http://runningtimes/Article.aspx?ArticleID=19085

About halfway down: "....learned a lot from him [former marathon world record holder Khalid Khannouchi]. There's no secret; you just have to work really hard."

Maybe hard work doesn't mean just the consistent miles and hoping one day everything will "click." Maybe it is the miles plus the conscious effort to make them hard.

Don't just run, run hard. Be smart, but run hard.

Expect nothing; earn everything.