31 May 2010

Returning Bupa 10,000m champion Mo Farah (Ricky Simms) improved his own British road record by six seconds at the London based event on Monday 31 May.

Farah, the 2009 European Indoor 3,000m gold medallist, outsprinted Kenya’s world record holder Micah Kogo to take victory by a clear five seconds in 27:44.

Both he and Kogo were in contention from the off and between 5k and 6k broke clear of the following pack. With 2k left, Olympic 10,000m bronze medallist Kogo took the lead, but Farah battled to stay in contact. He regained control with 200m to go and kicked in to win.

Farah’s Brit teammate Chris Thompson (John Nuttall) crossed the line in third with 28:17.

Farah, who spends much of his time training in Kenya, said: "I knew I was in great shape coming into the race and I was confident.

"My aim was to come out and run hard and if the pace was good just to go with it. I love London and I get loads of support – and with 200m to go I just went ‘boom’. I’m now excited and looking forward to the European 10k next weekend."

In the women’s race, Kenya’s Mary Keitany, the world record holder over 25km, raced to victory in a new course record and lifetime best of 31:05.