the establishment of neo-liberal principles — anti-unionism, deregulation, and intensified, unconscionable greed — that began with Richard Nixon and picked up steam under Ronald Reagan. Too many are suffering now because too few were fighting then."

"Sometimes I watch the video of Eliud Kipchoge, he can train when it’s raining. So sometimes it’s raining and I don’t want to go for training and I say, ‘If Eliud Kipchoge can go for training, we train!’ Who am I to sleep?’...So he inspires so many young athletes, and also us because it seems age does not matter in whatever you are doing."

"You can’t be like Eliud if you want to sit down and you say, ‘I want to be like Eliud Kipchoge’. Eliud Kipchoge does not sit down and wait to go and win races!"