SEEING Mo Farah close up and in the flesh proved to be a cathartic moment for Andrew Butchart. It was in a mud-splattered field at last month’s Great Edinburgh XCountry that the Scot lined up for the first time against the man he hails as his inspiration. And it wasn’t quite the nerve-shredding experience he might have expected.
Perhaps it is difficult to retain an otherworldly, regal air when you are battling through the Scottish rain and mud, desperately trying just to stay on your feet, but what Butchart learned that day was that Farah, despite his reputation and success, is just flesh and bone like the rest of us.
The pair will be reunited on Saturday over 3000m when Glasgow’s Emirates Arena hosts the Indoor Grand Prix. The double Olympic gold medallist will undoubtedly be the star of the meet and Butchart has no problem with that.
“Mo deserves all the credit he gets as he’s the best in the world right now at a lot of distances, including 3000m,” said the Stirling-based athlete from his training camp in Tenerife. “So it won’t bother me if he gets all the attention on Saturday as hopefully my time will come.
“I raced against him in Edinburgh at the cross-country and it was good to get over that hurdle, so to speak, as I had never raced him before. I’ve passed that landmark and can get on with things now. You realise he’s just human like the rest of us. He’s always been an inspiration for me as in my opinion he’s one of, if not the, best distance athlete of all time. He proves that on the big stage year in, year out. He’s amazing at staying injury-free and he’s peaking at the right time. If I can emulate anything he has achieved then I’d be very happy.”
Farah does not seem like the most of loquacious of fellows in the public arena and Butchart discovered it was a similar story after they had finished pounding through the mud at Holyrood Park. “I spoke to Mo briefly after the race,” the 24-year-old said. “Nothing too important, just saying ‘well done’ to each other. He’s quite a quiet guy, I think, with people he doesn’t know. That was the first time I had spoken to him. Maybe he’ll come out of his shell a bit the more we get to know each other.”
Saturday’s event will be another milestone along the road that Butchart hopes will eventually lead to the Olympics in Rio. “This is only my second indoor race. I ran indoors last year for the first time at the British Championships and felt it went well considering I hadn’t done it before. So this will be a pretty big step for me. It should be interesting and hopefully it goes OK. I did a taster indoor 3000m at the start of January and got a feel for the track in Glasgow, even though the pace was a lot slower than it will be next weekend. But I liked it. There will be people cheering for Mo but hopefully the crowd will give the Scots a lot of support as well. I’ll be doing my best for them. There will definitely be a good atmosphere and I can’t wait for it.
“I think I have as good a chance of making the Olympics as anyone else in the UK, apart from Farah, of course, who has a guaranteed spot. There are two spaces available and it’s pretty open. Hopefully I’ll run the standards needed over in America this spring and then it’s all just down to the trials and the first two over the line. Fingers crossed but I have faith in myself that I can do it.”
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