MO Farah scoffs at the suggestion that the Scottish air doesn't agree with him. Three times in the last 18 months the multiple Olympic and world champion distance runner has shunned the opportunity to compete north of the border. He pulled out after being provisionally pencilled in to participate in the Great Edinburgh Cross Country this time last year, while in 2014 he skipped both the warm-up Diamond League event at Hampden Park and the Commonwealth Games themselves. This was all something of a blow to tournament organisers, considering his withdrawal in July 2014 citing abdominal pains came only two months after he had been cheerfully tweeting about his enthusiasm to take part.

Thankfully, though, the suggestion that Farah and Scotland aren't simpatico doesn't seem to bear scrutiny. The 32-year-old athletics superstar is sitting in a swish hotel in Edinburgh, recalling how his last competitive run up here, when he achieved the fastest 1,500m in the history of the Kelvin Hall to leave Kenya's Augustine Choge in his wake back in January 2012, was a crucial staging post en route to those Olympic heroics on Super Saturday. It even ended with an overfriendly Glaswegian member of the audience joining him for an impromptu cool-down and Farah has no plans to alter a winning formula as he enters the Olympic year of 2016. After tackling the 8K course at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in the traditional New Year event today, Farah will also grace the Emirates Arena in mid-February as he builds up to the awesome challenge of retaining his 5,000m and 10,000m titles in Rio.

"For sure, yeah, Scotland will play a big part in my preparations for Rio," said Farah. "It is important I start well here, then analyse where I am. Firstly I want to win the race then secondly I want to see what I can come away with. I will get a training block done out in Ethiopia for six weeks, then come back and compete in Glasgow again at the indoor.

"It has been a couple of years [since I last competed in Scotland] but you can't hold that against me, can you?" he joked. "Portland is as cold as this anyway! I competed at the end of January in 2012, so it did work for me that time!

"The last couple of years it would have been nice to turn up here but I wasn't quite ready. Last year I was ill. And obviously with the Commonwealths I would have loved to have competed. As an athlete it is important that you win titles, and it is the only one that I am missing really, but I just wasn't quite ready. I was jealous and gutted [when I watched it on TV]. People have told me that it was a brilliant atmosphere, a really well organised tournament and the Scottish people really got behind everyone, like Lynsey Sharp and all the other British athletes."

Whilst the farrago involving doping allegations against his coach Alberto Salazar, or his own two missed drugs tests in early 2010, were essentially off limits during this interview, Farah says he feels stronger and more focused during 2016 after everything that hit him in 2015. "I’m older," he said. "Mentally I’m stronger, because of the things I’ve gone through. Physically I'm not sure. Part of it is down to a learning curve – every race is different, every day is different. If you go back to when you were a kid and your teacher telling you you have to make decisions in life, you don’t want to listen. But in reality at some point in our lives we have to make that decision. It’s all part of the learning curve."

As it turns out, Farah has an unlikely new member of his training group this New Year. That would be his wife Tania, who is back running for the first time since 2011. "I think I motivated her!" said Farah. "The longest run she’s done is five miles which I thought was alright for her because she never runs. But now she wants to do something and it’s a challenge for her.

"Have I been nipping away at her saying she should run?" he added. "If you want a happy marriage you don’t do that! I’m joking - I do encourage her. Is she going to enter races? The Olympic trials maybe! But I’m not sure she’ll make it. When we were running I didn’t talk, just kept my head down."

Assuming he avoids any sprained ankles on his trot around Holyrood Park and his schedule remains intact, it is worth pointing out that the 32-year-old has set the bar pretty high when it comes to Olympic performance. With his beloved Arsenal riding high in the Barclays Premier League, 2016 could be a special year for both him and his football team. "You can only top it by winning two more medals," he said. "If I can have four Olympic medals it will be incredible."

The first small steps towards that target take place in Edinburgh this weekend. Should he have something to celebrate, Farah even hinted that he might be prepared to sample some of the stereotypes of Scottish life, even if it seemed outlandish to imagine this stick-thin, fastidious vegetarian tucking into a haggis supper and Irn Bru. "No I've had none of that so far," said Farah. "I went to Pizza Express. Maybe after the race on Sunday before my flight I might walk around the castle and stuff. I won't stick a kilt on though – it’s too cold."