Haile Gebrselassie: It's not about winning anymore now. There are no winners

Haile Gebrselassie tells it like it is. The ambassador from Africa was telling the world that if peace has to have a chance, if the planet has to survive, the West must give up its idea of winning always. As TOI Guest Sports Editor, the Ethiopian legend, also International Event Ambassador of the Vedanta Delhi Half Marathon, held us in thrall with his thoughts, memories and much more.

Excerpts:How did the journey begin?Simple. I ran to school. There was no other way to get to it, so I, all of us, ran to school each day.

We lived in the countryside and had to go to the town to school. And as it happens with school, you'd get late. It was not easy being on time when you have to run 10km every morning.

To reach at 8 am, I would start at 6.30 am, and there would be a punishment waiting for you, or worse, they would ask you to get your parents to school. I worked out a trick. I would ask anyone from my village, a neighbour or an uncle who was going to the city, to pretend to be my parent.

It worked well till one day a teacher saw through the plan and asked my uncle to sign agreeing to a punishment for me. That's when he got nervous and spilled the beans. But yes, my running began not for fun, or for competition, but just as my daily activity.

And you know, you even ran back. After school I had to be back home in time to help my parents. Otherwise, there would be a punishment waiting there too.

After you finish school, you have to help in the field. And everything was done like a hard labour hard, the traditional way. There was no machinery, you even carried water from the nearby river.