Mo Farah wins third consecutive Great North Run to make history again

The 33-year-old’s finish time of 01:0:04 was not a personal best for the four-time Olympic gold medallist, but enough to see him over the line first and celebrating with his trademark ‘Mobot’.

"To be honest with you I'm knackered," said the Somali-born Brit after the race. "I knew it was going to be hard work.

"I like road running – it's a different pain, so I sometimes question myself, whether I should just stick to the track."

Farah also paid tribute to Alan Shearer, as he crossed the line in the former-Magpies star’s hometown Newcastle, with a kick, after holding off competition from Dathan Ritzenhein and Emmanuel Bett.

The victory follows his defence of both the 5,000m and 10,000mOlympic titles in Rio last month. Farah is one of only two men to lay claim to such a victory, alongside Lasse Viren at the 1972 and 1976 games.

But Farah admitted it was time for a break following his epic summer.

"It's good to finish the year on a high and what a year I've had," said Farah. "I just want to go home now, chill out, see the kids, get up to no good."

Mo Farah: 01:00:04

Dathan Ritzenhein: 01:00:12

Emmanuel Bett: 01:01:22

Bashir Abdi: 01:02:03

Duncan Maiyo: 01:02:06

Abdi Abdirahman: 01:02:46

Chris Thompson: 01:03:35

Ben Connor: 01:04:13

Scott Overall: 01:04:39

Mikael Ekvall: 01:04:52