Mo Farah: ‘I’m just good at running around in circles’
By Ella Walker, Press Association
Mohamed Farah knows a thing or two about just keeping on going.
Considered the most successful male track distance runner of all time, he holds the world record for the one-hour run and the European record for the outdoor 10,000m, plus British records for the 3,000m and 5,000m. He won the Chicago Marathon in 2018 too.
But even then, with all that experience, he knows exactly what hitting the wall feels like.
“Like the wheels come off!” says the 43-year-old over Zoom, throwing both hands in the air.
“It’s like being in a car, and then suddenly, they’re gone. You go, we’ve got to punch 1, 2, 3, and you’ve got to get that car across the line, it’s so difficult, but it’s all in the mind, as well as physically.”
Having the right support can be the thing that helps you push through it. “Just encourage one another,” he says.
“We’ve all been there and done it, even myself. Whether it’s 5k or the marathon, there’s certain moments in my career where perhaps, if I could talk about or have a little bit more help, that probably made me go a little bit further. I know the difference it makes.”
Born Hussein Abdi Kahin, Farah teamed up with Buxton Natural Mineral Water and mental health charity Mind for this year’s boiling TCS London Marathon as part of their Side-by-Side ‘Sweat and Tears’ collaboration, designed to champion how vital connection, hydration, and movement is in supporting mental wellbeing. It saw Farah join runners at mile 24, one of the toughest points of the 26.2 mile challenge.
“I’ve been there. I am a champion. I was elite. But even myself, I’ve gone through that,” says Farah. “Towards the end, where they are telling themselves, ‘I can’t do it. I’m going to quit,’ all that stuff goes through your mind.”
Not a runner? The wall doesn’t just apply to those in trainers, chugging energy gels. “Everybody has their walls. It’s all individual,” says Farah, noting we all have “certain moments where you are questioning, you are doubting,” and the key is to talk about what you’re struggling with, and lean on family and friends.
He won’t go into his own personal mental health challenges, but will say: “Even for my own story, for myself, without going into it, it’s like, no matter how good we are, how great we are, what we have achieved, we are all human beings.”
Born in the Somali Democratic Republic, in recent years – including on the latest I’m A Celebrity… South Africa ‘all-stars’ series – Farah has talked about how as a child he was a victim of trafficking. Moving to the UK under another child’s name when he was nine, he was forced to work as a domestic servant.
He went on to win gold medals in both the 5,000m and 10,000 on Super Saturday at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and in 2017 was knighted and won Sports Personality of the Year too. His highs have been stratospheric, but the lows can be motivating, he explains.
“You’ve been working for this position, you’ve done it, and you sit in it for a little bit, and it’s a big dip,” he says.
“London 2012, that was the moment for me. It was everything, as a nation, and to win in front of your home crowd in London, particularly. And you do it, and you’re like, ‘Wow’. Then all that’s over.
"Now, the crowd’s gone. Everyone’s gone. It’s just you and you’ve got to put in similar work to what you’ve done to retain [what you’ve achieved].
“In that moment, there is that down, but you’ve got to keep going, and it’s all in the mind. If you’re strong in your mind, the easier it is.”
Farah retired from elite running in September 2023, and now lives with his wife Tania and four children, Rhianna, Aisha, Amani and Hussein, in Doha, Qatar.
These days, “I hit the gym. I’m not running as much. I used to just run and come back, and that was my happy place”. He also dabbles in padel and plays football, including in previous Soccer Aid matches.
“I tell my son, ‘Am I improving?’ He’s like, ‘No,’” says the Arsenal fan, smiling. “It’s about just getting out and feeling good about myself.”
He’s very much at a different stage of his life. “I was lucky enough to have an amazing wife who supported me throughout my career so I could continue to do what I do best. But now, I’ve been involved full on [at home]. It’s not easy,” he says with a laugh.
“Someone said to me, ‘Would you rather run or look after the kids?’ And for me, running is easier. I’d rather do a 15, 16, 17 mile run, because it involves a different mind.
"Being engaged differently, being present, being able to multitask; I’m not sure I’m good at multi-tasking. I’m just good at running around in circles.”
Farah’s definitely not great at doing nothing. “No, it’s not me. I’ve got too much energy. I can’t do that,” he says. “I’ve got to be doing something. I am a big kid.” Which is why, no matter how old he gets, he’ll “continue to keep on moving.”
“Running is like a medicine. For me, it’s feeling good about myself. It helps me be free. It helps me escape things,” he continues.
He isn’t actually too concerned about ageing though. “Often, if you say to yourself, ‘You’re ‘this’ old,’ you become old,” he says. “The reality is, the older you get, the harder it is. That’s all. The body slows down. So if you did a [workout] session today, tomorrow you’re going to be a bit tired. And when you’re younger, you could do a session and come back and bounce. You don’t have that, but as long as you understand it, it’s fine.”
You get the sense he’s very measured and comfortable in himself. There’s a calmness and inner strength to Farah, an emotional resilience that emanates, alongside an infectious optimism. “The reason why I have success, why I’ve crossed that line first more than anyone else and had more fight, is because I’ve always told myself, ‘You’ve always got more than what you think you have,’” he says.
“Your mind will tell you, ‘I can’t do it,’ but if you believe you’ve always got more than what you have, you can go that extra mile. You can push through.”
As part of Buxton’s Side by Side campaign, Buxton Ambassador Mo Farah ran side by side participants of the TCS London Marathon who were running for mental health charity, Mind, to help them push through the mental barrier at mile 24 and get to the finish line.
