Mo Farah beaten at Great Edinburgh Cross Country

The double Olympic champion lacked his typical explosive sprint to the line – in part due to the sapping surface – as he settled for second in 25:31, two seconds off the winner.

American Scott Fabul took third in 25:38 with GB duo Callum Hawkins (25:41) and Ross Millington (25:43) finishing fourth and fourth at Holyrood Park.

"It's early season so you don't want to lose a race but it's better to lose now than later in the year," Farah said afterwards. "Garrett Heath is a great athlete and he always comes out every year and gets ready for this race.

"I couldn't really sprint but it's the same for everyone else and it was really slippery so it was quite hard."

Great Britain took a comfortable victory in the team event, with their tally of 125 points bettering Europe (197) and United States (232).

Earlier, Kate Avery triumphed for GB in the women’s 6km race, with team-mate Gemma Steel taking third.