Athletics News: Paula Radcliffe has passed up the opportunity of completing a grand slam of the major big city marathons to run in London again on April 17th as the race celebrates its 25th anniversary.
With victories in Chicago (2002), London (2002 and 2003) and New York (2004) under her belt, only Boston remains to be conquered, but the marathon there takes place a day after London.
"Boston is definitely a race I want to do, but London is very special to me," Radcliffe said. "I love the atmosphere, crowds and course and know it will always be a great quality race. It is also the 25th anniversary and that adds to the occasion.
"The support that I have had there from the spectators and the public in general is amazing so I am really looking forward to running there again. I have had so many messages and letters from people who have been accepted for this year's race.
" It is believed organisers had to offer Radcliffe (31) more than they have ever paid anyone to run in the event, in excess of the estimated £500,000 she received two years ago. And she could double that figure in prize money and bonuses from organisers and sponsors if she won the race and set another world record.
Confusion, however, continues to persist over what actually constitutes the world record. Radcliffe won London in 2002 on her marathon debut in 2hr 18min 56sec, a world record in a women's only race. She ran 2:17.18 in Chicago six months later in a mixed race before returning to London in 2003 to improve that to 2:15.25 with the aid of a Kenyan male pacemaker, added controversially to what was billed a women's only event.
"After announcing the greatest men's field ever we now have the greatest women's distance runner ever," said David Bedford, the race director.
Radcliffe's career suffered a setback when she failed to complete the marathon and dropped out of the 10,000 metres at the Olympic Games in Athens in August. But she bounced back to win the New York Marathon in November.
Radcliffe, who has not raced since then, is undergoing her annual check up with Gerard Hartmann in Limerick before flying to Albuquerque on Thursday to begin preparing for London.
Her plans leading up to London remain unclear but it is unlikely she will deviate too far from what has proved successful.
That points to her running in the World's Best 10km race in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on February 27th, where she set a world best of 30min 21sec in 2003, and the world cross country championships in Saint-Etienne, France, on March 19th-20th, an event she won in 2001 and 2002.
The London race will be Radcliffe's first step towards the Beijing Olympics in 2008 and it appears she and her husband Gary Lough have postponed plans to start a family to concentrate on winning the gold medal.
"Nothing is planned," she said when asked about the possibility of having a baby in the near future. "I don't think a family is something that you 'fit in'."
