Sir Mo Farah is preparing for an “emotional” last race in London as he takes on the Big Half on Sunday.
The 40-year-old – who has four Olympic gold medals to his name, alongside six world titles – will race in London for the last time this weekend but is not retiring until the Great North Run next week.
Farah was first crowned Olympic champion in the city with victory in the 10,000m at the Olympic Stadium in 2012.
The last time Farah competed was at the 2023 London Marathon, where he finished ninth and he insists London is one of a kind to him.
He said: “There’s no other city like London in the whole world and I’ve had some memorable times here.
“Super Saturday, that night in the Olympic Stadium in 2012, when I won the first of my Olympic gold medals in the 10,000m, is something that I will never ever forget.
“Throughout the rest of my career, it was that moment and feeling I got from it which kept driving me on to try to repeat it, to continue to be successful.
“Everyone knows what this city means to me. I’ve been racing around the streets of London since I was an under-13 athlete competing in the Mini London Marathon.
“Since then, I’ve gone on to run the London Marathon many times, The Big Half, the Vitality London 10,000. I must have done more than 20 races on the roads of London and I will miss it.
“The Big Half on Sunday is going to be emotional and a chance for me to say goodbye to everyone in London who has supported me throughout my career because I’ve been very grateful for that support.”
Farah has won The Big Half three times but will face tough competition from other British athletes who are looking to earn a spot in Great Britain’s half-marathon team for the World Athletics Road Running Championships, which will take place in Estonia in October.
Farah continued: “I have won The Big Half three times and it’s a special race, not just for the elite athletes, but for the whole of the running community and that is what this city is all about.
“It’s a bit of a weird feeling knowing it’s going to be my last race in London. I’ve never had that to think about before.
“There’s always been a ‘next year’ but not this time. There is a lot of stuff going through my mind [about what I do when I retire]. But the most important thing is staying healthy.
“I can’t see myself just being in the house and keeping still. I need to find something that I can enjoy and look forward to, be involved in sport somehow because that is all I know.”
