Sir Mo Farah will line the start of his very last race this Sunday at the Great North Run.

Farah, who has won the iconic race in the North East six times, made the announcement earlier this year, having reportedly rang race organiser Brendan Foster on Boxing Day last year to let him know.

'It’s very exciting to be finishing my last run at the Great North Run. It has been so good to me over the years and this is the final time,' he told the PA news agency.

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'The race means a lot, to see Brendan (Foster) and the team how they made this event one of the biggest events in the world, to see how far it’s grown.

'On Sunday there’ll be 60,000 people taking part and it’s not just for the elite, it’s for the masses.

Farah, who finished fourth at the Big Half last weekend as he battled a cold, has only ever been beaten at the Great North Run once – on his debut in 2013, when he was pipped to the tape by one second by Kenenisa Bekele.

'To come out over the years and win it six times is incredible,' he said.

On Sunday, he will go head-to-head with Kenyan athlete and triple world half-marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor and Ethiopia's double world 5000m champion, Muktar Edris.

As well as the Big Half, this year Farah has raced in April's London Marathon, where he finished ninth, and at the Great Manchester Run 10K in May, where he finished eighth.

Does he feel pressure to finish on the podium in Newcastle this week? Perhaps a little. But he says he wants to enjoy it, telling The Independent:

'I think most importantly… get the race out of the way and just enjoy it,' he said.

'I’m looking forward to it, when you’re an elite athlete you expect to be at the front, to be competitive with others and my body hasn’t been able to do that for the last couple of years.

'That’s what for me was really important, when you’re not performing at your best anymore and getting on a bit, it’s very important that you end it at some point.

'But when is that right moment? For me, finally, this is it.'

You can watch live coverage of the 42nd Great North Run from 10:00 BST on BBC One.