by Mo Farah
It was my fifth global outdoor title, making me the most decorated athlete in British history. At the end of it all – at the end of a crazy, crazy twelve months – I was overwhelmed with this feeling of indescribable joy. To have gone into a major competition a year after the Olympics and done it all over again, winning gold at both distances, now decisively proved that London wasn’t just a one-off. For my family, for the people who had supported me and stuck by me through the years, good times and bad, to add the World Championship golds to the Olympic medals meant a lot. I could rightfully claim my place on the list of all-time greats. I couldn’t have done it without my family. My friends. My support team. And the public. To have the entire country behind you at home and in the stadium is such a fantastic feeling. In my career, I never thought I would achieve everything that I have. It just goes to show that anything is possible.
Surprisingly, there were a few critical voices in the media after my double. Some observers claimed that I couldn’t consider myself one of the greatest athletes ever until I had broken world records. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but you can’t have it both ways. My target has always been to win as many medals as I can, both on a personal level and for my country. Records are different. They don’t last. They’re there to be broken. Let’s say you train hard and throw all your effort into breaking a world record. What’s going to happen to it? Your record might stand for one year, or maybe even ten, but sooner or later, someone else is going to come along and beat it. Then you’re a footnote. But no one can ever take an Olympic medal or a world title away from you.
Some people fail to understand that training to win medals involves a different strategy from training to run a faster time. In a championship race you have to combine speed and endurance, you have to work out your tactics and what your rivals are going to do. You have to have every angle covered because you don’t know what others are capable of. When it comes to posting a fast time, though, you can simply say, ‘I’m going to go for it,’ and you don’t have to worry about tactics or rivals or anything else. You can focus purely on teaching your body to run at a particular pace.
Now the 2013 World Championships are out of the way, there are no major track championships for me until 2015. For the next year I’ll be able to focus on running faster times. Then let’s see how fast I can push it. But if it comes down to a choice, I’ll always choose medals over records. I want titles. I want to be up there on the podium, gold medal hanging around my neck, draped in a Union Jack, the national anthem playing, doing my country proud. As long as I can do that, I’ll be happy.
Looking ahead, my target is the marathon. The plan with Alberto has always been for me to step up to the 26.2 mile distance in 2014, working my way up by running half-marathons. The type of person I am, I don’t like standing still. I like to try different things. The marathon is something new, and I want to know what it feels like to run it. It’ll be a different type of pain. I’ve tasted the pain of running at 5000 and 10,000 metres on the track – now I want to taste the pain of running a marathon. Running it is all about testing my limits, pushing myself while I still have the chance. The motivation to do that doesn’t come in the form of a cheque. It doesn’t come from your agent or your coach or your sponsors. It comes from you and you alone. I want to be able to do things that I feel good about. All the miles I do, all the training and recovery, pushing my body week in, week out: it all comes down to me. I’m the one who has to make that effort, that sacrifice.
The London Marathon is the biggest challenge for me in 2014. I’m looking forward to running through the streets of London, soaking up the love of the crowd. Dave Bedford, together with Hugh Brasher, his successor as Race Director, and the rest of the team at London Marathon always put on a great show. Best of all, I know it’s going to be really tough. I won’t be running against a few easy guys. The race is going to be loaded. The pressure is on for me to get my training right. To tell you the truth, I can’t wait.
And beyond that – who knows? I try not to think that far ahead. Sure, there are things I’m looking forward to when the time comes for me to finally call it a day. I’ll catch up with friends I haven’t seen for too long. I’ll chill out. Maybe do some travelling. I’ve been to loads of countries, but all I’ve seen of most of them is a running track and a hotel. I get on a plane. Fly some place. Get off. Check in at the hotel. Sleep. Rest. Eat. Run. Recover. Back to the hotel. Sleep. Get on another plane. Different countries for me just mean different hotel rooms. They all start to seem kind of the same, apart from the language of the sitcoms on the TV. If you ask me what China is like, I couldn’t tell you. I haven’t seen the Great Wall or the Forbidden City. At least I’ve got my laptop, so I can Skype my family while I’m away from home. Otherwise I’d be lost.
There’s one other thing I’m looking forward to doing once I retire: playing football. I love the game, yet I haven’t been able to play for years. I wouldn’t change anything for what I’ve achieved as an athlete, but at the same time, I have missed kicking a ball around a pitch, putting tackles in, running down the flanks. When I’m done, I’ll put on a bit of weight and just enjoy life. I like the idea of getting back into Sunday League.
One thing I won’t do when I retire is run. When that day comes, I’m done. I’ve run so many thousands of miles. That’s it. No more running. Just the football, and maybe the odd bit of boxing. Having said that, retirement is a looooooong way away for me. I try not to think that far ahead. There’s still so much I want to do in my career. There are more championships to compete in, more races to run, more medals to be won for my country. There’s the World Championships in Beijing in 2015; the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016; the marathon. I just want to keep pushing it and do well because, as an athlete, you know this moment isn’t going to last for ever.
My faith helps to keep me grounded. Take Ramadan, for example. I’m not about to adopt the attitude of, ‘I’m an Olympic champion, I’m not doing that now.’ I have never looked at myself as better than other people. I expect to be judged just the same as anyone else. Islam teaches you to be thankful for the things you have, to be charitable and kind, not to be resentful over the things you don’t have. Whether something good or bad happens, you still thank Allah for everything he has given you. At the same time, I would never wish to impose my religion on someone else. In my view, religion is a private, personal thing. What you believe is what you believe. It’s not for me to decide what someone else should believe in and, as much as possible, I keep my beliefs to myself. I hate the idea of imposing my views on someone else. It’s important to respect everyone’s beliefs, even if you don’t agree with them.
A lot of it comes down to education. At school I was in a minority and marked out for treatment by some of the other kids. Because I was known as the athlete, I escaped the worst of it. I imagine it was worse for some of the other kids. Thankfully, things have improved dramatically since those days, although it’d be a lie to say that racism has completely disappeared. I’m regularly stopped and interrogated by customs in the US, and as a general rule of thumb, I need two hours when catching a flight connection because that’s how long it takes me to get through immigration. As soon as the name ‘Farah’ flashes up on the screen, everyone’s on alert. Tania gets stopped even when she’s travelling without me, purely because she now has a Somali-sounding surname.
Changing perceptions takes time. Parents can do their bit by encouraging their kids to make friends with people from other cultures and backgrounds. That way they’re less likely to be prejudiced. For me, speaking as a kid who moved from one culture to another, when I’m walking down the street, I don’t see myself as black, I’m just Mo. I don’t judge people by the colour of their skin. I just see people. At the end of the day, everyone bleeds the same.
I’m trying to do my bit to change perceptions. In the past few years there’s been a lot of negative coverage of Somalia and Somali people: the gangs, the civil war. That’s started to chan
ge thanks to the success stories of people from Somali backgrounds, such as the writer and journalist Rageh Omaar and the singer K’Naan. I’d like to think that my achievements have played a part too. The country has a transitional government now and is starting to rebuild, but that will take time. In early 2013 the new Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, called me to ask me to move back there as part of a drive to get Somali people living elsewhere to return home and help rebuild the country after decades of war and devastation. For now, my life is in Britain and the US. My family is here. My friends, my career. And whenever I run, I’m doing both Britain and Somalia proud. Even though I represent another country, Somali people still take great joy in seeing me win. The country has never had someone achieve what I’ve achieved in my lifetime. I hope that, in my own small way, I can help create a more positive image of the country of my birth.
One of the reasons that I decided to write this book was so that I could open people’s eyes and make them see that if you set your mind to a task and graft at it really, really hard, then you can go a long way. When I was new to Britain I was distracted; I didn’t know how things worked and I got into trouble. I did things that, looking back now, I can say, ‘I shouldn’t have done this or that.’ But at the time, you’re just a kid. You don’t know any better. I had to make those mistakes and learn from them because no one else was going to teach me.
Most importantly, I have my three girls. I have my wife. I have my family. That matters even more to me than being double Olympic champion or double World Champion. When this is all over, when the races are done, I’m looking forward to spending more time with my family. I have this dream that when I stop running, Hassan will be there. His family living next to my family. His kids playing with my kids. Tania and Hoda joking around. My mum will be there too. Me and Hassan causing trouble. All of us together.
I’m looking forward to that day already.
CAREER STATISTICS
Prepared by Peter Matthews
Mohamed Farah
Born: 23 March 1983, Somalia
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Club: Nike Oregon Project
UK Clubs: Borough of Hounslow 1995–2000; Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow 2001–4; Newham & Essex Beagles 2005–
Coach: Alberto Salazar
Management: PACE Sports Management
Key to abbreviations:
+ = intermediate time in longer race
A = Altitude over 1000 metres
AAA = Amateur Athletics Association
AUS = Australia
BEL = Belgium
BL(P) = British Athletics League (Premiership)
BMC = British Milers Club
CAU = Counties Athletic Union
CC = Cross country
CHN = China
CP = Crystal Palace
CRO = Croatia
CZE = Czech Republic
dnf = did not finish
er = en route
ESP = Spain
ETH = Ethiopia
FIN = Finland
FP = Finsbury Park
FRA = France
GER = Germany
h = heat
Ha = Haringey
He = Hendon
i = indoors
IAAF = International Association of Athletics Federations
Int = Intermediates
IRL = Ireland
ITA = Italy
J = Juniors or Junior race
JPN = Japan
KEN = Kenya
KOR = Korea
m = metres
MON = Monaco
N&EB = Newham & Essex Beagles
NED = Netherlands
NJL = National Junior League
NOR = Norway
NZL = New Zealand
OS = Olympic Stadium
PH = Parliament Hill
POL = Poland
POR = Portugal
Rd = Road
RR = Road Relay
SLO = Slovakia
SP = Southwark Park
St = Steeplechase
SUI = Switzerland
SWE = Sweden
TUR = Turkey
U = Under
WL = West London
WSEH = Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow Athletics Club
YAL = Young Athletes League
Personal Bests
Road race bests
Annual Progression
Major International Championship results
National titles won
AAA: U15 3000m 1997; U17 3000m 1999; U23 5000m 2003; Indoor 3000m 2003 & 2005
UK: 5000m 2007 & 2011; Indoor 3000m 2007; 1500m 2009; 10k Rd 2011; Junior CC 2001
National Cross Country: U17 1999 & 2000; U20 2003
English Schools: Junior 1500m & CC 1997; Intermediate 3000m 1998; CC & 1500m 1999
UK Records – Outdoors
(Text in bold indicates this is also a European record.)
UK Records – Indoors
British Top Ten Annual Merit Rankings
World Merit Rankings
5000m: 1st 2011, 2012 and 2013
10,000m: 2nd 2011, 2012 and 2013
Year-by-year Race Record
INDEX
A
Abdalla, Ali
Adams, Tony
Addis Ababa
Aden, Jama
adidas
Adlington, Rebecca
Adnan
Akkas, Halil
Alamirew, Yenew
Albuquerque
Ali, Abdi
Almelo
Amina, Grandma (MF’s grandma)
MF and siblings move in with
moves to the Netherlands
Anniversary Games (2013)
Antibo, Salvatore
aqua-jogging
Arsenal
MF is invited to watch Arsenal play
sends messages of support to MF
Adnan
Aviva International Match
2009 event
2012 event
B
Balding, Clare
Banks, Tony
Barcelona, European Championships (2010)
Barre, Siad
Barsosio, Sally
Beaverton
Bedfont Town
Bedford, Dave
distance running
MF considers marathon running
at London Marathon
Bedford, Tom
friendship with MF
Potchefstroom training camp
jumps off Kingston Bridge
Beijing
Olympic Games (2008)
World Championships (2015)
Bekele, Kenenisa
Beijing Olympics (2008)
Berlin World Championships (2009)
world record holder
Daegu World Championships (2011)
Prefontaine Classic Diamond League (2012)
London Olympics (2012)
winning the ‘double-double’
Bekele, Tariku
Osaka World Championships (2007)
Beijing Olympics (2008)
Diamond League (2010)
London Olympics (2012)
Belgium
World Cross Country Championships (2001)
KBC Nacht of Athletics (2006)
Belgrave Harriers
Benjamin, Tim
Bergkamp, Dennis
Berlin, World Championships (2009)
Bett, Mark
Bezabeh, Alemayehu
Barcelona European Championships (2010)
Bideau, Nic
Bile, Abdi
Birchfield Harriers
Birgen, Bethwell
Birmingham, Collis
Birmingham Grand Prix (2012)
Birmingham
Birmingham indoor race (2012)
Diamond League (2012)
British Grand Prix (2013)
Black, Neil ‘Blackie’
MF’s knee problems
MF’s Achilles tendonitis
>
London Olympics (2012)
BoClassic International (2010)
Bolt, Usain
Bolzano, BoClassic International (2010)
Bono
Bordukov, Eduard
Borough of Hounslow Athletics Club
MF at
merges with Windsor Slough & Eton
Boston
Boston Marathon (2001)
Boston one-mile race (2012)
Boyle, Danny
Brasher, Hugh
British Grand Prix
2012 event
2013 event
British Milers Club
British Olympic Futures camp, Florida
British World Cross Country Trial (2010)
Brown, Taras
Brunel University
Brussels, European Cross Country Championships (2008)
Bupa 10 kilometre road race
2012 race
2013 race
Bushy Park
Bydgoszcz, European Junior Championships (2003)
C
Cameron, David
Canova, Renato
Carvalho, Florian
Chatsworth Primary School
Chepkok, Vincent, Diamond League (2010)
Cheruiyot, Vivian
Chile, World Junior Athletics Championships (2000)
Chin, Darren
Choge, Augustine
Melbourne Commonwealth Games (2006)
Aviva International Match (2012)
Istanbul World Indoor Championships (2012)
Chojecka, Lidia
Clarke, Tom
Coe, Seb
Cole, Carlton
Commonwealth Games (2006)
Corden, James
county championships
Cram, Steve
Cross Country Championships, English Schools
1996 event
1997 event
The Cube
Curbishley, Allison
D
Daegu, World Championships (2011)
Daegu Stadium, Daegu
Daily Mail
Daley, Tom
Dan Valley Stadium, Sheffield