British athletics great Mo Farah admitted today he faces an uphill task to win Sunday's London marathon with the likes of two-time winner Eliud Kipchoge in the field but says he will fight for a podium place.
The 35-year-old Somalia-born runner -- who twice achieved the 5,000-10,000m Olympic double -- said one bonus for his third attempt is that he no longer has to think about conserving energy for a track campaign.
Farah, who stopped at the halfway point in the 2013 race and finished eighth in 2014, retired from the track at the end of last season after just missing out on a third successive world championship 5km-10km double in London.
"It's a great feeling not to have the same pressure as I do on the track," Farah told a pre-race press conference.
"If the guys set off at world-record pace, I'll go with them, why not? A win would be amazing for me. It's going to be different but every race I go into I aim to fight for a podium place."
"I'm only ranked 27th, so I just have to stick to my plan and see what happens."