All eyes on London as Mo Farah takes on Kenenisa Bekele in mouth-watering half-marathon battle on March 1
London will host two of global distance running's most compelling head-to-heads in quick succession after Mo Farah confirmed plans to take on Kenenisa Bekele in a difficult half-marathon test, weeks before the Ethiopian challenges Eliud Kipchoge at the London Marathon.
Farah announced a halt to his hit-and-miss marathon exploits last November when revealing he will return to the track to attempt an Olympic 10,000m hat-trick in Tokyo later this summer.
He has not run on the track since the 2017 World Championships and it remains to be seen what 10,000m races he will contest before Tokyo, but he will begin his Olympic preparations by continuing on the road when taking on Bekele at the Vitality Big Half in London on March 1.
Farah has won the past two editions of the race but faces a difficult task to keep his streak intact against Bekele, who came within two seconds of Kipchoge’s marathon world record last September.
Those two men will do battle at the London Marathon on April 26, with many expecting Kipchoge’s world record of two hours, one minute and 39 seconds to come under threat.
“I am really looking forward to coming back to the Vitality Big Half and kicking off my 2020 season,” said Farah. “Everyone knows how much I enjoy racing in London. It’s my home city and it always gives me a buzz to come back and race here.”
Farah and Bekele are the headline names in an elite men’s field that features five of the six fastest British men over the half-marathon last year.
Farah, Dewi Griffiths, Jake Smith, Ollie Lockley and Chris Thompson will all line up for a race that doubles as the British trials for the World Half Marathon Championships in Poland at the end of March. Britain’s Hayley Carruthers leads a weaker women’s field.
