London Marathon Crowd helps tired Farah over the line

There was no glorious farewell for Mo Farah in the city where he burned himself into the national consciousness as he struggled home in ninth place in his final London Marathon.

- Sean Ingle

But the 40-year-old, who confirmed afterwards that he will retire in September, was grateful that he made it to the finish - due, in part, to the huge crowds that swelled the route from Greenwich to the Mall.

Farah, one of the eternal faces of London 2012 Olympic Games, even found himself beaten by two British athletes: the 25-year-old Emile Cairess, who showed immense promise to finish sixth in his debut marathon, and Phil Sesemann, who combines running with his day job as a junior doctor for the NHS, and came in eighth.

Intriguingly, Cairess and Sesemann often train together in Leeds - although they no longer go on slower runs together after Cairness tripped over Sesemann's dogs, Haile and Kipchoge, named after the two legendary athletes, Ethiopian star Haile Gebrselassie and Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge.

Afterwards Farah, whose time of 2hr 10min 28sec was the slowest of his career, could not hide his disappointment. However, he admitted it could have been worse without the continuous cries of "Go on, Mo!" and the ringing of cowbells spurring him on.