New York Marathon

Well done to Paula Radcliffe winning todays New York Marathon!

Hell of a race that. Reminded me of a Tour De France stage, with two leaders playing a tactical game all the way, then one finding out they've got nothing left when they try to break away at the end. Very impressive performance from Radcliffe.

Yes, a top performance from Paula, a very gritty and hard endured effort.
A couple times on the undulations she kicked on only for the Ethipoian to close the gap again, but strength and power in the end got her home for waht eventually was a convincing victory, at least the ENGLISH are good at something

Yes, I really hope she can win Gold in the Olympics next year to make up for the disappointment of Athens... where the heat nearly killed her.

I imagine Beijing will be even harder to run in than Athens, given the humidity and pollution, even if it's not as hot. Here's hoping anyway.

newburygrecian said:

I imagine Beijing will be even harder to run in than Athens, given the humidity and pollution, even if it's not as hot. Here's hoping anyway.

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I think hot is pretty much on the agenda, unfortunately she has no chance and will retire early, pride hurt.

She is being pretty meticulous when it comes to preparation for Beijing, so we may see a surprise.

Jason H said:

She is being pretty meticulous when it comes to preparation for Beijing, so we may see a surprise.

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Meticulous ? That a new word for doing bugger all ?

I know the nips used to turn up to the majors and win thons but I seriously believe she is a better athlete when she is working.

Jason H said:

She is being pretty meticulous when it comes to preparation for Beijing, so we may see a surprise.

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Knowing how well she prepared for Athens...her 'meticulous' preparations did not prepare her for the fact that in a training session soon before Athens, a slight niggle in her leg developed into a debilitating pain, causing her leg to seize up completely. As the weeks progressed, the injury didn't improve. If anything, things were getting worse and time was running out. Paula's physical therapist, Gerard Hartman, prescribed a course of anti-inflammatories to help ease the swelling. But as the dosage increased, Paula's stomach started to feel the effects.

Paula has had an awful lot of injury problems over the years. It has certaily been one thing after another, and her guts and her determination to overcome all the obstacles encountered on the way makes her stronger.

It's a very unforgiving sport at the best of times, but the effects of training for the marathon does really take its toll. I don't doubt for one minute that Paula Radcliffe on the start line at the Beijing Olympics, but I doubt for one minute her body will hold together until 2012.

One thing I will say...she's uniquely focused and uniquely talented and before this race people were suggesting she'll never do it again, she's had her best race, and she's blew away an absolutely fantastic field away.

One thing that is certain about Paula Radcliffe she is by far Britains most successful athlete in the modern era, unfortunately for her if she retires having never won the Olympics many people will say she ultimately failed.

International said:

One thing that is certain about Paula Radcliffe she is by far Britains most successful athlete in the modern era, unfortunately for her if she retires having never won the Olympics many people will say she ultimately failed.

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I think one or two of our chaps with multiple Olympic and World Championships in the bag might disagree, not to mention Dame Kelly or our Sal.