Running was in my blood from the beginning. If God has given you a talent, you have to show it. People told me, 'You won't have children if you run long distances.' It was lies. I wanted to be like the men. If no one gives you encouragement, you have to encourage yourself.

Running taught me valuable lessons. In cross-country competition, training counted more than intrinsic ability, and I could compensate for a lack of natural aptitude with diligence and discipline. I applied this in everything I did. Even as a student, I saw many young men who had great natural ability, but who did not have the self-discipline and patience to build on their endowment.

Well, I think I was born with a drive for success. I had a father who was successful. He was a builder in Brooklyn and Koreans. And he was successful. And, you know, I have a certain gene. I'm a gene believer. Hey, when you connect two race horses, you usually end up with a fast horse. And I really was -- you know, I had a -- a good gene pool from the standpoint of that.

I always loved running... it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.

This is the thing that I was born to do.

I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs.

I used to play football, gymnastics. After that we got a teacher [who] introduced us to running. I started running and knowing that athletics might [get] me somewhere

Perhaps I run because I need to feel creative. I need to know what is inside me and then see it realized somewhere outside me. We can explore our inner selves and know what we are capable of, but perhaps we also need to externalize that and separate it out from our bodies in order to view it as spectators, in order to evaluate it and see the defects so that we can do it again, better. It is a pleasure intrinsic to the creation of beauty.

Running and jumping came to me naturally. It was while I took to athletics which was known as track and field then. I took part in basketball, badminton, table tennis, and a few other sports when I was growing up but it was athletics that I stuck to.

I always knew I was destined for greatness.

Racing, competing, is in my blood. It's part of me, it's part of my life; I've been doing it all my life. And it stands up before anything else.

That's been the thing that's gotten me to where I am — my instincts.

I do believe that every child is born with a God given talent. Have you found that thing, that ability that makes your child stand out? Go for it!

I am doing this because of the love I have for running and for the athletes. Running changed my life in a big way. I find great joy in nurturing and guiding young runners and in seeing them begin to excel in their careers as well