London Big Half sees Mo Farah return to winning form

Mo Farah won the men's Big Half in London, while Eilish McColgan set a course record to win the women's race on Sunday morning.

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Farah (handicap -3.5)  won for the third time in the half-marathon event, crossing the line in 61:49. McColgan front ran the race and won in 67:35 to smash the previous course record of 69:51.

Farah's last race produced a shock defeat by Ellis Cross (handicap -6.1) at the Vitality 10,000 in May. Farah surged clear of the group just after 10 miles to win ahead of Jack Rowe (handicap -6.4) and  2021 winner Jake Smith (handicap -6.5) in third. It was Farah's first race since revealing that he was trafficked into the UK as a child.

October's London Marathon will see Mo Farah competing for the first time since 2019. Farah revealed to the BBC after his Big Half win

"It's nice to be back, I love this course. It wasn't easy but most important, I think, was the win.

McColgan's victory rounds off a superb season for the Manchester based Scot, which has included Commonwealth Games gold  at 10,000m and the European 10km and British half-marathon records on the road.

McColgan (handicap -4.2) has withdrawn from next month's London Marathon because of a medical issue identified as rebound hypoglycaemia, which affects endurance athletes and leads to reduced blood sugar levels.

"It's been a dream season," said McColgan, who was followed home at the Big Half by previous winner Charlotte Purdue (handicap -2.9)  and Samantha Harrison (handicap -3.0).

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