Sir Mo Farah has announced that he will run the London Marathon in 2018.
Farah retired from track competition this summer with a historic record of ten global gold medals at World and Olympic Games over 5,000m and 10,000m.
Now he wants to write his name into history on the roads, starting with his home town race and the world’s greatest marathon, the London Marathon, on Sunday, April 22.
Farah won the Great North Run today and said afterwards: "I am thrilled to be starting this new chapter in my career. I can’t wait to start a new adventure racing on the roads in 2018, starting with the world’s greatest marathon.
"The London Marathon is my home race and it is so special to me. The previous times I have taken part (in 2013 and 2014) were amazing. The atmosphere on the course was unbelievable. Just like at the 2012 Olympic Games in London and at the World Championships this summer, those incredible home crowds really do give me that extra motivation. I can’t wait to experience that again next year.
"When I decided to concentrate solely on the roads from 2018 I knew that I wanted this to be my first marathon. The London Marathon has been a great supporter of me over the years. It doesn’t feel that long ago that I was running the Mini Marathon and in my early years the London Marathon provided me with crucial funding support."
Farah, 34, first ran the London Marathon in 2013 when he took part in just the first half of the race to gain experience of running a major city marathon.
He returned the following year when he finished in eighth place in a time of 2 hours 8 minutes and 21 seconds.
