The 35-year-old reached the semi-finals in London this summer and was the oldest athlete in Team GB as he finally competed in his first Olympic Games.

His initial plan was to wind down after the Olympics and focus instead on his day job as a teacher in Bolton but he has had second thoughts and might carry on running for four more years.

"I'd always said if I made the Olympics, that would be it," he said. "But it gives you a sniff and you want more of it. I'd be 39 in Rio and now I'm going, 'never say never'. I might try a marathon next year and find new challenges. Plus we have Glasgow in two years and it will be a supportive crowd, so I'd love to make that."

The veteran will face Scotland's Andrew Lemoncello on Sunday on the streets of the capital but he has taken on other duties in the event. "I've been asked to start the kids race and have a run around with them which will be great after all the talk at the Olympics of inspiring a generation," he said.

* Susan Partridge insists that contesting the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Kavarna, Bulgaria, tomorrow means more to her than merely a consolation for missing the Olympics, writes Kathy May.

The 32-year-old from Oban, now based near Leeds, ran the marathon for Team GB at the World Championships in Daegu in 2011 but her hopes of an Olympic appearance at the longer distance vanished at the London Marathon back in April. Two good displays at half marathon have set her up for tomorrow's race. She had a personal best (71:34) in Bath earlier this year and a decent run in Philadelphia (72:22) last month to secure her place.

"It is a world championships in its own right, and you can't run the half marathon at the Olympics," she said. "You want to have a really positive approach as you head for the start line."