Ahead of her final competitive career outing on the streets of London at Sunday’s Virgin Money London Marathon, Britain’s greatest ever female distance runner, Paula Radcliffe spoke to the world’s media in the capital’s Tower Hotel this afternoon.
In an emotional farewell as the 41-year-old marathon legend prepares to hang up her racing shoes this weekend, Radcliffe – who will receive the inaugural John Disley London Marathon Lifetime Achievement Award upon her completion of the 35th anniversary of the 26.2 mile event – revealed:
“It gives me huge gratitude to get the chance to run and take part in the London marathon one more time.
“Things are definitely looking a lot better than they did three weeks ago – training was going very well back in Kenya a couple of months ago but then I tweaked my Achilles and it took six weeks for the inflammation to settle down, so it wasn’t ideal preparation but at least I’m going in healthy despite not being as fit as I’d like.”
On her aspirations for her last ever competition in such a fitting location, the three-time London winner continued:
“I don’t have any split target times – I just want to enjoy the race and feel like I ran hard and gave it a good shot.
“To finish with a smile on my face is the goal, I’ll definitely be savouring the atmosphere and taking the encouragement from the crowds.
“It’s the first time I’ve got to run in the middle of the pack so it will be a whole different experience.”
Only recently appreciating achievements
With her astounding 2:15.25 world record from London in 2003 topping her illustrious athletic CV, the 2005 world marathon champion duly reminisced:
“I remember trying to hit as many miles as possible under 5:13 pace then I picked it up in the second half – I was conscious not to be the pacemaker and I actually thought I could have run quicker.
“When you’re in it (racing mode), you’re always picking the next goal so don’t take the time to appreciate what you’ve achieved – I only started to really appreciate my performances when I had to take so long off running in 2012 and 2013 with injury.”
Looking back on her momentous 25 years in elite athletics which also garnered Radcliffe three New York marathon titles and one Chicago marathon victory, she recalled:
“There’s been a lot of disappointments but I’ve also achieved a lot I never thought I’d be able to.
“My left foot’s caused a lot of problems over the years – I was told back in 1994 that it was so bad, I’ve never run again but luckily, it got better.
“I try not to have regrets but the (2004 Athens) Olympics (where she failed to finish the marathon through illness) was my big disappointment – I always managed to give it my best shot on the track but I wasn’t able to in Athens.”
“Running will always be an important part of me”
A three-time world cross country champion and three-time world half marathon champion in her heyday, Radcliffe explained how her love of the longer distances enabled her to transition smoothly to her favoured marathon event:
“The London marathon was a big inspiration for me moving up to the marathon – seeing my dad race all those years ago, remembering the smells, the atmosphere and even the iconic theme tune on the BBC all contributed – as did winning the world cross country championships in 2001; that was a big factor in me moving up.”
On her post-marathon plans, she continued:
“I’ll have a holiday next week and some time off running to recover – it will be nice to have more time with my family from now on.
“I fully expect to still run every day but the focus of my day will change – running will always be an important part of me, it makes you feel better to be alive.
“I don’t feel I’ve made any huge sacrifices or missed out on anything in my career – I’ve made some great friends and been to some amazing places.
“My body’s just saying it’s time to stop being competitive – it will be nice to relax my running more but I’ll definitely be staying involved in the sport.”
“Still getting that adrenaline buzz”
The 2002 European 10,000m and Commonwealth 5,000m champion is keen to give back to the sport which has given her so much for three decades of her life and so the mother of two explained:
“I enjoy mentoring with the British Athletics camps and helping to stop other athletes from making the same mistakes I did, and seeing their improvement’s a nice reward.
“I’m an ambassador for several events and do a lot of work for Nike, and I’d like to get more involved with kids’ athletics and the IAAF.
“I really enjoy commentating on events for the BBC as well, it’s a great way of still getting that adrenaline buzz in the arena.”
With her finals words saved for the elite end of Sunday’s race in addition to the chance of her world record mark being eclipsed one day, Radcliffe revealed:
“My course record’s under threat judging by the strength of the field and it’s hard to predict the winner.
“The challenge of the marathon is it’s you against the distance so all of the finishers should feel proud to get through it.
“I obviously think world records are there to be broken and although I don’t want it to, it will be – I don’t think I had any more talent than anyone else but I had a way of running as hard as I could, maybe it was my mind-set and having the luck of my body allowing me to get through the hard work to get in top shape.”
