The man who took down Mo's mark

MARC SCOTT SPEAKS TO JASON HENDERSON ABOUT BREAKING MO FARAH’S EUROPEAN INDOOR 5000m RECORD AND NAILING THE ALL-IMPORTANT OLYMPIC QUALIFYING MARK.

WHEN Marc Scott clocked an eye-opening 13:08.87 indoors in Boston on February 28, he was delighted to run inside the Olympic qualifying standard of 13:13.50. Breaking Mo Farah’s European indoor record of 13:09.16 was merely an unexpected bonus.

“The record kind of just happened,” he says. “The original goal was always to hit the Olympic standard – 13:13.5. After talking with my coach we thought on a good day 13:10 might be possible but we didn’t know how the race was going to play out.

“A few people mentioned the British record to me and who had it but I didn’t really think about it too much as I really mainly wanted that Olympic standard.

“The last 800m went well and I was shocked when I saw the time at the end which was a good feeling. I didn’t know Mo’s record was also the European record so to get a double whammy was pretty special. I didn’t even know my time was a European record to begin with but it feels a little better when I know it’s one of his!”

Scott is speaking to AW from his base in Portland, Oregon, just across the road from the Nike headquarters, where he does much of his training. After studying at the University of Tulsa and then running for the Bowerman Track Club, he has been based in the United States for a few years now but has not lost his Yorkshire accent.

Being based Stateside has certainly worked for him, though, and his indoor 5000m in Boston is a time that only three other Brits have beaten outdoors. “I had a good build up before Christmas where I stayed healthy and have got some consistent work done,” he says.