Mo Farah runs the last big race of his glittering career with Brendan Foster insisting we will never see his like again.
Today’s TCS London Marathon sees Farah finish where he began as a 14-year old when winning the capital’s mini marathon.
Nobody expects him to add a first London 26.2-mile title to the four Olympic and six world gold medals he won on the track. But his very presence on the start line should still be a cause for celebration according to Foster, the long-time Voice of Athletics.
“It really is a farewell to the greatest because, let’s be clear, Mo is the greatest we’ve ever had,” said the Gateshead legend.
“Seb Coe was brilliant, Kelly Holmes was fantastic, [Steve] Cram and Ovett were brilliant - but all of them stand in the shadow of Mo Farah.
“Four individual Olympic gold medals! We’ve never had anybody do that before in the most competitive sport in the world and I suspect we won’t again.”
Farah turned 40 in March and it is now six years since the last of his global titles, the 10,000 metres at the 2017 World Championships.
That was in London, where he most famously won double gold at the 2012 Olympics. Yet his three previous marathons in the capitals have been less auspicious.
“Mo never was the very best at marathon running,” said Foster. “He'd accept that’s not his best distance. If anything, half marathon was his limit. He was unbeatable in his time at the Great North Run.
“But this is a guy who holds British records from 1500m to marathon. Nobody has done that from 1500 to the Marathon ever, in the whole history of the sport.
“I mean Emil Zatopek couldn’t do that, he was no good at 1500. Lasse Viren was no good at 1500, Eliud Kipchoge wasn’t great at it either."
Farah reluctantly concedes his body can no longer handle training week in, week out without breaking down. Ultimately, that realisation has forced his hand.
“Age catches up with us all in the end,” said Foster. “But what a legacy Mo leaves. He showed all distance runners in the UK that with the right level of application and training you can feature at the highest level.
“Nobody trained harder than him, nobody dedicated their life to it as much as he did. He made mistakes in his life along the way, who hasn’t? But he’s been a huge example to everybody in athletics.”
Eilish McColgan’s withdrawal from the women’s event means that for one Mo time, the stage belongs to Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah.
