MARATHON MAN MO ON HUNT FOR GB RECORD
SIR MO FARAH is eyeing up a shock win in the London Marathon, insisting he will go out on Sunday aiming to mix it with the world’s best.
The 35-year-old, who has just returned from a three-month training block in Ethiopia, is confident he can break Steve Jones’s long- standing British record and is targeting the European record.
he said: ‘a win would be amazing. It’s going to be difficult. But with every race, I go into it to fight and try to go for podiums. The aim is definitely to go after that British record.
‘Since 2014 I have learned a lot and I understand a lot more. The aim is just one step at a time, go after that British record, see what I can do and see what happens.’
he also revealed his long-term confidence in his marathonrunning abilities, saying: ‘ If everything goes well, I think I am capable of running 2:04 or 2:03 in the right race with the right pace. But Sunday is going to be different. There are many, guys who are there to fight.’
That goal of 2hr 3min would put him in the top 10 marathon runners of all time.
Farah, who won 10 world and Olympic titles on the track but has now permanently switched to road running, has completed only one marathon, a disappointing 2014 debut in London, which saw him finish in 2:08.21. That result that put him outside the 1,000 best marathon times in history.
Yet he said he enters Sunday’s race considerably better prepared, thanks to the impact of his coach Gary Lough, Paula Radcliffe’s husband, and running over 120 miles a week in Ethiopia. Farah is also working with Nike Oregon Project strength and conditioning coach David Mchenry, who has been submitting programmes to him via British athletics. Farah said: ‘ I’ve definitely prepared differently. In 2014 I was more thinking, “I didn’t want to lose my speed, I still want to do track”. ‘and that was in the back of my mind. But this year has gone completely differently. The aim is to go hard at it and see what we can do.’
Farah’s two immediate targets appear to be breaking Jones’s British record of 2:07:13, set in Chicago in 1985, and the European record of 2:05:48, set by Norway’s Sondre Moen in December.