Zürich, Switzerland - There is a brightness in the faces of Mo Farah and Chris Solinsky which cannot be entirely explained by the fact that both are due to race in tomorrow’s climactic Samsung Diamond League 5000m race at the Zürich Weltklasse meeting.

Both come to this race with rising ambition at the end of a season in which both have offered fresh reasons for believing that one day, perhaps soon, they can offer a serious challenge to the Ethiopian and Kenyan runners who currently dominate their chosen events.

‘Oh God! That’s amazing!

Farah, the first man to win European 5000 and 10,000m titles at the same Championships in 20 years, is now hoping to improve his time in the shorter distance – and ideally to get under the psychologically significant barrier of 13 minutes.

That is something Solinsky has already managed, and the American consolidated his achievement by lowering his personal best to 12:55.53 in finishing fifth in the Stockholm Diamond League meeting earlier this month.

But Solinsky has broken through the 10,000m barrier even more dramatically this year, having become the first non-African runner to better 27 minutes as he won at Palo Alto on 1 May to set a new North American record of 26:59.60 on what was his debut at the distance.

Farah’s personal bests are not at that level – yet.  He ran 13:05.66 in Gateshead in July, and clocked 27:28.86 in Marseille in June.

However, he is working on reducing those times, with tomorrow’s race offering him a great opportunity in the 5000.

“To get under 13 minutes tomorrow would be really good for me,” he says. “I’ve watched the Diamond League races on TV – and that first race in Doha was amazing, with so many under 13 minutes.”

“I don’t have a clue about the pace-making tomorrow. You have to be realistic, and my limit now is close to 13 minutes. But I have been close for four years now, so it’s something I want to do.”

“I was training in Kenya when I saw that Chris had gone under 27 minutes, and I was like ‘Oh God! That’s amazing! I’ve known Chris for years, and it just shows you what can be done. It gives you belief. If Chris can do it, we can all do it. It’s open. It’s possible.”