What a relief... Paula is back!

Posted by simon on 11/5/2007 on simon's blog

It's not just that she's the best British woman runner, she's the best British runner, man or woman. So I' relieved that after two years out to have a baby, a bit nerve-wrackingly longer than we all expected due to an injury when she started serious training, then an uncharacteristic second place in her first race back (the Great North Run)... Paula Radcliffe is well and truly back.

This morning she won the New York marathon -- her first marathon since winning the world title in Helsinki in 2005 -- and actually produced a sprint-like surge to do it, kicking to gain 23 seconds on Ethiopian Geta Wami in the final mile to win in 2:23:9

I wasn't going to go out for a run today, having been worked over on our 12-mile run yesterday by another Ethiopian woman. Ida claims not to be an elite, and not to be particularly fit, but we were bombing downhill side by side for a good nile and a half ar a fantastic pace on the Bobolink trail yesterday. Last night I was really feeling the effects and decided I needed a day off... then checked the NY results and came over all inspired :)

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3 comments

dave albo says:

What a relief...Simon is back (blogging that is).

We watched Paula dig deep and finish very strong yesterday. She seemed possessed by some extra force most of us don't tap into! What a beast! This brought the emotions way up in our household, almost teary eyed, straight after the emotional low of watching our beloved Denver Broncos getting pummeled.

Dave

ps. I got a pair of "Newton's". So far so good.

by dave albo on Mon, 2007-11-05 14:35

Patty Murray says:

I love watching Paula run. She is so tough. Once her head starts bobbing there is no stopping her. I was afraid for just a moment when Wami surged past Paula then Paula just took off. How exciting. The men's trials were exciting too. I was happy to see Ritz run so well and felt bad for Alan Culpepper. The marathon is a frustrating race, reason why I am retired from running marathons. It was definitely a weekend for great marathons and disastrous football games, CU and the Broncos. I have yet to go to a CU game and make it till the end. I did finally have a good workout on Saturday running repeat miles on a Cross country-type course. It felt good to breathe hard and push myself. There is nothing else like it!

Patty

by Patty Murray on Mon, 2007-11-05 14:58

simon says:

Hi guys... we really must run together again soon, although I am still doing easy stuff.

It's great that you can respond to Paula's running on that emotional level. Can you imagine what it used to be like as a Brit to have to watch her setting the pace in almost every race and ALWAYS getting passed just before the finish? Even now when I watch her I still can't quite believe she's going to be OK -- well, I guess she reinforced that a bit with the Olympic marathon debacle.

by simon on Thu, 2007-11-08 06:28