Paula Radcliffe will bid farewell to competitive athletics at this year's London Marathon three years after fearing her days running the 26.2 mile distance had gone for good.

Radcliffe’s hopes of crowning her illustrious career with Olympic gold were shattered when she was forced to pull out of London 2012 with a long-standing foot complaint.

And an acknowledgement that she can no longer live with the world’s elite is behind her decision to make April’s race in the capital her last.

Radcliffe — who still holds the world record over the distance having set it in 2003, said: “I have no room for regrets because I didn’t think I would ever run a marathon again.

“Since my operation on my foot I have reassessed and moved onto different targets. It is frustrating, but sometimes I just have to be grateful I am running at all.

"It will be a very emotional day because I grew up watching my dad run marathons and the great Ingrid Kristiansen set a record. But I can't change anything and it is time to move on."

Radcliffe is uneasy with the notion that her glittering career — which culminated in a world marathon title in Helsinki in 2005 — has had any direct effect on the growth in the number of women taking up the sport.

But she is passionate about playing her part in nurturing the next generation of athletes and is part of an initiative which will select and mentor six novice female runners to train and compete in the Great Manchester Run in May.

“Looking back over the last few years women have certainly got a lot more involved in the sport and that is down to a lot of factors, not least an improvement in facilities or getting over the intimidation factor,” said Radcliffe.

“Anyone can put on a pair of shoes and step out of the door and now when you look at events like the Great North series you see that up to 45 per cent of competitors are women and that is a great change.”

Instead of allowing herself to be the recipient of special praise, Radcliffe singles out the likes of Jo Pavey, who became the oldest female European champion in history in Zurich last year when she claimed 10,000 metres gold.

“Jo can be an inspiration to both women and men — it is just brilliant to watch her succeed and knowing all that she has been through it inspires a lot of people,” added Radcliffe. “If people want to look at me in the same way that’s great, but I’m just trying to do the best I can right now.”