"He’s very disciplined, hard-working and focused...So many people are looking at him because he has shown us the way to go. You can be like Eliud if you work hard."

"As you know, I need to compete in the highest level before I leave the sport. But I want to leave a footprint, the right values, the right spirit, and the right movement."

"Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn’t the day to push the barrier to a greater height."

"Marathon actually is life. Sport is life. Resilience is one of the recipes for success. If you are not resilient then you cannot go anywhere. So it’s good to be resilient. ... That’s what’s required."

"I tried to do what was necessary but it wasn’t working. So I put my mind just trying to cope with the pace and just to finish...A lot of thought was going on in my mind but I said, ‘Hey, I can’t quit.’ I’ve been in this sport for a long (time). They say it’s important to win, but it’s great to participate and finish."

"I was feeling good. And I think it’s just it’s a challenge. So let us discuss it as a challenge and move on...You know, there is three things: Yesterday is a canceled check. Today is cash. And tomorrow is a promissory note. Let us forget about the canceled checks, let us talk of the cash and the promissory notes."

"100 percent of me is nothing compared to one percent of the whole team."

"It has taken 65 years (after Roger Bannister) for a human being to make history in sport. I am the happiest man to run under two hours. I am here to inspire everyone that it can be done."

"I have tried, I am the first man to run (full marathon) under two hours to inspire many people, to tell people no human is limited."

"I felt a lot of pressure yesterday (11 October 2019). I received a lot of calls of encouragement from all over the world. The president of Kenya called me. When you receive so many calls from high-profile people, there is pressure."

"Only the disciplined ones are free in life. If you are undisciplined you are a slave to your moods, you are a slave to your passions."

"The law of nature cannot allow all human beings to think together. In breaking the two-hour barrier, I want to open minds to think that no human is limited. All our minds, all our thoughts are parallel. But I respect everybody's thoughts."

"It means a lot to Kenya, running under two hours, together we can make a beautiful world."

"What’s to see? A woman from Norway, a guy from Kenya, and 20,000 losers."

"No one who works 40 hours a week will beat me in a marathon."

"I knew if I quit, nobody would ever believe that women had the capability to run 26-plus miles. If I quit, everybody would say it was a publicity stunt. If I quit, it would set women’s sports back, way back, instead of forward. If I quit, I’d never run Boston. If I quit, Jock Semple and all those like him would win. My fear and humiliation turned to anger."

"Obviously, the health benefits of being vegan are written in stone but I honestly believe the most benefit to me being vegan is that I do not carry the burden of guilt that I would have to endure knowing that I abused others for my own 'benefit'. … Veganism is everything to me. It touches every part of my life. It is my life. I could not begin to imagine living my life any other way. … Often people think we are weak in body and mind. They mistake our compassion for weakness. … My strengths as an athlete are that I am not an athlete for myself. I am doing it for the benefit of others, which makes me work much harder to achieve. I am not selfish enough to want something this badly for myself. It makes me push myself that bit harder knowing that by doing well I can possibly convince others to consider a vegan lifestyle."

"It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys."

"Essentially, we distinguish ourselves from the rest. If you want to win something, run the 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon."

"Are you running out of breath? Go faster! (Life credo)"

"It is not gymnastics or ice skating, you know."

"I was not talented enough to run and smile at the same time."