It’s dog eat dog as Farah goes head to head with Rupp

THERE was something quite appropriate about the tale Mo Farah told before today’s Chicago Marathon. After spending a chunk of time depicting himself as an underdog in his relatively new business of road racing, a recent training incident illustrated just how dangerous a yappy mongrel can be.

Last July, Farah (right) was settling into his preparations for a fascinating race here that puts him up against his former friend and training partner Galen Rupp. He recalls: ‘I was bitten on the bum by a dog in St Moritz.

‘I had gone over to do block training and as soon as I landed Gary (Lough, his coach) told me to get a run down.

‘I was going around the lake and when I went past this small dog, the dog moved at me. I looked at the guy with the dog but he didn’t do anything. Then on the second lap I paused and I was thinking the guy was going to stop the dog but he didn’t and it bit me on the bum.

‘I didn’t need any stitches but there was blood and I needed an injection. I was so mad that when I went back to the house after my run, I was like, “A dog’s just bitten me, let’s go find this guy” to my training partners. But we couldn’t find him. I wanted to find him and call the police.’

That also dovetails neatly with what Farah wishes to achieve in the Windy City today. Granted, it’s not easy to buy into his selfdescription as an ‘underdog’ when you consider his titles, but neither should his inexperience at the distance be discounted. This race will be only his third trip across 26.2miles, and while he revealed this week that he will ‘definitely’ race the Olympic marathon at Tokyo 2020, it is still interesting to note he has only the eighth quickest time in today’s field at 2:06.21. Rupp, the Olympic marathon bronze medallist and defending champion here, sits only sixth on that list, but it is the showdown between ex-training partners that forms the most compelling narrative. When Farah was asked if Rupp is his friend or rival, Farah, 35, said: ‘Rivals, for sure, but at the same time we say “Hi” and show respect.’

Rupp was reluctant to call himself Farah’s rival on account of his 21-1 losing record in track races against the Brit. And yet it is the American with the greater marathon pedigree, so it will go a long way to proving Farah’s Olympic credentials if he can beat him today.

‘I’ve never raced him in a marathon, but he’s on home soil, he’s got a target on his back,’ Farah said. ‘I like being the underdog.’