SIR MO FARAH will attempt to create history by claiming a fifth successive Great North Run title on Sunday, and while his long-term target for the remainder of the season remains the forthcoming Chicago Marathon, he regards his latest visit to the North-East’s streets as his most important yet.

Tanni Grey-Thompson is the only person to have won five Great North Runs in a row – the wheelchair racer triumphed in five successive races between 1995-99 – and Farah will emulate her feat if he retains his crown on Sunday morning.

Unlike on his last four outings, however, this year’s Great North Run will not mark the end of his season as he has spent the last couple of months building towards the Chicago Marathon, one of the six world marathon majors, which takes place on October 7.

The Great North Run is a useful staging post on the road to Chicago, and while Farah freely admits the American classic is his major seasonal aim, he does not feel that diminishes the importance of Sunday’s outing on the streets of South Tyneside.

Instead, the World and Olympic champion will be targeting another Great North Run triumph to prove he is in ideal shape to take on the world’s best marathon runners in a month’s time.

“I think the timing of this makes it more important than ever,” said Farah, who called time on his track career last summer in order to focus all his attention on road running. “I need to show I’m right for the start of next month.

“More than ever, this is a big test for me. I know what I’m capable of, but it’ll be nice to show everybody else where I am. I won’t be giving anything big away, but it’ll be nice to lay down a bit of a marker.

“My preparations have been completely different this year, but to be honest, I think it’s probably a better way to do it because you’re not coming off the back of your main seasonal goal.

“In the past, it’s always been that you’ve been concentrating on a World Championships or an Olympics, and you concentrate everything on that and then once you win or do well, you’re coming slightly down as you head to the Great North Run. I’ve still been building up to this race because Chicago is coming, rather than tapering down.”

Farah cherishes all four of his Great North Run victories, having first targeted the race when he competed in the Great North City Games at an early stage of his track career.

He recorded his best time when he broke the hour barrier in 2015, but has especially fond memories of his only losing effort on the half-marathon course between Newcastle and South Shields. That came in 2013 when he beat legendary Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie, but finished behind Kenyan superstar Kenenisa Bekele.

“I’ve got lots of great memories,” said Farah. “There’s obviously the four wins, but the race that probably stands out most is the one when I raced against Gebrselassie and Bekele.

“That was one of the biggest races I’ve ever been involved in, in terms of the depth of the field. You had a world record holder, a former world record holder, and guys who had won a lot of medals, mixing it right the way through the race.

“That was quite an experience, but then the first time crossing the finishing line as a winner was amazing too. That was something I’d always hoped would happen.

“I remember winning either the one mile or two mile race when I was basically just a kid, and I told Brendan (Foster), ‘One day, I’m going to be on that bridge leading the group in the big race’. So for that to happen was a dream come true.”

Farah’s next dream is to win one of the marathon majors, and having finished third at this year’s London Marathon behind Eliud Kipchoge and Tola Shura Kitata, the 35-year-old feels he is gradually coming to terms with the most challenging discipline in athletics.

“It’s still new to me really, but I’m loving every day of it,” he said. “I’m really motivated at the moment. Getting the British record was a big thing, and the European record is probably the next thing on the list.

“Let’s see what happens, but if I could win a major marathon – New York, Chicago, London – that would be what stands out as an athlete.

“What’s the biggest thing in track and field? The Olympics. What’s the biggest thing in marathon running? Winning a major marathon, that would be a nice bit of history.

“I’m learning all the time, but I don’t think I’m afraid to really mix it with the best in the world now. Back in 2014, I probably was afraid to mix it because it was their territory and I was still a track runner learning something new.

“Going into London this year, I wasn’t afraid of anything and I’ve got confidence about what I’m capable of doing now.”

That confidence extends to Sunday’s race, when Farah will line up against a field containing last year’s runner-up, Jake Robertson, and 2017 London Marathon winner, Daniel Wanjiru.

“Jake is an aggressive runner, and he’ll be looking to push early,” he said. “Daniel is a smooth runner, and a great athlete who has run in London. I’ll have to be at my best to beat them, but I feel like I’m in good shape.”