Mo Farah faces speed test at Kelvin Hall in quest for double Olympic glory

SPRINTING as fast as you can, while staying as relaxed as you can. It’s a difficult balance to achieve, but one which Mo Farah thinks will be the key to Olympic glory.

It is rare these days for a long-distance race to be decided on endurance alone, and Farah is convinced that in London his events, the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, will come down to the last lap. Which is why, at today’s Aviva International Match in Glasgow, he will be making a rare outing over a mere 1,500m.

Farah, the 2011 world champion over 5,000m and runner-up at 10,000m, still hopes to double up at those distances at the Olympics. But to be at his sharpest then, he thinks he will have to start honing his speed now, which is why he is turning out at the Kelvin Hall at a distance in which he has not competed for three years.

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“It was my coach Alberto Salazar’s idea to race the shorter distance this weekend, as he thinks it will help me to improve my speed,” Farah said yesterday. “We’re very aware the Olympics could boil down to one final sprint for the line, so it’s essential I get the speed work into my legs now. It’s going to come down to point-something of a second, and I think over that last lap I’ll need to run 51 seconds, or 52 for sure, to win gold.”

Farah has run under 50 seconds for 400m before all right, but that was in a club relay, which unlike the 10,000 did not involve running 24 laps of the track first. And, perhaps more importantly, that race was run without the pressure of a capacity home crowd willing him on to win.

That is the kind of pressure, added to the small matter of five or six opponents breathing down your neck, which can make an athlete tense up and lose vital split-seconds. Hence the attempt at finding a balance between speed and relaxation.

“You have to learn to relax, but it’s hard when you’ve got guys behind you,” Farah admitted. “The race can be lost mentally if you’re not ready. Coming down the last 50 metres I hope the crowd will make a difference and I can use it in a positive way.

“I’ve been working on shortening my stride for the sprint, because when you’re sprinting you want to be more upright with short strides, and I’ve got that long, loping stride. I’m trying to learn from the sprinters, and we’re doing a lot more weights and more explosive stuff.

“Alberto’s not afraid to try anything, but he believes in technique more than anything else. I’ve learned to relax my arms, and I’ve lost that rocking from side to side.

“When you rock and roll you are wasting energy. If you can run as straight a line as possible, that’s the thing.”

Although the ideal for the 28-year-old will be to win both events, he plans to do in London what he did last year in Daegu at the world championships: run the 10,000, make an honest assessment of the shape he is in, and only then decide if the 5,000 is feasible. “If your legs are not right it’s hard, but hopefully the 10 will not take too much out of me. It is possible [to double up], but you can’t get carried away.

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“Last year was a very good year for me obviously, and it was a dream come true to come home from the world championships with two medals. I had always wanted to become a world champion, so it was great to make that happen. The Olympics are completely different, but I just have to keep on trying to do what I have been doing and not put too much pressure on myself.

“I don’t seem to feel it too much. I do try and take it one race at a time. If I can avoid the pressure building up then I will look forward to it. I will just have to relax at times this year to help myself.”

Although it was at the shorter event that Farah became world champion, if forced to choose just one in which to compete in London, he admitted he would opt for those 25 gruelling laps of the track. “The 10 is quite a long way. But I’ll take it.”

Still, while he understands why people want to talk about the Olympics. Farah is loath to look that far ahead – he recently confessed to having asked Paula Radcliffe what the dates of the Games were, because he genuinely did not know. He would rather talk about today’s race, even though claiming a win in it against former Commonwealth champion Augustine Choge looks even tougher to achieve than an Olympic victory.

“I have good memories of the Kelvin Hall. I set a British record here in the past, but this time it is something different,” he added.

“It won’t be easy. I’m facing a strong opponent in Augustine Choge, but I’m looking forward to it very much. It should be a good race with a sellout crowd. I want to win, but it’s not as easy as ‘Mo should win’. I’ll see what I can do. I’ve come straight from Kenya – I flew back on Thursday. I wasn’t training for the 1,500m there, I was covering all the angles.”

Farah, who was born in neighbouring Somalia, was in Kenya to attend the Team GB training camp. He has been going there for the past four years, and has left a good impression on the locals, who know a talented distance runner when they see one.

“They’re just really nice people, very welcoming,” he said. “They know how hard I work. They show me great respect.”

FIVE TO WATCH IN GLASGOW

HANNAH ENGLAND

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Britain’s world 1,500m silver medallist enjoyed a spectacular rise last year and hopes to get 2012 off to a flying start. “The silver medal has given me so much confidence – I really do believe in myself now and I’m ready to push on,” said the 24-year-old, who went from tenth in Europe to second in the world in 2011.

KIM COLLINS

The former 100m world champion from St Kitts & Nevis runs in the 60m, and captains the Commonwealth Select side against the USA, Germany, Russia and home favourites Great Britain & Northern Ireland. “I’ve told the guys they have to win it,” he said. “I want that trophy.”

DANIELLE CARRUTHERS

The USA captain and world silver medallist plans to use today as a first step towards dethroning Australia’s Sally Pearson as the planet’s leading 100m hurdler.

MO FARAH

Great Britain’s world champion over 5,000m trades down to 1,500m with the aim of sharpening his speed. He faces tough competition from 2006 Commonwealth champion Augustine Choge of Kenya.

CLAIRE GIBSON

The Scot makes her GB debut over 800m, having replaced the injured Jenny Meadows. “I would have been running hills on Saturday morning and another run later, so I might well just have caught the event on the television,” she said. “We had tickets, though, and now my parents will be there to watch me.”

• The Aviva International Match is live on BBC 1 from 1.30pm today. All tickets for the event are sold out.