Athletics/ London Marathon: Even elite marathon running is partly about fulfilling personal targets and Sonia O'Sullivan was well inside the one she set for London yesterday. Aiming to break two hours and 30 minutes for the first time - and proving she had some future at the distance - she came home in 2:29:01, good enough for eighth place.

As expected O'Sullivan ended up running a completely different race from Paula Radcliffe, who produced yet another quite astonishing performance to win in 2:17:42 - the third-fastest women's marathon ever.

Yet O'Sullivan was more than satisfied with her effort. She was more than three minutes faster than she had previously run for the distance, in New York in November of 2002, when she trailed home a distant 12th in 2:32:06, and it has reinforced her enduring belief that she is still capable of competing at the highest level.

It also left her with the third-fastest time ever by an Irish woman behind Catherina McKiernan's Irish record of 2:22:23, and Carey May's 2:28:07.

Significantly, her time was also some 13 minutes inside the qualifying standard for the World Championships in Helsinki next August, where she also has the option of returning to the 5,000 metres, for which she has also qualified. It appears inevitable she will run a major championship marathon before her time is finally up.

O'Sullivan looked relaxed and strong throughout, and sprinted the last 100 metres to the finish along The Mall before breaking into a familiar smile of satisfaction as she glanced over her shoulder to see her time on the big clock.

Afterwards she hinted she could have done better but for blisters on both feet and an unscheduled toilet stop. "The blisters were painful but I'm happy in that I felt I ran sensibly and got the best out of myself on the day," said O'Sullivan as she greeted her two daughters and partner, Nic Bideau, near the finishing area.

"In New York I really tired in the last few miles but here I felt pretty strong and that is satisfying and there is no reason to doubt I can run much faster with a little better and uninterrupted preparation.

"I had no problems with the distance and now I hope to run in a few of the 10k road-race series that are coming up in the coming weeks, but as far as running another marathon is concerned I have no plans at this time."

O'Sullivan was due back in Dublin later today to appeal the Irish Sports Council's decision not to issue her with any grant for the coming year, and she'll clearly have added artillery with which to make her case.

Radcliffe was once again in a race of her own, but she endured some difficulties along the way, with a moment of alarm four miles from the finish when she stopped on the roadside - as it transpired for a brief toilet break - before pressing on.

In the end she had a winning margin of five minutes and eight seconds from Constantina Dita, who set a Romanian record of 2:22:50 in second place. Then came Kenyans Susan Chepkemei (2:24:00) and Margaret Okayo (2:25:20) with fifth place going to Russia's Lyudmila Petrova in 2:26:28.

After that in sixth place came O'Sullivan's regular training partner from Australia, Benita Johnson, in 2:26:31 with the great Kenyan Joyce Chepchumba seventh in 2:27:00, as O'Sullivan battled on bravely on her own.

Her preparations for London had been limited in that she was injured for several weeks last November and December, and was always going to run cautiously as a result. She stuck to her plan to run at the pace she felt comfortable with, always looking in command of her destiny, while also half looking to close the gap ahead of her.

She held well back from the leaders from the outset as the pace oscillated between miles of 5:03 and 5:15 with the third covered in 4:58.

At 15km Radcliffe was the leader in 48:34 with O'Sullivan 10th, 3:23 adrift. By 25km O'Sullivan had moved up to eighth but was now 5:38 behind Radcliffe, who was powering away on her own as Okayo and Chepkemei dropped away.

Martin Lel of Kenya was an unexpected winner of the men's race in a world-class field. He broke for home around four miles from the finish to add the London title to his victory in New York 17 months ago.

The 26-year-old's time of 2:07:26 was the fastest in the world this year as he outpaced his better-known rivals, including pre-race favourites and compatriots world-record holder Paul Tergat and defending champion Evans Rutto, who slumped to eighth and 10th.

The world champion, Jaouad Gharib, was second in 2:07:49. Hendrick Ramaala of South Africa came third in 2:08:32.

TheResult

WOMEN: 1 Paula Radcliffe (Bri) 2hrs 17mins 42secs, 2 Constantina Tomescu-Dita (Rom) 2:22:50, 3 Susan Chepkemei (Ken) 2:24:00, 4 Margaret Okayo (Ken) 2:25:22, 5 Lyudmila Petrova (Rus) 2:26:29, 6 Benita Johnson (Aus) 2:26:32, 7 Joyce Chepchumba (Ken) 2:27:01, 8 Sonia O'Sullivan (Irl) 2:29:01, 9 Mulu Seboka (Eth) 2:30:54, 10 Mara Yamauchi (Bri) 2:31:52.

MEN: 1 Martin Lel (Ken) 2hrs 7mins 26secs, 2 Jaouad Gharib (Mor) 2:07:49, 3 Hendrick Ramaala (Rsa) 2:08:32, 4 Abdelkader El Mouaziz (Mor) 2:09:03, 5 Stefano Baldini (Ita) 2:09:25, 6 Jon Brown (Bri) 2:09:31, 7 Toshinari Suwa (Jpn) 2:10:23, 8 Paul Tergat (Ken) 2:11:38, 9 Sammy Korir (Ken) 2:12:36, 10, Evans Rutto (Ken) 2:12:49.