Sir Mo Farah’s preparations for the London Marathon 2018 got a lift as he won the Vitality Big Half on Sunday, 4 March. The four-time Olympic champion completed the half-marathon course in the capital in an unofficial time of 1:01.39, vindicating his decision to not pull out of the 21,097 km race despite the bad weather which had affected the UK.
Photo: © Jed Leicester / The Vitality Big Half
Mo Farah, who has been training in Ethiopia, won a sprint finish with 2017 London Marathon winner Daniel Wanjiru, of Kenya. Britain’s Callum Hawkins was not far behind in third.
Photo: © The Vitality Big Half
The 34-year-old, who is getting to grips with his new career on the road, has yet to make a decision over whether he will run the marathon for Team GB at the 2020 Olympics in Japan.
However, Sunday’s victory is a fillip for Farah ahead of the London Marathon, which takes place on April 22, 2018.
Great Britain’s Charlotte Purdue wins the Elite Women’s Race, with Lily Partridge coming second and Charlotte Arter coming third as they pose for a photo at the finish line at the Cutty Sark.
Photo: © Jed Leicester / The Vitality Big Half
Farah said afterwards: “I enjoyed it, it was comfortable. Training has been going pretty well and it wasn’t too bad at all.
“I thought the conditions would be worse, it was a little bit wet and cold - compared to 25 degrees in Africa it’s a big shock but you just get used to it.”
Sir Mo Farah celebrates winning the Vitality Big Half 2018 and performs the «Mobot».
Photo: © Jed Leicester / The Vitality Big Half
The elite men were followed across the Finish Line by more than 11,000 runners, many of whom are from community groups in the four host boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich. After the race the runners enjoyed a variety of free activities at The Vitality Big Festival in Greenwich Park.
The Vitality Big Half is part of a new one-day festival centred around the half marathon distance, which aims to be truly global and uniquely local in a celebration of the wonderful cultural diversity of the great city of London.
Photo: © Ian Walton / The Vitality Big Half
Finisher Medal of the Vitality Big Half 2018.
Photo: © The Vitality Big Half
© The Vitality Big Half via EMG
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