 I lived on the top of one hill and the school was at the top of another hill. Nobody ever went to school by car-we didn't have any cars during the war. So that to and from school was itself a training. |
| The Athletic Association competed against the University. So there was an event. You cannot break world records unless it is an established event, and you have three timekeepers, and the whole thing is organized. |
| May is a very early time in the year and the weather is usually bad. You cannot run a fast mile race if there is a strong wind, because it makes your running uneven. |
| My family actually lived in the same village for about 400 years. They had great stability until the last century. People lived and intermarried in small villages. |
| You get very tired, and there was a certain amount of pain and you slow up. Your legs are so tired that you are in fact slowing. If you don't keep running, keep your blood circulating, the muscles stop pumping the blood back and you get dizzy. |
| I was playing rugby and the other games English school children do, and there was an event in which races were run, and I won these by a considerable margin. |
| It had always been a British preoccupation to hold this mile record. |
| I think that is a universal adolescent feeling, trying to find your place. The adolescent who is perfectly adjusted to his environment, I've yet to meet. |
| I was always a great bundle of energy. As a child, instead of walking, I would run. And so running, which is a pain to a lot of people, was always a pleasure to me because it was so easy. |
| I found longer races boring. I found the mile just perfect. |
