- Defending Chicago Marathon champion Mo Farah had a disappointing race on Sunday, finishing eighth with a time of 2:09:58, over four minutes behind winner Lawrence Cherono of Kenya.
- While Farah put himself in contention during the first eight miles, he fell out of the pace before the halfway point.
Mo Farah was well off his goal of defending his Chicago Marathon title on Sunday. The four-time Olympic medalist fell off the pace of the leaders before the halfway point and trailed behind for the remainder of the competition.
He finished eighth overall in 2:09:58, over four minutes behind 2019 Chicago race winner Lawrence Cherono of Kenya, who kicked to win the crown in 2:05:45. At this point in his career, Farah’s fastest marathon is 2:05:11 from his victory at the 2018 Chicago Marathon.
While Farah put himself in contention with the lead pack in the first eight miles, the four-time Olympic champion fell off the low 2:04 pace set by the rabbits well before the halfway point.
While Farah and his former training partner Galen Rupp managed to work together for a couple of miles through the first half, the runners were still about 30 seconds away from the top group led by Dickson Chumba.
At halfway, Farah crossed the marker in 1:02:54 and Rupp followed in 1:02:57.
Watch: Brigid Kosgei sets new world record at the 2019 Chicago Marathon.
At 25K, Bashir Abdi continued to work with Farah as a chase pack, which came through the split in 1:14:54. Rupp was eight seconds behind Farah in 1:15:04.
By the 18-mile mark, Rupp had regained his position with Farah. Together, the competitors crossed the split in 1:27:18.
However after the halfway point, Farah continued to slow down. He covered the 5K split between 25K and 30K in 15:37 and followed the distance with the next 5K in 15:53. The remaining miles continued to be challenging for him.
From 35K to 40K, Farah slowed even more with a 5K split of 16:06, the slowest 5K split of the race. From 40K to the finish, Farah faded still with a final mile of 5:30 and an overall time of 2:09:58. The performance is the slowest marathon of Farah’s career.
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Farah won Chicago last year in a European record of 2:05:11. In April, he finished fifth in the London Marathon in 2:05:39, well behind Eliud Kipchoge’s winning time of 2:02:37.
While Farah said that his performance in London was a disappointment, he used the experience as a learning opportunity. “Having a bad race doesn’t make you a bad athlete,” Farah told Runner’s World in August. “It just means you’ve got to come back and do it again, that’s all.”
To build strength for the marathon’s final miles, Farah and coach Gary Lough focused on keeping his mileage high–around 140 miles per week–while incorporating short, fast intervals on fatigued legs. On September 8, the training showed positive results when the four-time Olympic champion won a record-breaking sixth title at the Great North Run in a half marathon personal best of 59:07.
At the elite athlete press conference on Friday, Farah expressed confidence in his preparation for Chicago.
“Training has gone really well,” Farah said. “We ticked all the boxes. I don’t think I could have done anymore in terms of working hard.”
Farah’s disappointing bid to defend his crown came less than two weeks after Alberto Salazar received a four-year ban from coaching due to anti-doping violations, and his team, the Nike Oregon project, was shut down. Farah had trained with Salazar and the NOP from 2011 to 2017.
At the press conference Friday, he emphasized his distance from the two, saying: “There’s no allegations against me. I have not done anything wrong. Let’s be clear here, it’s about Alberto Salazar and the Oregon Project.”
Taylor Dutch is a writer and editor living in Austin, Texas, and a former NCAA track athlete who specializes in fitness, wellness, and endurance sports coverage. Her work has appeared in Runner’s World, SELF, Bicycling, Outside, and Podium Runner.