Emil Zatopek

I had started as an average athlete - a normal boy. It took me three years to win a race. I was glad that I endured those three years - that I did not give up.

I didn't know much. It wasn't possible to buy a book about Nurmi, but I found out that in order to be faster over 10,000m, he ran 5,000m many times in training. And to be better at 5,000m, he ran 1,500m many times. And to be better at 1,500m, he ran four times 400m in training.

A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket.

When a person trains once, nothing happens. When a person forces himself to do a thing a hundred or a thousand times, then he certainly has developed in more ways than physical. Is it raining? That doesn't matter. Am I tired? That doesn't matter either. Then willpower will be no problem.

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.

You can't climb up to the second floor without a ladder. When you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it, then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try for a goal that's reasonable, and then gradually raise it.

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.

One day the factory sports coach, who was very strict, pointed at four boys, including me, and ordered us to run in a race. I protested that I was weak and not fit to run, but the coach sent me for a physical examination and the doctor said that I was perfectly well. So I had to run, and when I got started I felt I wanted to win. But I only came in second. That was the way it started.

Everyone said, 'Emil, you are a fool!' _x000D_ But when I first won the European Championship, they said: 'Emil, you are a genius!'

When I was young, I was too slow. I thought I must learn to run fast by practicing to run fast, so I ran 100 meters fast 20 times. Then I came back, slow,slow,slow. People said, 'Emil, you are crazy. You are training like a sprinter.'

To boast of a performance which I cannot beat is merely stupid vanity. And if I can beat it that means there is nothing special about it. What has passed is already finished with. What I find more interesting is what is still to come.

What has passed is already finished with._x000D_ What I find more interesting is what is still to come.

Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast.

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