WHEN it comes to British distance running, nowhere does it quite like the North-East.

Hebburn-born Brendan Foster won Olympic bronze, European gold and set the world two-mile record. Northumberland's Mike McLeod claimed Olympic 10,000m silver and won the first Great North Run. Bishop Auckland-born Charlie Spedding won an Olympic marathon bronze and won the London Marathon in 1984.

All superb achievements; all eclipsed by Mo Farah's heroics last month. In the space of two remarkable runs in Daegu, South Korea, Farah secured a World Championship silver medal in the 10,000m and a gold in the 5,000m.

In doing so, he became Britain's first male distance-running world champion, putting the likes of Foster, McLeod and Spedding into the shade.

Later today, he will appear for the first time post-Daegu when he competes in the two mile race at the Great North City Games, a street event on the Newcastle-Gateshead quayside.

Born in Somalia, raised in Hounslow and now based in the United States, Farah has roots in many places. Given the region's legacy, though, he feels it is fitting that his first run as world champion will come in the North-East.

"I remember watching the great North-East athletes of the past and hoping that one day I would be like them," said Farah, who will make his final appearance of the season this afternoon.

"Every British distance runner is aware of Brendan Foster and all the things that he did, and when it comes to middle-distance running, Steve Cram is a legend of the sport who did remarkable things during his career.

"To be part of that legacy, and to be recognised as one of them, is absolutely amazing. It's incredible to think that the public would think of me alongside those guys. You always want to win medals in your career, but it's also about reaching out to people and getting them into your sport."

And that, in a nutshell, is why with the London Olympics looming, Farah is set to become one of the most important figures in British sport.

We all want next year's Games to produce a raft of British champions, and along with the likes of Jessica Ennis and Phillips Idowu, Farah is one of the likeliest winners of a domestic track-and-field gold.

But if London 2012 is to achieve its stated ambition of persuading a generation of youngsters to take up athletics and other Olympic sports, we need champions to inspire and enthuse.

Farah, with his back story of forced emigration from Somalia and Djibouti and his successful integration into British society, is a hero in the making.

"I compare it to football," he said. "For a long time, Manchester United didn't really bring too many players through. Then all of a sudden, a few started to appear and they inspired others to follow them. They ended up with this incredible crop of talent. People like the Neville brothers (Gary and Phil), (Paul) Scholes, (David) Beckham, people like that.

"There was a period when British distance running was like that. We had Cram, (Steve) Ovett, (Seb) Coe, Foster. That was an amazing period, but maybe it was inevitable that it wouldn't last forever.

"Things went quiet for a bit, but hopefully my success can help bring other people through. It's getting better and better, and I think it's starting to get back to how it was.

"I'm just very honoured to be playing my part in that. The great names of the past achieved wonderful things, but they never had an Olympics on their own doorstep. That's why everyone in the British team at the moment has a unique opportunity.

"I'm really excited about what might happen, although I'm certainly not getting carried away and taking anything for granted."

Farah's caution is justified as there are two potential pitfalls that could yet derail his dream of Olympic gold.

The first is the strength of the opposition massing behind him. Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan pipped him in the world 10,000m final and will start as the favourite for Olympic gold, while American Bernard Lagat has vowed to come back stronger after failing to overhaul Farah in the closing stages of the 5,000m final.

As well as worrying about what happens on the track, Farah will have to come to terms with his altered status off it, and the increased attention that has accompanied last month's Daegu win promises to challenge an understated athlete who has previously prized his privacy.

Media interest has been intense, and with Farah's face set to adorn a host of publicity material in the build up to the Games, the level of scrutiny is only set to increase.

When London was awarded the Olympics back in 2005, Christine Ohuruogu was expected to be the poster girl of the Games. After the Beijing Olympics in 2008, the mantle passed to Ennis. Now, with both women having lost their position at the head of the world rankings, it is Farah who is the centre of attention.

"There is a balance to be struck," he said. "The important thing for me is to keep doing what I'm doing and keep training hard. You can't put too much pressure on yourself, and you can't allow yourself to be distracted by what's going on in the background.

"Maybe it'll help that I'm based in the States. It might turn out to be a good thing because hopefully I can train without distractions.

"You can't allow other stuff to get in the way of your training because it's the training that got you to where you are in the first place. If you don't get that right, everything else goes out of the window.

"As a distance runner, you have to put the hard work and the miles in. You have to keep focused and keep training. Long-distance running takes time. I've been competing for ten years now and I feel like I'm still improving. I'm finally getting to the top but there's a long way to go yet."

A long way to go, but then as a 10,000m runner, Farah already knows all about that.