Mo Farah has confirmed he will be competing at the 2016 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff on 26th March.
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His debut appearance at the event, Farah currently holds the European half-marathon record. He hopes to break the current 58:23 world half marathon record, set by Eritrea's Zersenay Tadese in 2010 in Lisbon.
The 32-year-old clocked 59:22 over 13.1 miles at last year’s Great North Run, but due to the downhill gradient of the Newcastle to South Shields course his 59:32 time from Lisbon 2015 remains the European best.
The double Olympic, world and European track champion will be headlining a 10-strong GB team including Callum Hawkins, Matthew Hynes, Dewi Griffiths and Ryan McLeod.
Gemma Steel, Alyson Dixon, Rachel Felton, Charlotte Purdue and Jenny Spink complete the women’s line-up.
Farah's world half marathon debut will form part of his Olympic build-up as he prepares to defend his 5,000m and 10,000m titles in Rio this summer.
‘I am looking forward to running on the British team at the IAAF/Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff,’ said Farah. ‘It will be my first time to compete at this championship but I have been training hard and hope to perform well.’
‘I always enjoy racing in front of a home crowd,’ added Farah. ‘I’m sure they will give myself and the rest of the British team fantastic support as they line the streets of the city.’
Cardiff organisers described Farah's appearance was a ‘major coup’ for the event, which hopes to attract 25,000 runners.
Rhalou is a senior digital editor specialising in health and wellness with over eighteen years’ online and print publishing experience. Rhalou has worked at various health platforms including Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Runner’s World, Netdoctor, Women’s Running, Men’s Running, The Running Bug and Women’s Fitness. Covering everything from sexual health to fitness, parenting, marathon running and self-care, Rhalou loves creating fun and accessible lifestyle content and feels strongly about demystifying complex medical jargon and empowering people to better understand their health. Previously, Rhalou was a freelance social media specialist for several major sporting events and race listings including The London Marathon, Breca Swimrun, Findarace, The Westminster Mile and Prudential Ride 100. She has also been a reporter on a local newspaper in remote Scotland, penning breaking news stories about killer otters, cats stuck up trees and the Scottish hill racing scene. Over the years, Rhalou has been lucky enough to run 15 marathons and even a few ultra-marathons. She is still a passionate runner, but these days she can mostly be found at her local parkrun or chasing after her young son.
