MO FARAH was celebrating a “perfect end” to the most successful season of his career as he broke the British half-marathon record to claim a second successive Morrisons Great North Run title.

Farah emulated Mike McLeod and Paula Radcliffe to become only the third British runner to boast a pair of Great North Run triumphs as his sprinting speed once again proved decisive on the seafront at South Shields.

Having been embroiled in a fierce two-man battle with Kenyan Stanley Biwott for the majority of a gruelling encounter on the Tyneside streets, Farah kicked clear in the finishing straight to win by two seconds and set a new British best of 59:22.

The victory capped a sensational season for Farah, who became the first athlete in history to complete the long-distance double of 5,000m and 10,000m titles at three major championships in a row when he triumphed in the World Championships at Beijing.

Farah also broke the world two-mile record when he competed indoors at the start of the season, and while he has had to contend with questions over the conduct over his coach Alberto Salazar, who was at the heart of drug-taking allegations exposed by a BBC Panorama programme in June, the 32-year-old admits he could not have wished for a better year.

“I’m absolutely chuffed,” said Farah. “To end this season with a win at home means a lot to me – it’s the perfect way to end. It’s nice to be able to finish in this way.

“What a year it’s been for me – it started with me breaking a record at two miles, and it’s really just gone on from there. The World Championships were obviously fantastic, and now I’ve won here in the half marathon too.

“It’s been awesome. I guess if I had to pick a highlight, it would be the 5,000m at the Worlds because the track is really where it’s at for me, and to do it (win the long-distance double) three times in a row was amazing.

“It means a lot to have won another Great North Run though. It was tougher than I expected, and the support of the crowd in the last mile or so really made a difference. I’m not sure I could have done it without them.”

Having settled himself in a leading pack of six runners in the first half of the race, Farah looked to be in a dominant position when Biwott’s break enabled the pair to pull clear of last year’s runner-up, Mike Kigen, at around the eight-mile mark.

At that stage, it looked as though Farah would have things all his own way, but Biwott continued to produce short bursts that asked serious questions of the track specialist, who remains relatively inexperienced on the road.

Farah made a telling push on the final downhill section towards the South Shields seafront though, and kicked decisively with around 200m remaining to claim his second title.

“I wanted to try to control every move,” he said. “It was pretty tough and it was quick for most of the race. I always knew I could finish quickly at the end of the race, so I just needed to control myself.

“I wasn’t thinking about the time – I just wanted to win. I thought that if I could run 60-something, it would be enough, but he (Biwott) definitely made me work hard. He was pushing, and I could feel that he was going fast.

“We dropped Mike Kigen, so then it was just him, and I just wanted to keep the pace going. He’s a strong athlete, and he’s run a lot quicker than me (in the half-marathon), so credit to him. He definitely pushed me to the limit, but I came through in the end.”

No one has won three Great North Run titles in a row, and while the Rio Olympics will dominate Farah’s schedule next season, he is hoping to return to the North-East in an attempt to make history.

He will take a well-earned break now, with his wife, Tania, due to give birth to the pair’s third child in a fortnight or so, before returning to winter training in the United States.

The World Indoor Championships in Portland could form part of his programme, with another outing on Tyneside also high on the agenda.

“It would be amazing to come back here and do it (win a third title),” said Farah. “A hat-trick would be fantastic. It depends on how the season goes because my main focus will be the Rio Olympics to see what I can do there.

“But after that, we’ll see. The Olympics are fairly early so we’ll have to see what that means in terms of fitting everything else in. If I could though, I’d love to come back here and see if I can win again.”