Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan win Big Half races ahead of London Marathon

Sir Mo Farah enjoyed a timely return to form ahead of next month’s London Marathon with a third victory in the Big Half. The four-times Olympic champion suffered a shock loss to club runner Ellis Cross at the Vitality 10k in London in May to spark further talk of retirement.

Farah helped silence some of the external noise with an impressive run on this occasion in the capital and crossed the finish line in Greenwich with a time of 61min 49sec after storming clear of his nearest rivals during the last three miles of the 13.1-mile course. It was the 39-year-old’s third-fastest run in the Big Half but still enough to edge out Jack Rowe and defending champion Jake Smith, who finished second and third respectively.

Scotland’s Commonwealth Games gold medallist Eilish McColgan claimed victory in the elite women’s race with a record time of 67min 34sec but, unlike Farah, she will not be competing in the London Marathon after it was announced on Friday she had withdrawn due to a medical issue.

“Today wasn’t easy but most important is the win and it is nice to be back,” Farah told BBC Sport. “It is really nice to see my family here and so many people come out. It is family-friendly but most importantly for me, it is the streets of London and just the support and atmosphere, it is brilliant and makes you want to come back every year again and again.

“The key thing for me today was to try and win, no matter what happened. It was to play around with things, pick up my drink and practise ahead of the London Marathon. I’m excited, I’m looking forward to it. The last seven weeks it has been good, I’ve got consistent training going, so I’m happy with where I am. The next step is this afternoon I’ll fly out and get ready for the next four