Legendary Olympian Sir Mo Farah is set to join the Great Manchester Run one last time ahead of his retirement this September and we can’t wait to welcome him back to Manchester.
The Team GB icon has been one of our nation’s greatest-ever sports personalities for more than two decades, winning four Olympic goals medals, six World Championship titles and countless records, but the long-distance athlete is set to hang up his running shoes later this year.
However, before he does so, the Somali-born athletics star will be running his second and final Great Manchester Run as part of those taking on the 10k on 21 May.
With it not only being one of his last-ever runs as a professional but the 20th anniversary of the much-loved Manchester event, it’s truly set to be a historic day — and there’s still time to make sure you’re part of it.
Sir Mo Farah is back in Manchester ONE MO TIME this May! 📢
Sir Mo hasn’t taken part in the Great Manchester Run since 2018 when he set an incredible time 28 minutes and 27 seconds, having sadly pulled out last year due to fitness and performance issues, but he’ll obviously be hoping to beat his pace before he calls it a day.
ADVERTISEMENT
Earning a knighthood for his services to sport, not to mention several British, European and World records — including the world’s best time for two-mile indoors (8:03.40) and the One Hour Run (21,330m) — he is considered by many as Britain’s greatest ever athlete and he’ll soon be gracing the streets of Manchester with his farewell lap in front of thousands of people.
Having recently completed his final London Marathon in ninth place with a time 2hr 10min 28sec, Mo said that he “wanted to cry”. The 2023 Great Manchester Run will be his second to last run before calling it a day with his final ever half-marathon at the race’s parent event, the Great North Run.
Speaking ahead of the race on 21 May, Farah said: “There is something incredibly special about racing in Manchester, the support from the city for me has always been phenomenal.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the crowds out on the streets and the thousands of other runners who will be running the half marathon and 10k. It will probably be quite emotional, but I’m so happy to have the chance to race in Manchester again before I retire.”
ADVERTISEMENT
We can’t wait to see you there, Mo — you’ll be cheered on every step of the way and for those of us at The Manc that are taking part, we’ll do our best to keep up! (yeah, right…)
There’s still time to sign up HERE if you want to get involved and for everything else you need to know ahead of the big day, look no further:
Featured Image — Supplied/Sir Mo Farah (via Instagram)
Sponsored
From drone shows to free ice lollies – what went down at Parklife 2025
Daisy Jackson
It’s been a few days since Parklife 2025 wrapped up, and now that we’ve all caught up on sleep we’re looking back on some of the highlights you might’ve missed.
With such a stacked line-up of live music, it would be impossible to have seen everything – from that sizzling final set from Charli XCX to Morgan Seatree’s emotional hometown show, plus viral sensation Interplanetary Criminal filling Matinee and D.O.D. getting the whole Big Top dancing.
One moment that you couldn’t possibly have missed if you were on the ground at Parklife festival was a surprise drone show which dazzled overhead on Saturday night.
As rap legend 50 Cent wrapped up his huge headline set on The Valley stage, and The Hangar came alive to the sound of Pawsa, fans got an extra special treat way up in the skies.
Hundreds of drones came together in an impressive, illuminated aerial display, starting with a 10-second countdown that stopped festival-goers in their tracks.
The drones then flew in formation to create iconic shapes like a yellow JD Sports duffle bag, an adidas shoebox, and the shape of a slowly-rotating Climacool trainer – and what a trainer it is.
The adidas drone show on Saturday nightadidas handed out Climacool-branded lollies and slushies50 Cent on The Valley stageadidas handed out Climacool-branded lollies and slushies
That wasn’t the only bit of attention the Climacool footwear got at Parklife either – thankful fans were treated to free Climacool branded ice lollies and slushies on their way into the festival on Saturday.
As the sun beat down on Heaton Park (bar the odd brief downpour, classic Manchester), adidas and JD Sports arrived in an ice cream truck with the coolest drop at the festival.
There was a helping hand from social media sensation Yombo to hype up the crowd before the festival had even got started.
The Climacool has a textile lining and upper work, with a perforated midsole to allow airflow and keep your feet fresh – perfect for any city adventure (and pretty perfect for a day at Parklife, we discovered).
If the Climacool trainers have caught your eye – either in the sky, at the Climacool ice cream truck, or on social media – then the good news is you can now shop them for yourselves.
Manchester bar announces huge giveaway of margaritas to celebrate first birthday
Daisy Jackson
A cocktail and shuffleboard bar in Manchester city centre is throwing a weekend-long party to celebrate its first birthday, and there are free cocktails up for grabs.
Electric Shuffle is kindly offering to give all of us presents for its birthday, with an epic free margarita giveaway.
That’s alongside an almighty party that includes resident DJs, live music performances, giveaways, exclusive offers, a cracking happy hour and a free photobooth.
The Deansgate activity bar, which has 15 interactive high-tech shuffleboards to play, each one loaded with different game modes, is celebrating one year in the city centre between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 June.
They’re throwing a three-day-long celebration, kicking off at 5pm on Friday with a giveaway of margaritas for the first 250 guests through the doors.
Then there’ll be an Electric Shuffle birthday prize game, where each slide of the puck could unlock prizes like bar tabs, brunch tickets, branded merch, cocktails, pizzas and more.
Singer-songwriter Luke McColl will be playing live during the evening, and you’ll be able to dive into a free photobooth all evening.
Electric Shuffle ManchesterFood and drink at the premium gaming barElectric Shuffle Manchester turns one
Moving on to Saturday’s celebrations – expect happy hour deals all day long, like £4 pins and £7 Sarti Spritzes, complimentary shuffleboard hire (you need to pre-book HERE), a special late brunch session between 5pm and 7pm, and more prize giveaways.
This part of the birthday party will be soundtracked by resident DJs and a live set from Elle Graham.
And if you thought that was the end of the party, you’re mistaken.
On Sunday, Electric Shuffle will host free shuffleboard all day long.
All summer, there’ll be a Margs and Margs deal, where you can get two margarita cocktails and a margarita pizza for just £25.
Electric Shuffle’s first birthday celebrations take place between 20 and 22 June.
Danny Jones -
28th April 2023 
