Mo Farah made Great North Run history Sunday morning in North East England when he claimed his third straight title to become the first man to ever accomplish the feat. 

Farah passed former Nike Oregon Project teammate Dathan Ritzenhein for the half marathon victory in a winning time of 60:04. Ritzenhein followed for second in 60:12. 

Mo Farah is the first man to win the #GreatNorthRun three years in a row!

He even had time for a little kick... https://t.co/lrkmDRCpLY

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 11, 2016

Ritzenhein attempted to out-pace Farah from the gun, but Farah was able to pass him with one mile to go, and ultimately beat Ritzenhein by eight seconds. 

"I knew I had to work hard because Dathan is a former training partner and was running a great race," Farah told the BBC. "He put his foot down and tried to get rid of me because he knew I have amazing pace."

"It's good to finish the year on a high, what a year I've had. I just want to go home now, chill out, see the kids, get up to no good," Farah added. 

Farah's Great North Run victory follows his historic repeating of double Olympic gold in the 5K and 10K in Rio. 

After being sidelined from injury for the majority of the 2016 season, Ritzenhein's performance marks his best race of the year and his first half marathon since finishing sixth at the New York City Half in March of 2015. The Michigan native's finishing time of 60:12 is his fastest performance since 2009 when he finished third in 60:00 at the world championships in Birmingham. 

The women's race featured a stunning performance by 5K Olympic champion Vivian Cheruiyot, who stormed past the competition with a winning time of 67:54 to out-kick Priscah Jeptoo by one second. The victory marked a worthy celebration on the Kenyan's birthday. 

"I'm so happy because it's my birthday. I found it tough with one kilometer to go, but it's fantastic for me to end my season this way," Cheruiyot said. 

While the race was previewed to be a showdown between Cheruiyot and three-time Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba, Cheruiyot maintained her winning ways on Sunday morning. Dibaba followed for third in 68:04. 

Vivian Cheruiyot has won the women's elite race at the #GreatNorthRun

The men aren't far behind...#GetInspired https://t.co/PhFQSmqVYG

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) September 11, 2016

Dibaba's performance follows her fourth Olympic Games where she earned a bronze medal in the 10K in a new personal best of 29:42. Cheruiyot claimed silver in the same race where Almaz Ayana broke the world record on her way to winning Olympic gold.