Athletes

Born in a blizzard in December 1973, Paula Jane Radcliffe has carved out a reputation as the most compelling distance runner of her generation. A marathon world record-holder and former World, European and Commonwealth champion, there are very few accolades that the Brit has not secured during a long and successful career.

Despite finishing 299th as a 12-year-old in the girls’ race at the 1986 UK Women’s Cross Country Championships, she refused to let the experience deter her and made rapid progress under the astute guidance of Alex Stanton, her lifelong coach. After breaking through to win the 1991 English Schools’ 1500m title, the following year she announced her potential on the international stage by winning the world junior cross-country title at a snow-covered Boston.

However, her path to the top was not always smooth and her early years as a senior athlete included a succession of near misses: she finished fifth in the 5000m at the 1995 World Championships and 1996 Olympics, and although she won a silver medal in the 10,000m at the 1999 World Championships, she missed out on the medals at the 2000 Olympic Games and 2001 World Championships.

But Radcliffe refused to be downbeat and gained real belief after finally landing a global gold by out-sprinting Ethiopia’s Gete Wami at the 2001 World Cross Country Championships. This triumph opened the floodgates for an unprecedented period of success for the Bedford-based athlete.

She was flawless in 2002, beginning the year by retaining her world cross-country title. A few weeks later she made a sensational marathon debut in London, winning in 2:18:55 — the second-fastest time in history. She later landed Commonwealth and European gold medals over 5000m and 10,000m and completed the year by setting a world record — 2:17:18 – in the Chicago Marathon.

Her glorious streak of invincibility was maintained in 2003 when she obliterated her own marathon world record in London with a stunning time of 2:15:25 – a mark which was comfortably quicker than the leading British man.

Paula’s career, however, received a crushing setback at the 2004 Olympics. Despite starting as clear favourite to take marathon gold, a leg injury two weeks before the competition had led her to take anti-inflammatory drugs. These hindered her food absorption and the resultant lack of energy caused her to withdraw after 22 miles. Despite being slaughtered by some sections of the press for quitting, she refused to lie low and thrillingly earned redemption three months later by taking victory in the New York Marathon.

In 2005 Radcliffe cemented her status as the world’s greatest female marathon runner by taking gold at the World Championships.

In January 2007 she gave birth to her first child, Isla, after a gruelling 27-hour labour, and picked up a back injury in the process which delayed her return. However, ten months later, she was back in competition and stormed to yet New York Marathon victory.

Her dream of Olympic gold was once again crushed in 2008. She suffered a stress fracture of the femur in May of that year and a badly underprepared Radcliffe could only struggle to 23rd in Beijing.

Once again, New York offered redemption of sorts for the Brit as she delivered her third victory in the Big Apple marathon in November.

A staunch anti-drugs campaigner and a fiercely committed trainer — she sometimes runs up to 160 miles per week — Radcliffe has also been praised for her modesty and approachability, and her achievements have helped usher through a new generation of talented young British female endurance athletes.

Interview

Q Does running get any easier with age?

A Some parts do, some parts don’t. You genuinely lose a bit of speed. I’m not going to run 100m as fast as I did when I was 20-something, but I’m amazed each year because I do get stronger. Some of that is due to the accumulation of miles I’ve run, but I do genuinely think your body gains a little bit more endurance over time. I used to find it very hard to push my distance runs up to two hours – now I find it easy. You get a bit wiser, too, and that is a good thing for endurance running: I’m not in a rush to get everywhere and I can look at things more logically.

Q Has it been difficult to adjust your training to suit your new role as a mum?

A No. I’ve been very lucky with Isla; she was only six weeks’ old when she started sleeping through the night. She goes to bed at 8pm and sleeps until 8.30am or 9am. We all get up then, she gets her breakfast, and we drop her off at the creche. I guess the only difference is, whereas Gary [Lough, Paula’s husband] used to do the easier run of the day with me, I do that on my own now. Gary does a huge amount. Also, his parents and mine have come away with us and helped look after Isla. We are very fortunate.

Q What’s been the highlight of your career?

A The 2001 World Cross Country Championships. There have been probably only two occasions in my career when I could genuinely say I’ve woken up and felt this is going to be my day. That was one of them. I was so calm – even though it was my ninth go at winning it and I hadn’t got it right yet. In the race I didn’t even have to think ‘Shall I make that move? Shall I do that?’ I knew I wasn’t going to be beaten. The other time when I had this same feeling was when I set the marathon world record in London. Everything clicked.

Q Do you ever drink alcohol?

A You can’t spend as much time in France as I do and not enjoy a glass of wine. I don’t think it does you any harm. Like they say, 'Everything in moderation'.