00:00 Yeah, it's mixed emotional. I'm looking forward to the race, that's one part, and I'm also
00:08 looking forward to retiring and not being an elite athlete anymore. Everything you achieve.
00:19 But I think also it's going to be mixed emotion because all I've known is running and making
00:25 this as my last race and you come back year after year and that won't be happening. This
00:30 is the last time.
00:32 With the Great North Run said to be Sir Mo Farah's final run, across the North East recently
00:36 he has been pretty busy. With his voice being used for the announcement on the Metro, to
00:42 the Metro sign at Heworth being changed to Mo's signature move, and even the pub along
00:46 the finish line has his silhouette on the sign.
00:50 But before all that, Mo Farah left his mark in the North East after he placed his feet
00:54 in a concrete and signed his name in the South Shales Metro station.
00:59 This year the run is back to normal and after the Queen's death last year a lot had to be
01:03 changed but Sir Brendan Foster still gets excited by the Great North Run all of these
01:08 years later.
01:09 Well it's quite easy to get excited once a year isn't it when you get to my age, but
01:12 yeah it is, it's the event's gone bigger and better and stronger and more powerful and
01:19 this year we've got a fantastic story with the individual charity stories that you've
01:23 been talking about but also the great Mo Farah running his last ever race which will
01:27 be great and sad and emotional and happy and exciting and wonderful so yeah we've got
01:35 all of that and we're very lucky.
01:36 It's the biggest ever Great North Run, it's back to normal starting in Newcastle and finishing
01:41 in South Shales with no interruptions this year so fingers crossed we'll have a great
01:46 day on Sunday.
01:47 We provide a stage and then the public get on the stage to tell their stories, to sing
01:53 and dance, to laugh, to dress up, to smile, to raise money for charity, to bring economic
01:59 impact into the region, to celebrate the South Shales and Newcastle so we build the stage
02:05 and we try and build the stage better and better all the time.
02:08 We make it bigger and we hope to make it better and then it's over to the public and they
02:13 never let you down.
02:15 For Mo Farah it is a big moment to decide to finish his competitive racing career at
02:19 the Great North Run this year but why has Sir Mo chosen this race?
02:24 Great North Run has been so good to me over the years, Brendan and the team, I've always
02:31 made this my last race in the season whether you know coming off the Olympics or coming
02:35 off the World Champs and it's only by right being able to give back to others and the
02:40 community itself too.
02:42 I've always enjoyed the Great North Run and I just love the support and this is it.
02:49 Of course after travelling across the North East, getting involved in a lot of things,
02:54 we had to ask Mo Farah that all important question.
02:57 So I want you to tell us your favourite Geordie phrase.
03:00 No man, why aye man, tune tune.
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