A “knackered” Mo Farah crossed the London Marathon finish line in a time of 2:06:21

Mo Farah became the fastest marathon runner in British history as he produced a promising and gutsy performance to finish third in his second London Marathon. A “knackered” Farah crossed the line in a time of 2:06:21, comfortably clear of Steve Jones’ 33-year-old British record of 2:07:13. The race was won by Eliud Kipchoge, the Olympic champion and the man considered by many to be the greatest marathon runner ever, in a time of 2:04:17. Mo had vowed to stick with the leaders, no matter the pace, and was true to his word as he remained with the leading pack for much of the race despite Kipchoge leading the contenders in a blistering start. “They were going for world record pace,” Farah said. “So it was do or die. I went with it and hung on as much as I could. It was ridiculous.” The 35 year-old is now fully focused on marathon running after retiring from a track career in which he won 10 world and Olympic titles, and this was an encouraging start to his full-time career over the longer distance. The impressive time came despite Farah’s rhythm being disrupted by two mix-ups involving water bottles as he struggled to identify his drink on two separate occasions.“

posted Sunday April 22nd