Ethiopia is known as the cradle of humanity, but also as one of the best stables for long distance runners in the world. Ethiopia has produced a lot of super stars of the long distance running, but one who stands out above all is Haile Gebrselassie, the king of the distance. As a child, I remember being glued to the TV waiting to watch Haile’s performances. It was like watching a maestro at work. I loved seeing him run the whole 9600 m, then sprint through the last 200-400 m like he had just started the race. Gebrselassie has inspired me, and thousands of youths to run. We have all dreamed of running the distance the way he ran.

So it is with sadness that I learnt of Gebrselassie’s retirement from competitive running. I am delighted to have had a chance to see him in his prime years, and watch him transition from 10000 m to marathon running, and there still express perfection. Truly, everything he did in his running was done with perfection, striving to be the very best every stride he took, and that is the message to everyone out there: strive for perfection, strive to do the very best you can in everything you do, every single day.  To that effect, Gebrselassie said: “You need three things to win: discipline, hard work, and, before everything commitment. No one will make it without those three, sport teaches you that;” and “When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners, and not against time.” I am leaving you with the article I wrote three years ago about him, and with this great video on some of his accomplishments.