The 41-year-old Olympian - who raced for the last time in the 2023 Great North Run - is launching the new team-based series RunGP and hopes to "make history" with the events.

He told The Independent: “When I watch athletics, to me, it's not as exciting as it once was.

"How do we make athletics exciting? How do we make running exciting? How do you make running this big global event?

“And that's what we're trying, in every way. But this idea really is to make this league something that has never been heard of and make history.”

And Mo doesn't see RunGP as being in conflict with the traditional Diamond League or Michael Johnson's Grand Slam Track.

He said: “Michael Johnson is a friend of mine. He's doing an amazing thing to create more in athletics. We've got to get athletics back on the map.

“But if you look at that, that's purely done from sprint or 5K. We're talking about the distance here. We're going to go full out, we’ll do the marathon, half marathon and beyond. But really this event is for the masses, not just the elite level, for everyone and everyone. From kids to all the way through.”

Mo himself gave up running because his "body had had it" but he also had no more goals to achieve so lost the "hunger" for competition.

He said: “I had to stop because my body had had it. Mentally, as well, when you're not as hungry, it's hard to motivate yourself.

“It got to a point where there's nothing more to be achieved; and it was hard to find the next chapter of life, and what am I going to do. I've got my coaching licence, and the events, One Mo Mile, to give back to the kids, but then Global Running came along and I realised it could allow me to connect to people, because that’s the biggest thing missing.”