If you were devising the perfect preparation to run a marathon, fasting during the day and training through the middle of the night would not come into the equation.
Last Sunday, however, Mahamed Mahamed proved that even the most unusual training can work as he booked his place at Paris 2024 by finishing fourth at the London Marathon.
The 26-year-old was racing just the second marathon of his career, but produced an exceptional time of 2:07.05, making him the third fastest Briton ever over the distance.
That is all the more remarkable when you consider that Mahamed is a practising Muslim who spent most of his time preparing for the race fasting for Ramadan, even while training at altitude.
Difficult time
“For London, Ramadan came at a difficult time for me,” he explained.
“I cannot complain about Ramadan but it came in the preparation of my main marathon goal. It was really hard for me.
“I was training at altitude for six weeks, the first three weeks were alright but as soon as Ramadan came, it affected me.
“I had to sleep during the day time, up to midday, my nutrition changed, my sleeping, my training. If I was doing double sessions, I had to wait until sunset before I could eat and then I would train at midnight.
“It was quite difficult to judge what kind of food I’d got when I was running close to sunset, my stomach was really empty, there was nothing in it so I struggled a lot. I wasn’t expecting to do as well as I did on Sunday. I did well, getting a PB and the Olympic time is amazing.”
Mahamed is quick to stress that he is willing to make those sacrifices, choosing a training camp in Ifrane, Morocco, specifically because the lights are left on until two in the morning to allow runners to train during the holy month.
Even so, considering the far from optimal conditions in which he prepared for London, there is no telling just how quick Mahamed can go.
In Paris he will join Emile Cairess, who finished third on Sunday, and Phil Sesemann, with Mo Farah’s British record in his sights.
Mahamed story
There is symmetry to the fact that Farah is the man Mahamed is chasing. Like Britain’s greatest-ever long-distance runner, Mahamed also grew up in east Africa before moving to the UK.
He was 14 when he left Ethiopia back in 2011, and it was watching Farah’s heroics in London that inspired Mahamed to take up the sport.
More than a decade on, that inspiration has led him all the way to the Olympics.
He said: “It’s sunk in now, I’ve relaxed a little bit because I was stressed and wanted to get the time, I wanted to go to Paris. I’ve been working for the last 12 years to be an Olympian, to get the Olympic time and to represent Team GB is an incredible honour.
“After London 2012 was when I started running. I watched Mo Farah and Kenenisa Bekele (the Ethiopian great who finished second in the 2024 London Marathon) race on the track, they were insane.
“I watched Jessica Ennis and all the best athletes in the world competing in London and that is when I started running after school. It’s been 12 years since I started. Now I’m one of the athletes who has qualified for Team GB for the Paris Olympics, it’s overwhelming, it’s something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
An Olympic dream more than a decade in the making is about to become a reality. And without the training restrictions in Paris, expect Mahamed to go even quicker.
Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024