Double Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah is aiming to smash the British record at the London Marathon on Sunday in his first ever competitive attempt at the distance.

The 31-year-old, who won the hearts of the British public at London 2012 with golds in both the 5,000 and 10,000 metres, is untested and unproven over 26.2 miles.

An experienced and star-studded field will take to the start line at Greenwich Park including four of the 10 fastest marathon runners in history.

Farah, however, remains confident he can hold his own and has his sights firmly set on Steve Jones’ British record of 2 hours, 7 minutes and 13s, which has stood since 1985.

“My main target is definitely to go after the British record,” Farah said.

“Hopefully I can the break the British record and then we’ll see what comes with it.

“It’s going to be an incredible race whatever happens because if you look at the field, it’s something very special.”

Farah continued: “I know with my confidence on the track I should be there but at the same time the distance for me is a challenge.

“It’s something I’m going to find out if I can do or not and that’s what I wanted, I wanted to test myself.

“I’ll go out there and go with the group and try to be patient — that’s my aim, not to waste too much energy.”

Doubts over whether Farah can stay the gruelling distance intensified after his performance at the New York City half-marathon last month.

Farah fell early on in the race and while he recovered to finish second behind Geoffrey Mutai, he collapsed shortly after crossing the finish line and had to be led away in a wheelchair.

“I fell over early on and it was just hard after that because you’re so tired,” Farah explained.