2009 ING NYCM: Radcliffe wants course record! by Alfons Juck, Note by Larry Eder

Paula Radcliffe churning up the field at the 2008 ING NYCM, photo by PhotoRun.net.
Paula Radcliffe is a phenomenon. The women is one of the toughest runners in our sport. That is fact. She can draw inspiration from somewhere within herself, like no one of her generation.
Her 2:15:25 world record is an amazing performance. But, there has been a price. It takes time to recover from such a performance. Her Olympic performances have suffered, but I grew to respect her for her 2008 Beijing performance. She understands the words of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, who revived the Olympic Games, “it is better to have competed…”.
How fast will Paula Radcliffe run today? We shall see….

RADCLIFFE THINKS ABOUT COURSE RECORD
NEW YORK (USA): Paula Radcliffe insists winning a fourth New York City Marathon title is the top priority on Sunday but hasnâ€˜t ruled out challenging the six-year-old course record belonging to Margaret Okayo. The tiny Kenyan clocked 2:22:31 and Radcliffe whose fastest in her three outings in the New York event is 2:23:09, believes attacking it is a possibility.
Radcliffe chasing a third successive win but slowed in the early stages 12 months ago by the wind particularly on Verrazano Bridge, said: â€žIt depends on the conditions and the race as well but my shapeâ€˜s there.â€ The 35-year-old world record holder with a time of 2:15:25 also believes despite recent injury setbacks she can continue her career until the 2012 London Olympics and maybe even beyond. Kenyan Salina Kosgei isnâ€˜t nervous at being tipped as the likeliest competitor to upset Paula Radcliffeâ€˜s plans. The 32-year-old Kenyan however feels her win at the Boston Marathon in the spring will assist in catapulting herself to another top performance against Radcliffe, along with Yuri Kano of Japan another highly rated contender.
For more on the marathon, check out our friends at http://www.MarathonGuide.com
To check the official site, check out http://www,runningnetwork.com

Author

Larry Eder

Larry Eder has had a 51-year involvement in the sport of athletics. Larry has experienced the sport as an athlete, coach, magazine publisher, and now, journalist and blogger. His first article, on Don Bowden, America's first sub-4 minute miler, was published in RW in 1983. Larry has published several magazines on athletics, from American Athletics to the U.S. version of Spikes magazine. He currently manages the content and marketing development of the RunningNetwork, The Shoe Addicts, and RunBlogRun. Of RunBlogRun, his daily pilgrimage with the sport, Larry says: "I have to admit, I love traveling to far away meets, writing about the sport I love, and the athletes I respect, for my readers at runblogrun.com, the most of anything I have ever done, except, maybe running itself." Also does some updates for BBC Sports at key events, which he truly enjoys. Theme song: Greg Allman, " I'm no Angel."

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