LONDON, United Kingdom, Apr 17 – British athletics great Mo Farah admitted Tuesday he faces an uphill task to win Sunday’s London marathon with the likes of two-time winner Eliud Kipchoge in the field but says he will fight for a podium place.

The 35-year-old Somalia-born runner — who twice achieved the 5,000-10,000m Olympic double — said one bonus for his third attempt is that he no longer has to think about conserving energy for a track campaign.

Farah, who stopped at the halfway point in the 2013 race and finished eighth in 2014, retired from the track at the end of last season after just missing out on a third successive world championship 5km-10km double in London.

“It’s a great feeling not to have the same pressure as I do on the track,” Farah told a pre-race press conference.

“If the guys set off at world-record pace, I’ll go with them, why not? A win would be amazing for me. It’s going to be different but every race I go into I aim to fight for a podium place.”

Farah, whose decision to not train full-on for the 2014 London Marathon paid off as he went on to win European gold at 5km and 10km, said he had mapped out a strategy for the race.

“My aim is to stick to my own plan,” said Farah. “The team at the London Marathon have put together an amazing field with guys like Eliud Kipchoge and Daniel Wanjiru.

“I’m only ranked 27th, so I just have to stick to my plan and see what happens.”

Farah, now living in London after splitting from controversial US coach Alberto Salazar, said he had no regrets about switching to the road even though he cast an envious glance at the competitors in the distance events at the Commonwealth Games.

“I watched the Commonwealth Games and I wondered whether I could have done that double (5,000m and 10,000m),” he said.

“Maybe. But as an athlete you have to set yourself new challenges. You have to enjoy what you do.”

AFP