Mo Farah has revealed his daily routine as he trains for the Tokyo Olympics this summer

On a typical day, Farah said, he’ll have a little toast for breakfast, before going out for a 10 or 12 mile run around 9 or 9.30 am. When he has come back and showered, he might answer a few emails before taking a nap. In the afternoon he’ll go for a light jog, covering five or six miles. In total he will usually run around 17 to 18 miles, apart from Sundays when he will often do a long 20 mile run.

At the time of recording, Farah was taking part in a training camp in Flagstaff, Arizona, 7,000 feet above sea level. Farah said a handful of fellow Team GB athletes were due to join him there, including Laura Muir and Andrew Butchart.

Although he is the reigning Olympic champion, Farah still has to qualify for the games at the Müller British Athletics 10,000m Championships in Birmingham on Saturday, June 5.

Asked about his high-mileage training regime, Farah told Wicks, 'You have to be able to put in the work.' 'Anything is possible in life if you condition yourself, condition your body – you can get through it.'

He added: 'With me, I have to run that kind of distance and condition my body. I’m not just going to turn up at the Olympics and try and win off the back of one month, two months, three months – it’s the whole leading up to it. Condition your body, get yourself in the best shape that you can.'

Describing how he maintains his focus, Farah described himself as 'an addict.'

He said, 'When you go out for a run, or when you do a session, you feel that relief – that’s what drives me. Having so many people behind you and knowing you’re doing it for your country, that’s what keeps me going.'

He added, 'I think what keeps me going to this day is 2012 – what I did in 2012 and how it happened – that bit drives me every day.

'Over the years I’ve learned from races and making mistakes – it’s OK to make mistakes. If you get it wrong in a race, it’s OK! As long as you learn what went wrong, it’s easier to fix it' Farah told Wicks.

posted Saturday May 22nd
by Jacob Moreton