Jo Pavey, Lily Partridge and Marc Scott, making his half-marathon debut, are also among the entries for the September 12 event
Mo Farah is to run at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in Northern Ireland this month.
The four-time Olympic champion first makes his racing return at the Brussels Diamond League on September 4, when he will attack Haile Gebrselassie’s one-hour track world record.
But then his attention will return to the roads as he competes over 13.1 miles in Antrim on September 12 and performs pacemaking duties at the London Marathon on October 4.
A September half-marathon has frequently featured in Farah’s racing schedule as he has competed at every Great North Run since 2013, winning six times. But in June organisers announced that the 2020 event, which would have been the 40th edition, would not be taking place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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The Great North Run course is not eligible for record purposes but Farah’s 2019 winning time of 59:07 is the fastest ever by a European runner. Organisers will be hopeful of another fast time by the 37-year-old in Antrim on a course described as “one of the flattest and fastest in the UK & Ireland”.
Farah said: “I’m really looking forward to taking part in the Antrim Coast Half Marathon.
“It’s a fast course, really exciting to see what I can do.”
. See you at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon on September 12! @antrimcoasthalfmarathon @athleticsni pic.twitter.com/AJR4Ezi01G
— Sir Mo Farah (@Mo_Farah) August 31, 2020
In the men’s elite field Farah will be joined by athletes including Marc Scott, who recently broke the British 5km record and will be making his half-marathon debut, plus Ben Connor and Northern Ireland’s Kevin Seaward and Stephen Scullion.
The women’s field features five-time Olympian and 2007 world 10,000m medallist Jo Pavey and British champion Lily Partridge, as well as Aly Dixon, Gemma Steel and Northern Ireland’s Emma Mitchell.
The event is set to be live streamed on the Antrim Coast Half Marathon website and Facebook page.