Farah aims to put trauma behind him as he targets Edinburgh glory

A not-unfamiliar tale, of course, for anyone who has ever survived a stag weekend in the vicinity of Temple Bar. However, the only liquids imbibed by the Great Britain international were being inserted via a syringe, treatment necessary after he collapsed over the line at the European cross-country championships.

Only when he regained full consciousness did Farah realise he had plundered the silver medal for his troubles. "With 300 metres to go, I couldn't see anything," he recalls. "I was seeing stars. My mind was just about crossing the line but I don't even remember it. I was out of it for about six minutes. An hour later, I woke up in the tent, with a drip in my arm, and was thinking, 'Where the hell am I?'"

It was a frightening reminder of the limits of human exertion, even for someone who – while addressing a group of pupils yesterday at Tynecastle High School in Edinburgh – acknowledged that to challenge for middle-distance supremacy, it's necessary "to run as many miles in a week as most people drive".

Farah will trust for a less traumatic experience in Holyrood Park this afternoon, despite the abundant snow and ice that will add an intriguing ingredient to the Bupa Great Edinburgh International. The 26-year-old Londoner faces a domestic field in the four-kilometre curtain-raiser, looking for early signs that 2010 might provide the elevation among the sport's African elite that he so clearly craves.

Coming second in Ireland and winning a European indoor title last year, he admits, were not the targets he set 12 months ago. Not after the sacrifices made to live and train in Ethiopia amid those who he hoped to best. It rankles, certainly. Yet the creed within his training group dictates living only in the present.

"If something goes wrong, or doesn't work, you do feel it and you analyse it," he reveals. "At the same time, you have to move on. But the Kenyans make it so easy. They have this philosophy that 'today is today.' And if you ask them what happened yesterday, or how their race went, it doesn't matter."

In coming seventh at the world championships in Berlin last August, Farah illustrated how close he is to a bright tomorrow. His presumed rivals see it too. "If he continues in the right way, trying his best in every race, he can achieve medals," three-time Olympic champion, Kenenisa Bekele, who headlines today's nine kilometre event, offered last night: "Why should Mo not be able to do this? He will be a contender to be a world or Olympic champion. You cannot rule him out."

Even Bekele had to endure the knocks before achieving redemption. "Then he came out and started winning and breaking world records," Farah said. "I've known him since he was young and we know athletics is not something where you can come out and win. You have to keep improving. I am getting stronger and I believe that I am going in the right direction. It's nice of him to believe in me and I can learn from him."

The leading Scottish contender in Edinburgh may share that sense of possibility after her own disappointments in 2009. Steph Twell faces Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba and European cross winner Hayley Yelling in the women's 6K, looking for signs that she can match their achievements.

Twell, who finished fourth last year, believes she can produce a big performance despite having just undertaken a tough competition in Italy. The world junior 1500m gold-medallist raised eyebrows by competing in the Campaccio meeting on Wednesday, finishing fourth after fading towards the end of the 6K race. However, she is confident she can perform well when racing over the same distance today

in what will be her first outing on Scottish soil since switching nationality from England.

"I ran on Wednesday because I had a solid block of preparation behind me particularly over Christmas and I felt, after the volume of training I'd done, it was time to get my legs turning," Twell said of the run on the outskirts of Milan.

"Now I'm just looking forward to running in Edinburgh, particularly as I've never raced against Dibaba before. People have high expectations of me so I need to get more international exposure and start to mix it regularly with the likes of her. I'm excited about the race."