Motivation Quote by Haile Gebrselassie

There is a particular kind of courage in an elite runner admitting the course might bite back. Gebrselassie frames “uphill” and “cobbles” not as melodrama but as unavoidable facts - the physical equivalent of bad weather or a hostile crowd. The line “You can’t work out another route” is the key: it’s athletic fatalism, yes, but it’s also discipline dressed up as common sense. Marathon culture worships optimization - shoes, splits, nutrition, altitude camps - yet he reminds you that the most important variable is the one you can’t hack. The route is the route.

The intent here is quietly tactical. By downplaying the obstacles, he protects his psychology and gently warns rivals: I’ve already accepted what you’re still complaining about. That’s why “London is a nice course” lands as more than politeness. It’s a subtle reclaiming of narrative. If the terrain can’t be changed, the story about it can. Calling it “nice” is a way of shrinking the hill to size.

The cobblestones line carries the most human subtext: “I hope… not very much of a problem for me.” It’s modest, almost conversational, the opposite of trash talk. Coming from a runner forged on track precision and road speed, it acknowledges the messy, old-city unpredictability of a major marathon without surrendering to it. In a sport obsessed with control, he performs calm. That calm is the weapon.