I have such admiration for Paula Radcliffe and her ever enduring spirit of headstrong determination. She’s the women’s marathon world record holder and one of the greatest British Athletes of all time and mother.
Devastatingly Paula Radcliffe’s dreams of running in the marathon in front of her home crowd are over as she has been forced to withdraw due to injury.
Radcliffe was one of the first British athletes to qualify for the Games but she has been unable to recover from a foot injury. She has suffered with osteoarthritis in her foot throughout her career but the latest flare up has left unable to be at her best ahead of the marathon at the weekend.
Reflecting on her statement the Guardian commented, “Those who attain greatness do so not by shying away from it but by breaking through the barrier and absorbing its consequences – to almost relish the pain. They know that to endure brings with it great rewards. But there is a line to be drawn and, more often than not, it’s difficult for those at the top of their sport to see it clearly.”
Well put Guardian. For Radcliffe and all those other Olympiads it’s that grey area between excellence and obsession that every athlete has to juggle.
Her spot on the marathon team has been filled by Freya Murray.
LEGENDS RUN FOREVER.
Nike rallied up support for Paula Radcliffe by asking runners to dedicate all of their Nike+ runs to Paula by tagging them #legendsrunforever. They then presented the total mileage to her at an honorary event on 8th August.
Hundreds of runners turned out to celebrate Paula and compound her exit out of the Games. The event was held at Nike+ FuelStation at Clapham Common. She was joined by athletics icon Carl Lewis, Paula took to the stage for a candid Q&A with fans, who then set out to log a #legendsrunforever 2.26mi Nike+ run.
GO PAULA!
mummy running 