INSIDE MO ABDIN'S MINDSET AHEAD OF SEVILLE

Published: 13/02/2026 | By: Alex Courbat

We caught up with Mo Abdin 48 hours out from the Seville Marathon. What followed was a voice note from a busy airport, a brutally honest take on pre-race nerves, and a 6:30am tempo run invite that landed in our group chat the day before he's due to race 26.2 miles. This is elite mindset, unfiltered.

Seville is fast. One of the flattest marathon courses in Europe, mild February weather, electric atmosphere – this is PB territory. That’s not why Mo Abdin’s here, though. This time around, Mo's not racing for himself. He's pacing a mate. And before anyone assumes that means a leisurely under around Spain’s winter sun – it doesn't.

"It's not a pace I can just wake up and run," he says. "I have to be ready."

Most runners spend marathon week with their feet up, carb-loading and trying to stay calm. A couple of shakeout runs, maybe. Lots of time on the sofa. Mo's been hammering high mileage and fast sessions all week. And he's not done yet – while putting this piece together, he pinged the team WhatsApp asking if anyone fancied a tempo run at 6:30am tomorrow. Two days before he runs 26.2 miles.

That’s because he's mid-block for a bigger race later in the season, so there's no taper. But that doesn't mean Seville gets treated like a throwaway. "I still have to sleep well, eat well, look after myself," he says. "All the same boxes need ticking. It's still a marathon."

There's a misconception that pacing is easy – cruising along at half-effort while someone else does the suffering. Not quite. When you pace someone, you carry their race. Their months of early starts and soggy long runs. Their target. Get it wrong – go out too hot, lose focus, misjudge the splits – and you've blown it for them. That weight doesn't lift.

Mo and his guy have history though. He paced him in Tokyo. They train together, run the same routes, share the same rhythm. "We understand each other," Mo says. "We pretty much run the same stride. It's nice to lock in and be in sync with someone."

That bond matters. Somewhere around mile 20, when everything starts to hurt and the doubt creeps in, having someone beside you who knows when to push and when to shut up and just be there – that's often the difference between hitting the target and watching it slip away.

And what about the anxiety? You'd think without a PB on the line it would ease off. It doesn't. "You still feel it," Mo says. "Am I going to perform? That anxiety is always there."

Race week has a way of getting under your skin. The countdown, the tension building, the buzz in the air. It seeps in whether you're racing or not. "You soak it up regardless. The nerves, the atmosphere – especially in that final week. It builds."

And pacing might actually be worse. It's not just your own race on the line anymore. "It's double the pressure, if anything," Mo admits. "It's not just me I'm letting down."

Some of you might wonder, why bother with a B race? Mo could've stayed home. Done his long run around Victoria Park. Saved the trip. But races like Seville serve a purpose. They're not distractions from the main event – they're preparation for it.

"No one's cheering you on around Victoria Park," he says. "Race environments give you things a random run around a park won't. You practise your fuelling, your gels, your whole strategy the night before."

It's where you learn what actually works. What breakfast sits right. How your legs handle the adrenaline. Whether that new gel is going to ruin your day at mile 18. Better to find out now than when it really counts. "If you've got a long, hard run coming up, do it in a race," Mo says. "It's fundamental."

As for Sunday, the gun goes at 8:30am. Mo will find his mate, lock into the rhythm they've built over hundreds of shared miles, and do the job. No PB. No glory. Just the work. The marathon doesn't care that it's a B race. Neither does Mo Abdin.

All images featured are taken from @mo.abdinn's Instagram.