Recommended Read: Nick Willis Reflects On His Start In Running And His Silver Medal In Beijing
"I expected that sort of performance but I expected some of my competitors to run a bit better as well. But as the race unfolded I could see the panic of the Olympic final was getting to them. The tendency of the Africans is to be near the front - if they're back it's almost an insult to their tradition. But there can only be two or three guys in the ideal positions, so when eight were all trying to squeeze in, fighting and shoving and the pace was a fair clip, I knew that would eventually catch up to them. It was my responsibility to be patient and wait for them to finally fade." He says he did have to re-evaluate after Beijing. Re-discover his motivation. "When I was 20-21 and had to do the hard training in summer while my mates were at the beach it was a major sacrifice. Now in my late-20s all my friends have jobs and work in offices, it seems like the easiest thing to do is go for a run rather than sit at a desk for 10 hours. As you get older it becomes less of a chore to run and you realise what an awesome privilege it is." "When you're 14-15 there are so many temptations to stop putting in the effort and hang with the crowd and be cool. I was a late developer, so having him pave the way inspired me to suck it up and not quit on my sport like I wanted to when I was a 14-year-old skateboarder being tempted by cigarettes and other stuff." Now it's become almost a calling, and you can tell he's deeply aware of the responsibility. "I'm a huge fan of the sport, so here's my opportunity to create some excitement for the younger generation, not just because you want them to be good but you want them to feel like our sport matters in this big sea of competition out there." Not that he's an altruist. "I want to see the black singlet up there doing well because I get pleasure out of that. So if you're helping others it ends up helping yourself the most, and that's the way the world should work." "All these kids here," he says gesturing around, "yes, they want to win races, but ultimately they want to see how far they can push themselves. Every time you make an improvement you get a euphoric feeling that gets addictive. You want that sensation again. I've had that and I'm craving for that taste again. I don't care about the fame or fortune, I've got the best job in the world and I want to keep doing it for as long as I can." f he has a message to Kiwis ahead of London, it's this: "I'm going out there to dare to dream of the greatest goal, and that's the gold medal. But it's not easy to believe that every day. "In Beijing I didn't believe it until I went for my warmup and my brother, my wife, my coach, they all believed it so much it was impossible for me not to. "The more New Zealanders believe it's possible, the more people around me believe it's possible, the easier it is for me to dare to dream it as well." www.stuff.co.nz

Galen Rupp Talks After Setting The 10,000 American Record of 26:48.00
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2011 Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon Photos
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Martin Mathathi & Lucy Sweep 2011 BUPA Great North Run Titles
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Rojo Blogs From The Couch About Daegu - Post #2: 6 Quick Thoughts About The Men's 10,000, Men's 100m And Men's 800
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Usain Bolt False Starts ... Or Did He? Video Proof That Yohan Blake Actually False Started
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Rojo Blogs From The Couch About Daegu
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Men's 10,000m Final Preview: Mo Farah Takes on Kenenisa Bekele, Tadese, Sihine and Training Partner Galen Rupp
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Day 1 - Quick Previews Of Men's 800 (11:05 pm EDT) And Women's Steeplechase (10:35 pm EDT)
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2011 IAAF World Championships Women's 10,000 Preview (8 pm EDT)
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The Week That Was In Running - August 15-21, 2011
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2011 IAAF World Championships Women's Marathon Preview
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Irish Times: Hard to Sprint Past the Elephant in the Room
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The Week That Was In Running - August 8-14, 2011
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LetsRun.com Goes To Kenya - Post #4: Thursday Fartlek Run
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LetsRun.com Goes To Kenya - Post #3: A Workout With World Championship Silver Medallist Syliva Kibet
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LetsRun.com Goes To Kenya - Post #2: Tuesday Track Workout In Iten + Sally Kipyego And Jake Robertson Unplugged
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The Wall Street Journal Introduces The World To The Man Versus Horse Marathon
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LetsRun.com's Recap Of Day 4 Of The 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
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LetsRun.com's Preview Of Day 4 Of The 2011 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
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