Mo Farah pleaded with activists not to disrupt his final London Marathon after confirming that Sunday will be the last major race of his career.
Britain’s most decorated athlete faced up to the end acknowledging his body is no longer capable of the highs that brought 10 global title on the track.
He heads into retirement with "no regrets" and with just one request as he prepares to lace his shoes for an emotional farewell.
“The London Marathon, there are so many people taking part,” he said. “Running for loved ones, raising money for charities, making a difference to others.
“That’s what I ask people to remember. It’s not about us, the elite competitors. Far more important are those running for loved ones. That’s what the London Marathon is all about.”
In light of events at Aintree and Sheffield this week nobody is assuming the 26.2-mile jewel in Britain’s sporting crown will be spared.
Race organisers are in dialogue with Extinction Rebellion and Just Stop Oil and remain hopeful the showpiece will be unaffected and last night Farah felt sufficiently assured to switch into reflective mode.
“It is going to be quite emotional because you know it’s your last journey,” he said. “I think Sunday will get to me. I'll try not to think about it and just run and last the race. But maybe there will be tears.
“Looking back, I had a goal, I went out there and won medals for my country. I always believed in going after medals - because medals are there for you forever."
His career brought four Olympic and six world titles on the track but also controversy through his long-time association with American coach Alberto Salazar, later suspended for doping violations then banned from the sport for life for alleged sexual misconduct.
Through it all Farah never failed a drugs test nor was he accused of any wrongdoing and he insists he would do nothing different.
“As an athlete you go out there, do the best you can and try and win races,” he said. “That’s what I’ve done.
"You can only control what you can control and one thing that has always kept me in the sport, kept me focused, is knowing life wasn't going to get any harder than what I went through as a child.
“Every part has been a journey you never know where it will go. But I took that journey, kept going and kept grafting.
“If I look back and ask if I’d have changed anything, I would have changed nothing."
