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Rob Mullet stood on the start line a little way along from Mo Farah in Londons Olympic Stadium feeling well below his best.The after-effects of a yellow fever vaccination and a key race at the European Championships had robbed him of the chance to properly share the spotlight with one of the worlds most recognisable track athletes.In ideal circumstances, Mullett would have pulled out and avoided the risk of exacerbating his malaise but, like so many other track athletes, he had bills to pay.With a $1,000 (￡765) entry fee to protect, Mullett ran the 5,000 metre race anyway. After Farah won in the fastest time of the year and took the headlines at Londons Anniversary Games, he finished in a predictably disappointing time.Thankfully, the damage done in that race last month was no worse than a bruised ego and some unwanted negativity in his preparations for the Rio Olympics. He has arrived in Brazil fit and ready to race, but the build-up was a far cry from the glitz and glamour fans might think comes with the life of an elite track and field athlete.Scratch below the surface of so many who are representing the most successful sporting countries in the Brazilian capital and you will find a fascinating range of real-life stories.Mulletts is just one -- and its important to make it clear hes not complaining about it. He knows how privileged he is to be taking part in what is billed as the greatest show on earth.The British 3,000m steeplchasers narrative may not be typical of other athletes, either -- there is probably no such thing -- but his tale of counting costs to pursue his sport has characteristics that will be as familiar to many of his peers as it is surprising to occasional followers of track and field.Mullett is a 29-year-old from the UK who lives in the U.S. and is a part-time athlete. He trains hard and is dedicated to performing at the highest level on the track, but he also has a job in a running shop which is part-owned by Bob Kennedy, the American former 5,000m runner and two-time Olympian.The Briton has to supplement the modest income he gets from the shop by running road races for cash prizes.I guess Im half runner, half accountant, he said. I am always planning and saving for time off. This year I wanted to stockpile as much as I could so that I wouldnt have to worry about paying for stuff while Im away, like the health insurance that means I can get treatment if I really need it.That is why I ran that 5,000m in London, just to know there was money there. Its not that I didnt have any but it is disconcerting seeing money go out and nothing come in.I felt miserable and achy. I dont know if it was the jab or if I got ill -- maybe it was a combination of things -- but I tried to blag it, really.If any other athlete in that race had felt as s----y as I did that week, there is no way they would have turned up.Brought up in Sussex, in the south of England, Mullett got a scholarship to Butler University in Indianapolis after graduating from Londons St. Marys University and that is where he now lives, with his girlfriend Lisa.He came to the notice of the Team GB selectors in 2012, when he was picked for the European Championships. The experience gave him the confidence to set his sights on a place at the Rio Olympics.Mullett took to steeplechasing quite late in his running career, which itself hadnt started in earnest until he was at university; he used to specialise in the middle distances of 800m and 1,500m.He has a personal best of 8 minutes and 22.42 seconds and has been the British champion in his event for the last two years.But his isnt a life simply of training, recovering and getting treatment. There is no masseur on hand to disperse the tightness in his muscles, no physiotherapist to diagnose and treat niggling injuries.He has to make do with a foam roller and health insurance, instead, as he splits his time between working, running for cash in the U.S., and travelling to compete on the more conventional athletics circuit.Mullett prevailed upon his friends at times in the last couple of years, sleeping on a sofa or in a spare room, and has no sponsor despite trying to pitch himself to potential benefactors.He hasnt been invited on to the British performance scheme that is offered to some track athletes and may have tempted him to move back to England.But he has got customers to serve, road race directors to badger for entry places and the all-important subsidised health insurance ObamaCare to pay for.I run for money so that I can run for glory, Mullett said. You can probably try to make the weekend road races into training sessions but there cant be that many professional athletes doing that.It is an inconvenience trying to fit things in and although I dont think it costs me in training terms really, sometimes the recovery time is an issue.Its not especially lucrative working in a sports shop but Indianapolis is a relatively cheap place to live.The shop owners have been really good about letting me have time off, too, and its nice to have that, but I dont get paid when Im away. So I enter road races to supplement my income and try to bank as much as I can.Luckily, I probably dont need to earn that much in a year to enable me to compete because I live quite cheaply, but the issue is having the money coming in consistently.The sums of money on offer in the road races vary but Mullett has run in more than a few that would earn him only $200 (￡150) if he won. He has to weigh his chances of winning or placing at the top of a race and the travel costs against the prize money on offer.Some events pay as much as $5,000 (￡3,835) to the winner but it is down to Mullett to get himself a place in the most lucrative ones that are not too far from his home, and sometimes race directors simply ignore his requests.For the bigger prizes, he would think nothing of driving for 7 hours the day before a race, because that would allow him to be more picky about what he did in the following weeks.If you are fit enough and well trained, you are probably going to run the best you can anyway, he explained. And a drive like that is not a big deal in the U.S..Mullett is an independent sort who has been allowed to use the training facilities at Butler University; he plans his races and training with his long-term coach and mentor, Dave Leach, by email and phone.Leach lives back in Sussex, and coaches at the club Mullett has remained with since joining as a boy: Lewes. He will be joining his charge in Brazil this week, flying out of the UK for the first time in his life, thanks to a campaign that has brought donations of nearly ￡7,800 (￡6,000) to pay for the trip.They have been planning Mulletts first race, which is scheduled for next Monday (Aug. 15), and the former geography student has been scheduled to arrive in Rio from the British training camp in Belo Horizonte on Friday.He has found the set-up there good and been pleased that a lack of mosquitoes meant any Zika fears could be put aside.Money worries have had to be shelved, too, although they are never too far away, particularly after the stockpile he had hoped to amass before Brazil failed ended up smaller than hed hoped.I think I can make the final and I really want to run well and walk away happy with my performance, he said before going on to explain that he will seek a different career after competing at the pinnacle for track sport, the Olympics.The way I do things may be a little unconventional but it works for me and Im happy. I couldnt run at my best if I wasnt.Im not complaining about my lot, not at all. I like living in Indianapolis and its not like I cant buy protein drinks or whatever; its not that bad, but I have to be careful.As long as I can keep the health insurance, Im happy. Custom Marlins Jerseys . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Custom Andre Dawson Jersey . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. http://www.custommarlinsjersey.com/ . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Custom Marlins T-shirts . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Wholesale Custom Marlins Shirts . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford.Michael Carrick has backed Marcus Rashford to cement his position in the Manchester United first team for an awful long time after his breakthrough season at Old Trafford. The 18-year-old has emerged as a key player for United since bursting onto the scene, scoring seven goals in his first 14 appearances for the club.Rashford was a relatively unknown talent until he deputised for the injured Anthony Martial in Uniteds Europa League last-32 time with Midtjylland in February. Carrick has likened the youngsters rise to a fairytale and believes he has the capabilities to remain an important part of Uniteds side for years to come.Speaking exclusively to Soccer Saturday, Carrick; Its a little bit of a fairytale in a way.If you have asked Marcus, he would have probably wanted to get himself into the U21s on a regular basis and taken it step by step. But he got thrown in after Anthonys injury and he has never looked back since. Marcus Rashford celebrates the first goal in the Manchester derby He seems to getting stronger, better and better, and he doesnt look out of place or as though hes is going to be a quick fix - he looks like hes got all the capabilities of being here for an awful long time.United continue their push for the top four at home to title-chasing Leicester City on Super Sunday, with victory for the Foxes enough to secure them a maiden top-flight crown at the home of the 20-time champions of England. Louis van Gaals side head into the game fresh from sealing their place in a first FA Cup final in nine years, following Saturdays last-gasp semi-final triumph over Everton.We are on a little run of wins which is nice, Carrick added. At the end of the day that is what it comes down to.At times this season we have played well - at Leicester for example - and we didntt win the game although we thought we deserved to win.dddddddddddd Anthony Martial sent Manchester United into their first FA Cup final since 2007 with a late winner at Wembley Its about winning the games, though, there are times throughout the season when results havent always shown the performance but it works both ways, weve won when we havent been very good as well.At this stage its about winning and picking up points and finishing the season as strong as we can.Victory on Sunday, while halting Leicesters title charge, would see United stay in touch with Manchester City and Arsenal in the race for European qualification. Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Daley Blind, Antonio Valencia, Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling, Anthony Martial and Ander Herrera celebrate as United reach the FA Cup fin Carrick admits a club of Manchester Uniteds stature should not be celebrating finishing in the top four, but it is still something he would like to achieve.Certainly, if you win the FA Cup then winning the cup in its own right is a success, the midfielder said. We havent won that for a long time.I dont think as a club we can be celebrating finishing fourth but, if we get into fourth, it gives us something to go for next season. That is how I see it.Watch Manchester United v Leicester City on Super Sunday, 2.05pm, Sky Sports 1 HD Also See: LVG involved in United planning Redknapp: Fourth wont save LVG No United agreement with Jose Poch keen to replicate Sir Alex ' ' '