Megabucks deal for Mo to run marathon

Farah in line for six-figure deal with London Marathon

MO FARAH is set to land a six-figure deal to run in the next two London Marathons. Farah, 34, is expected to meet organisers of the race after defending his 5,000m and 10,000m titles at the World Championships, which start at the London Stadium tomorrow. Farah has already run the marathon twice, stopping at halfway in 2013 and finishing eighth in 2014 with an English record time of 2:08:21. ‘I’d love to win the London Marathon one day and I’ll give it my best shot — but it’s a big change moving from track to roads,’ he said.

SIR MO FARAH will be invited to run the next two London Marathons and race officials are ready to offer him a six-figure deal after the World Championships.

Farah plans to retire from track racing at the end of this season and, at 34, focus on the road instead. London Marathon bosses are hoping to meet with the fourtime Olympic champion and his representatives imminently.

But Sportsmail understands that Farah’s agent, Ricky Simms, will not discuss a return to the streets of London before the World Championships.

Simms clearly hopes to go into negotiations in the strongest possible position — on the back of another world track double in the 5,000m and 10,000m in front of a London crowd. Farah has contested the marathon distance only once, finishing eighth in London in 2014 with an English record time of 2hr 8min 21sec.

Back in 2013, he had to defend claims he risked ruining his reputation when accepting a reported £450,000 to run half of the London Marathon, then the full race the following year.

Michael Johnson, the former 400m world record-holder, said Farah’s decision to pull out after 13 miles made it ‘look like it is all about the money’. In an interview with the Radio

Times earlier this week Farah, who has refused to speak to British newspapers in the build- up to tomorrow’s 10,000m final, said: ‘I will definitely be looking for a new challenge. I’ll be racing at the Great North Run in September and then I’m hoping to transition to the roads. I’d love to win the London Marathon one day but it’s a big change.’

It makes sense for the London Marathon to recruit Farah but there is understood to be some ongoing concern about the United States Anti- Doping Agency investigation into his coach, Alberto Salazar, and allegations made by the BBC about the Nike Oregon Project.

Indeed, concerns were initially raised by USADA about an L- carnitine infusion given to Farah before he ran the 2014 marathon. USADA investigators are looking at whether Salazar and some of his athletes have broken anti- doping rules by infusing more than the permitted limit of 50ml in six hours.

They were alarmed to discover the Farah infusion was not properly recorded by then UK Athletics doctor Robin Chakraverty. At a parliamentary hearing in April, UKA chairman and London 2017 boss Ed Warner described Chakraverty’s failure to correctly log the Farah infusion as ‘inexcusable’. Farah maintains he has never broken anti-doping rules.