Farah eyes history bid in Great North Run

Mo Farah PHOTO:AFP

Mo Farah will have history in his sights on Sunday as the British star chases a record fifth Great North Run title.

Victory in Newcastle this weekend will make Farah the first man to win the Great North Run five times.

That would be the perfect preparation for the 35-year-old ahead of his appearance at the Chicago Marathon in October.

After two years adapting to road racing following his epic track career, Farah admits he is still not the finished article.

But the former Olympic champion is getting more confident by the day.

“I’m still learning and understanding more and I’m not afraid to mix it in,” Farah said.

“In 2014, I was afraid to mix it because it was their territory and I was a track runner. But now I’m not afraid of anything.

“It’s a totally different challenge and I’m enjoying every day of it. My goal is to win a major marathon.

“For a track runner the highlight is the Olympics, and in the marathon the biggest thing you can do is win a major race.”

The Great North Run is part of a busy period for Farah, who admitted his previous victories in the race have signalled the end of the season — a landmark he traditionally celebrates by eating his favourite sticky toffee pudding.

While the desserts are on hold, Farah, who has run the London Marathon twice, coming third in April, would relish the sweet taste of success on Tyneside.

“My aim (in Newcastle) is to run a decent time – I’ve still got another week from this point so it will be a good test for me on Sunday to see where I am and what I can do,” he said.

“I’ve never gone into this race having had this amount of training. I’ve always gone into it thinking – ‘Great North Run, finish, sticky toffee pudding’.

“But after this it’s straight back to my training camp in Flagstaff to prepare for Chicago.

“Doing that as the first five-time winner would be amazing.”

Farah’s biggest challenge is likely to come from Kenya’s Daniel Wanjiru, who won the London Marathon last year.