Mo Farah: Daily Routine

Frosties for fuel, 193km a week, and lights out by 10—Mo Farah’s routine proves consistency beats flash.

When British long-distance runner and gold medallist Mo Farah failed to qualify the 5000 metres final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics — an event he calls the biggest disappointment of his career — he took stock of everything and began changing his lifestyle.

Farah uprooted himself from Britain, where he had been living since he was 8 years old, leaving his wife, Tania Nell and twin daughters, and moved to Kenya for a training camp in preparation for the London 2012 Summer Olympics.

“I could easily have stayed in the UK with my family in a nice house, but I was willing to take a risk,” he told RadioTimes. Though it was missing the comforts of his home and family, the training camp in Kenya enabled Farah to totally focus on his goal.

“My room is basic: a bed, no TV. I wake up, run, have breakfast, sleep, gym in the afternoon, another run in the evening,” he said, describing his daily routine in Kenya. “That’s it, nothing else. No going to the café, no going for coffee. I just eat, sleep and train. When you get out on the roads and trails, there are big groups of locals running everywhere. They all run with great hunger. They know if they don’t, their families don’t eat.”