Psychological Competition

In the beginning of the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, I was competing with three old ladies. At two miles one surrendered and the other two were still running with me. I saw how hard they were breathing, how much noise they were making through their mouths. So I didn't make any noise, even though I was tired. Psychologically, they felt that they were more tired than I was. But they didn't know what was going on inside me-how tired I was. Then, at five miles, I went ahead of them.

-22 March 1981