Farah gracious after loss to Bekele

Mo Farah had no complaints about finishing second to long-distance great Kenenisa Bekele after being pipped to the post in the Bupa Great North Run yesterday.

The pre-race build-up had focused on the contest between the British double world and double Olympic champion and Ethiopians Bekele and Haile Gebrselassie.

The race did not disappoint as the trio remained glued together for most of the 13.1-mile course between NewcastleuponTyne and South Shields.

In the end it was Bekele who led the three runners home in a time of 1hr 9sec, holding off a late charge from Farah over the last 100 metres.

The Briton, who finished one second adrift, felt there was no shame in losing out to such an illustrious rival.

“It was a good race, a great finish,” said Farah.

“When Kenenisa went with a mile to go I thought the pace was just ridiculous. I thought I’d come back and close the gap slowly and I managed to close a little bit but you can’t take away what he has.

“He has great speed and it came down to the last 200metres and right to the line. It was a great race and Haile did most of the work and kept pushing and pushing.”

The crowd were treated to a thrilling race in trying conditions.

With the runners battling wind and persistent

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rain, the lead trio pushed each other along until one mile from the finish in South Shields.

Bekele, running his first competitive halfmarathon, then chose a steep slope on the course to make his break, leaving Farah and Gebrselassie in his wake.

The Briton managed to maintain a consistent gap to the leader, but the pace became too much for the 40-year-old Gebrselassie, who soon dropped off.

At that point, the race looked to be Bekele’s until Farah made a spirited push, showing gritted teeth in a desperate attempt to snatch victory in front of his home support.

However, the experienced Ethiopian was wise to the danger and did just enough to stay ahead of his rival, crossing the line with a slight smile of triumph across his face.