Farah: Helps out with training

Getting people into another sport is so hard, but that's what we have to do. We have to get people into athletics through schools and spend a lot of time promoting it and developing it.

Mo Farah
Quotes of the week

Long-distance runner Mo Farah is confident Charles van Commenee can propel British athletics towards glory but feels it will take time before the nation reaps rewards.

The 50-year-old Dutchman was appointed the new head coach of UK Athletics this week with the aim of creating a golden era in time for London 2012.

Van Commenee replaces Dave Collins, who left the now scrapped post of performance director following Great Britain's poor track and field showing at the Beijing Olympics, in which they just fell short of a modest target of five medals.

But Farah insists Collins can't be considered a failure and hopes the new man at the helm lives up to his reputation of being a no-nonsense - yet highly effective - coach.

"I think Dave Collins did change a lot," said Farah. "At the major championships he was straightforward, didn't beat around the bush and told you how it is. And that's what you need.

"I hope van Commenee is the same. If you've performed rubbish you need to be told.

"I don't think it will take months for him to change things, it's more long-term and could take years. But he's a great coach and I believe he can improve us once he's put everything in place.

"If he starts everything off now and keeps working at it, I think we'll succeed at London 2012."

Change in direction

Farah believes more funding isn't necessarily the answer and instead thinks the country would have a better chance of producing stars if promising youngsters were encouraged to ditch their football boots for running spikes.

The Somali-born 25-year-old, whose talents as a potential running star were spotted while playing football for his school in Feltham, also wants his sport to be given more media attention outside Olympic year.

"Funding helps slightly but at the same time it doesn't help when our main sport is football. Everyone plays football, everyone talks about football and every day football is on television.

"That's the problem. Getting people into another sport is so hard, but that's what we have to do.

"We have to get people into athletics through schools and spend a lot of time promoting it and developing it.

"I remember back in the day the news was interrupted when Seb Coe broke a world record - when is that going to happen in athletics now? Is it ever going to happen?

"But at the same time for the media to show more coverage, we must provide better performances and break world record and British records week in week out.

"It's hard but with London 2012 coming up this is what we have to do to get youngsters involved."

Farah appreciates how sports like cycling, in which Britain ruled the world during the Olympics, have picked up a lot more public interest this year but insists there is nothing superior to the challenge of athletics.

"I believe athletics is the hardest sport ever. British cycling, for example, is doing well but there's not as many countries truly competing at it. In athletics every country wants to do well at it in the Olympics.

"For us to get a medal is so hard because there are so many people who are good at what they do.

"But this isn't an excuse - we have to step it up. We are improving but it just takes time."

Self-improvement

The European 5,000 metres silver medallist was widely expected to at least reach the final in Beijing but he fell short by finishing a disappointing sixth in his heat.

Although he admits it was a crushing blow, Farah is eager to get his career back on track.

The 2006 European Cross Country champion said: "As an athlete it was quite tough for me this year. My aim was to go to Beijing, I got there but unfortunately didn't do as well as I'm capable.

"I was very disappointed about that. The Olympics only comes around once every four years and I got it wrong. It just doesn't get any worse but as an athlete you just have to deal with these things."

It was Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele who stormed home for 5,000m gold in an Olympic record time of 12 minutes 57.82, having captured the 10,000m title earlier in the Games, and Farah hopes he can one day get close to such levels of performance.

"It makes you just realise how good he is and that's it's possible to run so incredibly. I want to be like him and train as hard as him.

"But a lot of things need to change. This year I don't think I peaked at the right time and a few weeks after the Olympics (at the Memorial Van Damme meeting in Brussels) I finished fourth with a personal best.

"If I had done that in Beijing I would have been OK. I have to move on and keep training and get ready for next year's World Championships. That's so important now and that's what I must focus on now.

"The lottery funding enables me to keep training and get ready for the winter with my coaches, who are always there for me. As long as I can do this I will improve."

During the Olympics, former athletes such as Brendan Foster openly criticised the state of British middle and long distance running but Farah maintains there is some light at the end of the tunnel and that we must remain patient.

"It doesn't affect me because I know what I'm capable of and I'm disappointed with myself. I'm not happy to run like that.

"Unfortunately we just don't have enough talented youngsters and athletes like Seb Coe or Steve Ovett at the moment. We do have a young team with the likes of Michael Rimmer, myself and Lisa Dobriskey but we need a lot more.

"We are working towards it but you can't suddenly expect everyone to come good."

Training tips

Farah was speaking at a training session for media ahead of the inaugural EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon 'Race Against Climate Change', which takes place on Sunday 26 October 2008, and he's keen to pass on some valuable tips for those who will be taking part in the race.

He said: "Nutrition is the most important thing the night before and you must get those carbohydrates on board. Make sure you warm up and don't go off too hard.

"You've got to start steady and work you're way through otherwise to go hard and die is very painful.

"If you're going to run this half marathon, practice by running half of that and then ease off. You can't be tired going into the race because it will make life much harder on the big day."