GWENT marathon legend Steve Jones has backed Mo Farah to win the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff tomorrow.

Team GB Olympic hero Farah has so far failed to break Jones’ British record for the full marathon but he is the fastest Brit over 13.1 miles.

And Jones says Farah has what it takes to secure a home victory in the Welsh capital tomorrow.

“Mo is the favourite – he’s got all the tools to win it,” said Jones, who won the 1985 Chicago Marathon in 2hrs 7mins 13sec.

“There’s been talk of him suffering with sickness in the build-up but I think that’s all kidology.

“He won’t get it all his own way because there are nine sub-one-hour runners in the field and everyone will be trying to take him on.

“The Kenyans will be strong but the wet weather will be a leveller and I think Mo will just sit in and kick over the last couple of miles.”

Jones also believes Welshman Dewi Griffiths can impress on home turf.

“If you take Mo out of it then Dewi has a great chance of coming out on top in the battle of the other Brits,” he said.

“It’s a great event for Wales and the whole of Britain to be hosting and the fact that it’s every two years now means there are a lot of top class runners who are hungry for that world title – I’m really looking forward to it.”

The elite women’s race will start at 1.35pm tomorrow, followed by the elite men’s with the mass participation race starting at 2.10pm.

All starting pens will open at 1.15pm with an official welcoming ceremony starting at 1.45pm. Both races will begin in Castle Street with no admission for late starters.

The 13.1-mile course will see runners start outside Cardiff Castle before heading down towards Cardiff City Stadium on the way to Penarth.

They will pass the Penarth Marina before crossing the barrage and heading to Cardiff Bay.

Runners will then run right through the heart of the bay, past the Norwegian Church and the Wales Millennium Centre.

The course then heads towards the north of the city with runners completing a loop of Roath Park Lake before the grandstand finish in King Edward VII Avenue.