Mo Farah insists he can break the British record when he tackles his first London Marathon on April 13 – if he gets the same support he did at London 2012.
Double Olympic champion Farah will be making his marathon debut in London and in preparation he has been watching re-runs of his 10,000m and 5,000m gold medal-winning races at the Games two years ago.
Despite the 26.2 mile course being something brand new to Farah, the 31-year-old is still aiming high and is aiming to break Steve Jones’ 29-year-old record of 2hr 7min 13sec.
And the long-distance specialist says it’s possible – but only with some home support.
“My first aim will be to break the British record – with the public behind me I believe I can do it,” said Farah.
“I would be disappointed if I didn’t break the British record – you’ve got to set yourself a target, and it’s stood for a long time – and then we’ll see if we can push it any lower.
“It sends shivers down my spine when I watch the DVD of my races at London 2012 – I can relate each moment to what was going through my mind and how it felt. “No one really knows what it’s like, and you have to move on, but it stays in the memory. It will be there forever.
“Building up to my first marathon it helps me, knowing I could handle the expectation, but obviously 26.2 miles is a completely different ball game for me.
“Once you become a champion, you want that feeling again, and that’s what drives me. Later on, I want to be able to look back and think I did my country proud, and they can never take those major championship medals away from me.”
© Sportsbeat 2014