Mo Farah’s time of 2hr 10min 28sec was the slowest of his career, which will draw to a close in September
, was grateful that he made it to the finish – due, in part, to the huge crowds that swelled the route from Greenwich to the Mall.
Farah, one of the eternal faces of London’s 2012 Olympic Games, even found himself beaten by two British athletes: the 25-year-old Emile Cairess, who showed immense promise to finish sixth in his debut marathon, and Phil Sesemann, who combines running with his day job as a junior doctor for the NHS, yet still came eighth.
“I will miss that feeling. I am emotional today. London has been so great to me over the years and I wanted to be here to say thank you to the crowd.” Farah had started brightly but after 14 miles his legs became heavy and he laboured as Cairess overtook him. The changing of the guard normally happens at Buckingham Palace, here it was taking place just after Tower Bridge. “In terms of my preparation for this race, I felt great,” he said. “I was confident and I thought I could do between 2.05 and 2.07. But the body didn’t respond today and it was a little bit disappointing. That’s when you know when it’s time to call it a day.
Cairess later attributed his talent as coming from his mother, Alison, who he started running with aged four or five. “I came through cross country, fell running in Yorkshire,” he said. “Proper running.
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