Haile Gebrselassie: 'In long distance, you have to be patient'
One
of the greatest runners in history on his first ever race, the power of
Scatman, and his own pick as the greatest runner ever
Haile Gebrselassie after winning the Bupa Great Manchester Run in 2012. Photograph: Dan Vernon
You've had such a long career. I remember when I was a teenager
watching you winning world titles. I'm nearly 40 now and you're still
running at the highest level. How have you managed to keep going for so long? You know, there is no secret. I am just always very careful when I'm training. All athletes need three things: commitment, discipline and hard work. Without that it's hard to keep running for a long time.
Do you train less than you did when you were younger, or do you still need to train just as hard? Now I don't do speedwork. I focus on just longer runs. When you do speedwork at this age it's easy to get injured.
Looking back, what was the highlight of your career? There were so
many, I know, but can you pick one? One is Sydney 2000 [where he retained his Olympic 10,000m title in a thrilling race to the line with Kenya's Paul Tergat], and the 5,000m in Zurich in 1995 [where he broke the world record by an incredible 11 seconds]. That evening was an amazing world record. I was, I can say, really flying that night.
Do you remember your first ever race? It was a school competition, the 1500m, in 1987. I won the race. And I was the youngest in the field. I was just a little boy. When we started the race, I went very fast and the other boys thought I would stop before the end. But I didn't. After I won the race everyone was very excited - and that was how I started in athletics.
Where is your favourite place to run? On the track, of course Hengelo [in the Netherlands. Haile is sometimes referred to as Mr Hengelo because of his rapport with the crowd and his record-breaking feats there], and on the road, Berlin, for breaking world records [where Haile twice broke the world marathon record]. But for atmosphere, always in England. One year I ran in Crystal Palace and the stadium was full of Ethiopian fans. It was amazing.
For training, the best place is Entoto, here in Addis Ababa. It's a good place for training. The altitude is about 3,000 metres above sea level, which is perfect for long distance running.
What's your advice to other runners? In long distance, you have to learn to be patient. You don't need to start very fast. But training is the most important thing.
Do you ever run while listening to music? Yeah, when I'm training in the gym I like to have some fast music on. Something good.
Ethiopian music? Yes, especially Ethiopian music. That's what I love right now.
You were also famous for having the song Scatman playing when you ran on the track. Oh yeah. You know that Scatman music was perfect for the 10,000m world record. But you cannot play that one here in Ethiopia, because they have their own traditional music. But I did many records with the Scatman song. Fantastic. If you watch back some of my world records you can hear Scatman in the background. The rhythm was perfect for running.
What do you have for breakfast before a big race? Just some tea and some bread and jam. Light food.
What's the furthest distance you have ever run? In training I did 4 hours a few times.
Fours hours! For you that would be how far? Oh, very long. That would be up to 55 kilometres, maybe 60 kilometres [37 miles]. But you don't go super fast, just a steady pace, you know, easy. But I wouldn't do that often. Maybe just once in a month, or once every two months.
Have you ever run barefoot? Yes, but that was a long time ago. Not for competition, but for running to school I did.
Have you seen the barefoot running shoes many companies are
making now? Yes, I've seen them, but I haven't tried any to see if they are comfortable. I'll see. I'll check and then I'll tell you.
Finally, you are often the answer to this question, but who do you
think was the greatest runner of all time? Abebe Bikila. For me he is a hero. His race in 1960 is really an amazing one, to win a marathon with no shoes [a barefoot Bikila won the Olympic marathon and broke the world record in Rome in 1960].
Haile Gebrselassie is taking part in the Bupa Great Manchester Run, the UK's biggest 10K running event, on 26 May in Manchester city centre.
Source - The Guardian
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