Mo Farah will attempt to show he is still a force to be reckoned with at Sunday’s Big Half in London.

Farah is part of the field for October’s London Marathon, where he is racing for the first time since 2019.

Commonwealth 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan takes on defending champion Charlotte Purdue in the women’s race.

Farah searching for fitting swansong

London was the scene of perhaps Farah’s finest hour, when he was roared to a 5,000m-10,000m Olympic double in 2012.

But Farah’s defeat by Cross earlier this year in his hometown, after his failure to qualify for last summer’s Olympics, suggested his retirement may be imminent.

However, Farah has focused himself on a return to the London Marathon where he has finished eighth, third and fifth in 2014, 2018 and 2019 respectively.

The 13.1-mile Big Half – which traces some of the route from its start near Tower Bridge to a finish at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich – comes with a competitive field including 2021 winner Jake Smith, Chris Thompson, who was denied a shot at the World Championships by visa delays, and Cross.

McColgan aims to sign off on stellar season

McColgan was set to join Farah in running the London Marathon, but will instead only compete at the Big Half after a medical issue around refuelling on long practice runs.

The 31-year-old has enjoyed a superb season on track and road, with European 10km and British half-marathon records adding to four medals across the Commonwealth Games and European Championships.

Purdue won last year’s race in a course-record time, but finished third behind second-placed McColgan in the Great North Run three weeks later.

Steph Twell, who represented Great Britain in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, is also in the field.

David Weir and Shelly Woods bring stardust to the wheelchair fields, a decade on from when they won marathon medals at the 2012 Paralympics in London.

Woods took silver behind American Shirley Reilly, while Weir won gold.