ON THE TRAIL OF FARAH MATT HUGHES
As the Salazar storm swirls around him, Sportsmail tracks Mo as he seeks shelter in the Arizona mountains
DUrING the years since Sir Mo Farah missed two drugs tests, to put his place and historic achievements at the London 2012 Olympic Games into question, his memory does not appear to have improved.
In the last few weeks alone the four-time Olympic gold medalist has twice left his phone behind at the Flagstaff Athletic Club, a no frills gym here in northern Arizona charging just £12 for day membership, where Farah is training ahead of next weekend’s Chicago Marathon.
Farah’s identity and achievements would come as a shock to his fellow gym users, an eclectic mix of pensioners playing racketball, businessmen taking in a token post-work gym session and the odd hardy-looking trail runner. Though such anonymity is one of the reasons he is here.
With an altitude downtown of 7,000 feet and easy access to both the 12,000- feet San Francisco Peaks range and endless miles of trails in the Coconino National Forest, Flagstaff has long been a magnet for endurance runners. But in the last few days, in particular, this sleepy student city has brought added advantages for Farah.
While his former coach Alberto Salazar has become a sporting pariah following his four-year ban for drug offences and expulsion from the World Championships in Doha this week — not to mention the many unanswered questions remaining regarding his treatment of other athletes — Farah has been able quietly to go about his business in Flagstaff, sheltered from an on-going storm that could possibly claim more scalps, including senior figures at UK Athletics.
Other than popping into Macy’s european Coffeehouse — ‘voted Flagstaff’s best coffee shop for 10 years running’ — for a cappuccino on his once-a-fortnight day off, Farah has kept himself to himself, enjoying the anonymity of being driven around in a small BMW by his training partner and great friend, the Belgian 10,000metres runner Bashir Abdi. FArAh has spent the last four weeks in Flagstaff as part of his final block of training before tomorrow week’s race in Chicago, where he will be defending the marathon title he won in the city last year. everyone else’s focus will be probing his past relationship with Salazar and gaining a more in-depth reaction to his downfall.
Adding to the sense that the real drama will occur off the road, rather than on it in Chicago, Farah will be racing against his former Nike Oregon Project training partner and friend, Galen rupp, whose association with Salazar is even more long- standing. Beyond a perfunctory three-line statement released on Tuesday in which he expressed relief that the four-year case of the United States AntiDoping Agency (USADA) against Salazar had been concluded, Farah has not addressed his mentor’s downfall, and he was keeping his head down after being tracked to Flagstaff by Sportsmail.
The 36-year-old was also here for a training camp in August, flying home briefly to win his sixth successive Great North run last month before returning to finish his preparations for Chicago. his last long run took place amid sheltered pines in the foothills of the San Francisco Peaks on Thursday, although at almost 30 degrees, it was still warm enough for him to run shirt-less.
Farah has been accompanied on this trip by the ever-present Abdi, his latest coach, Gary Lough, and a couple of friends who have more than justified their presence on the trip by rescuing his phone on at least two occasions.
‘The first time I ran out into the car park to give it back to him,’ a member of staff at Flagstaff Athletic Club explained, ‘and his friend gave me his number in case it happened again. Then the next time he was in here Mo left his phone behind completely, so I had to call his friend to get them to come back.’ IN ADDITION to its historic timber industry and growing reputation as a training hub, Flagstaff is also renowned as the gateway to the Grand Canyon, making it an appropriate base for Britain’s most successful track athlete, given the deep abyss into which UK Athletics have sunk in the light of Salazar’s ban. In
particular, performance director Neil Black is under pressure after having described Salazar as ‘a genius’ and saying he was ‘relaxed’ about his relationship with Farah after detailed allegations against the coach first emerged in June 2015, while UK Athletics have been accused by Salazar’s former assistant-turned-whistleblower, Steve Magness, of presiding over a ‘sham’ investigation which cleared him prematurely.
Farah has not been implicated in Salazar’s ban for trafficking testosterone, breaking rules on infusions and tampering with an anti-doping investigation. But at some point he will have to explain his decision to stand by Salazar for more than two years, until quitting Oregon for London in October 2017, which he said at the time was down to family reasons rather than the USADA investigation. Since leaving the Oregon Project, Farah has spent more time in Flagstaff, where the peace will have given him the opportunity to get his thoughts together. With blue skies and the sun gleaming above the nearby mountains, the sense of space is striking for all visitors arriving from Route 66, where on a rare trip into town last month Farah posed for a photo. IN COMMON with the other endurance athletes who come here — the German Olympic team are regular visitors — Farah has spent the last few weeks taking advantage of Arizona’s unique climatic and geographic features, which he hopes will give him the power and strength required to capitalise upon his natural speed in Chicago. At this time of year the mornings are fresh and cool, but soon give way to searing heat, leading many to seek shelter among the Ponderosa pines of the Coconino Forest which overlooks the city.
One of Farah’s favourite routes takes him into Coconino to Schultz Pass, an eight-mile climb along a largely smooth road to the summit of Mount Elden, a peak of 9,300 feet that is remarkably accessible. While the solitude is awe-inspiring, the gradients are energy-sapping, with bend after bend testing body and mind, with the monotonous climbing in particular providing perfect preparation for a marathon.
Unlike the large field and wild crowds he will experience in Chicago, the only company Farah and his small support team will have encountered in the hills over the last few weeks is the odd hiker, some mountain bikers and wild horses.
At 12,633 feet, Humphreys Peak, 11 miles from Flagstaff, presents an even greater challenge, although its rugged surface is more suited to hikers than runners in any case.
Even the flat routes are not for the faint-hearted in these parts, however, as the road signs make clear. ‘Welcome to Flagstaff, Elevation 6906 Established 1876’, reads one, the first indication of a city equally proud of its height and its history.
Given this altitude, searching for additional inclines is not always necessary or desirable, and another Farah favourite is the long, largely flat path adjacent to Lake Mary Road, a stunning route with mountains one side and the lake on the other.
The vast landscape seems to stretch on forever, much like a marathon in the eyes of a nervous beginner, which was Farah’s status in the event just 18 months ago, and he remains most comfortable on the track. His track work here has taken place at Northern Arizona University’s impressive Lumberjack Stadium, where Abdi has helped keep Farah sharp with some highintensity tempo sessions in case his famous sprint finish is needed in Chicago.
After next weekend, Farah’s longterm goal is the Olympic marathon in Tokyo next year. Beyond that, his legacy is uncertain, with much depending on the continuing fallout from the Salazar case, and how he handles it.
The peace and protection he has enjoyed in Flagstaff will not survive when he arrives in Chicago, where the world’s media will also descend demanding answers. Farah can certainly run, but he cannot hide.