I Found Longer Races Boring. I Found

I Trained For Less Than Three-quarters Of An Hour, Maybe Five Days A Week - I Didn't Have Time To Do More. But It Was All About Quality, Not Quantity - So I Didn't Waste Time Jogging, Ever.

Life Was Very Simple. My Parents Had Come From The North Of England, Which Is A Fairly Rugged, Bleak, Hard-working Part Of England, And So There Was Not The Expectation Of Luxury.

Every Time I Ran The Mile I Was Aware Of My Own Weakness, There Was Some Opponent Who Could Give Me A Hell Of A Fight, So I Never Went Into A Race With A Sense Of Invincibility. I Always Had That Feeling Of Fragility And Nerves Which Made Me Run Faster.

When I Was About To Break A World Record And Become Well Known, My Mother Used To Say That For Her The Important Thing Was For Me To Become A Doctor - A Career Which Had Not Been Possible In Her Generation And In Her Society. Sport Was Something To Be Set Aside.

It's Amazing That More People Have Climbed Mount Everest Than Have Broken The 4-minute Mile.