Former quadruple world and double Olympic 10,000m champion Haile Gebrselassie is hoping to make a competitive comeback by February.
The 33-year-old had surgery on his Achilles tendon injury two months ago after finishing a disappointing fifth in the 10,000m at the Olympic Games, his last major track championship.
But Gebrselassie's rapid recovery has allowed him to set his sights on road racing, especially the marathon.
"I didn't expect the recovery to be so fast," the Ethiopian told the web site of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). "My doctor is amazed by the progress.
"He thought that the earliest I could consider beginning running would be in January but now, not even nine weeks after my operation, I am already back in training."
Gebrselassie said he started with "light gym work" just two weeks after his operation, and is already doing about an hour per day of light running on soft ground.
Although back in training, Gebrselassie has refused to set any immediate targets.
"I do not want to push anything too fast," he said. "I already feel very lucky and do not want to threaten the recovery by doing something very quickly."
