Mo Farah, the second man in history to accomplish a ‘double-double’ in winning both the 5000m and 10,000m at the Olympic Games and World Championships, is set to start off the season by competing in the New York City Half-Marathon on 16 March.
Farah will use this race to prepare for his first full length marathon in London on 13 April.
'I can confirm that I will run the NYC Half on March 16 as part of my build-up to the London Marathon in April,' the 30-year-old said through a statement from his winter training base in Iten, Kenya.
He has already participated in this event back in 2011, winning with a time of 1:00.23.
'It will be my second time to compete in this event, after my win there in 2011. I have been training hard in Kenya and hope to use the New York race to gauge my fitness one month out from my 26.2 mile debut,' he added.
Farah is slowly entering the second part of his career, and a shift to the longer road races will be an interesting new challenge, now that he has practically won everything there is to win on the track.
New York Road Runners president Mary Wittenberg added: 'We're very excited to welcome Mo back to the NYC Half. This is a huge thrill for New Yorkers, who will get to see the world's top distance runner on the streets of Manhattan before he makes his full marathon debut in London.
'Mo's star quality and fan following are unmatched in our sport, and we are honoured to have him highlight our professional field.'
The New York Half-Marathon is considered the most competitive half-marathon in the United States with a 2013 field rating of 845, the highest in the event’s eight-year history.