A RUNNER from North Yorkshire will be pitting himself against the best in the world as he competes against the likes of Mo Farah on Wednesday night.

Northallerton’s Marc Scott will test his legs against the multi-medallist at the World Athletic Championships in London this evening.

They will be racing in the first heats of the men’s 5,000 metres - an event that Mr Farah has won at the past five global championships.

Mr Scott has been competing since he was a schoolboy and is part of the Richmond and Zetland Harriers Club based near Catterick.

He has spent the past few years honing his skills in America and has won a sponsorship offer from Nike to train full-time in Portland, Oregon - coincidentally the same city Mo Farah has been based since 2011.

His career highlight so far came in June when he won the prestigious National College All-American (NCAA) Championships over 10,000m, but his father Kevin said his appearance at the World Championships is likely to top that.

He said: “If he goes through to the final it would be amazing in his eyes because he is racing against the best athletes.

“But it is for enjoyment more than anything, it is a learning curve for him.

“Obviously he has run for Great Britain before but this is the biggest test.”

Mr Scott will be cheering Marc on from the stands at the London Stadium along with the 23-year-old’s mum Julie and his triplet brothers Ben and Rob.

It will undoubtedly be a proud moment for the family and Mr Scott said it marks years of hard work and commitment from Marc.

He said: “He always had a determination from a very young age.

“Growing up as a triplet, he always wanted to be the best at everything.

“He had that determination that no one was going to beat him.”

Another person who will be eagerly anticipating the race this evening is Marc’s former PE teacher at Northallerton College, Anna Harvey, who said: “His commitment is outstanding.

“He is an excellent ambassador for athletics, even at school he was a fantastic runner.

“He was honest and committed and trained extremely hard. You could see from a very early age that he had potential. He had great technique, his style was very effortless. He made it look easy.”

The men’s 5,000 metres starts at 8.05pm on BBC2.