I didn't know much. It wasn't possible to buy a book about Nurmi, but I found out that in order to be faster over 10,000m, he ran 5,000m many times in training. And to be better at 5,000m, he ran 1,500m many times. And to be better at 1,500m, he ran four times 400m in training.

Emil Zatopek

An athlete cannot run with money in his pockets. He must run with hope in his heart and dreams in his head.

Emil Zatopek

If you want to run, run a mile. If you want to experience a different life, run a marathon.

Emil Zatopek

It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men are separated from the boys.

Emil Zatopek

Great is the victory, but the friendship of all is greater.

Emil Zatopek

A runner must run with dreams in his heart, not money in his pocket.

Emil Zatopek

Men, today we die a little.

Emil Zatopek

Why should I practice running slow? I already know how to run slow. I want to learn to run fast.

Emil Zatopek

You can't climb up to the second floor without a ladder. When you set your aim too high and don't fulfill it, then your enthusiasm turns to bitterness. Try for a goal that's reasonable, and then gradually raise it.

Emil Zatopek

I will run with perfect style when they start judging races for their beauty, like figure-skating. For now, I just want to run as fast as possible.

Emil Zatopek

If one can stick to the training throughout the many long years, then will power is no longer a problem. It's raining? That doesn't matter. I am tired? That's besides the point. It's simply that I just have to.

Emil Zatopek

If I run 100 meters 30 times, that is 3 kilometers and no longer a sprint.

Emil Zatopek

There is a great advantage in training under unfavorable conditions. It is better to train under bad conditions, for the difference is then a tremendous relief in a race.

Emil Zatopek

I had started as an average athlete - a normal boy. It took me three years to win a race. I was glad that I endured those three years - that I did not give up.

Emil Zatopek

In my country, I am just a common man... a nobody.

Emil Zatopek

Sometimes I feel that old desire. Then my body tells me it is 50 years old. I take the easy way instead.

Emil Zatopek

When I was young, I was too slow. I thought I must learn to run fast by practicing to run fast, so I ran 100 meters fast 20 times. Then I came back, slow, slow, slow.

Emil Zatopek

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.

Emil Zatopek

My running was very simple; it was out of myself.

Emil Zatopek

The childhood games ended for me when I was 14 and I finished school. I had to find a job, not an easy thing in those days.

Emil Zatopek

I didn't know much. It wasn't possible to buy a book about Nurmi, but I found out that in order to be faster over 10,000m, he ran 5,000m many times in training. And to be better at 5,000m, he ran 1,500m many times. And to be better at 1,500m, he ran four times 400m in training.

Emil Zatopek