Sunday 12 August 2012

The Day I Ran with Mo Farrah

At the end of May I did the Bupa London 10 000, through the streets of London. Before the race as we all gathere, all talk was of one runner, Mo Farrah.

What I love about running is its inclusivity. It doesn't matter where you come, unless you are seeking Olympic selection, it's all about personal bests, about the buzz, and for a lot of us, about fundraising.

I am not a runner. I was always the slowest at school, cumbersome, wheezy and most unathletic. The irony was, I always enjoyed PE, and playing sport and attempting to run, but found that I struggled. It seems amazing now that more and more children are asthmatics, that in my class I was the only one.

Back to our Mo. Mo finished that race well over an hour before me. He passed me though.....running the other way doing his cool down, looking like he could quite easily do another 10k! When I was watching his runs in the Olympics I just felt so proud! And proud too that I have got off my considerable rear end and done a 10k too, if not as fast and in as much style as our Mo!

I think Mo captures our imagination because he's a genuinely humble, lovely guy. He came to this country with nothing. He's worked hard to overcome a language barrier, he's also overcome bullying too, I heard a very interesting interview by his PE teacher from school, about how he tried to get him running instead of hanging around getting into trouble, and recognised his talent.

Mo has gone on to succeed in the 10, 000k and the 5, 000k and also to establish his Mo Farrah Foundation
working in  East Africa.

Like most of the country, I have been held captive by the Olympics. I have loved every minute of it, and it's been amazing to see London light up, and come together. It's also been amazing to hear some truly inspirational stories of triumph.

I can't wait for the Paralympics, where I am sure even more amazing stories will come out.

So thank you Mo, and all the other incredible athletes who devote their time to training, competing and inspiring us all.




1 comment:

  1. Great post! I, like you, have taken up running (despite HATING cross country at school) and I was completely in awe of the fact that Mo Farrah ran the 10k in such a short space of time. I think I figured out that it takes me another 40 minutes to finish behind his time. He is truly inspirational - having come from nothing but doesn't it just show how important good teachers are too or he could have gone off the rails?

    ReplyDelete