A biography for Paula Radcliffehasn’t been written yet.
“I can swim I'm not bad, but not great.”
“I prefer to be in tune with my surroundings and to be aware of things. I like listening to my foot strike and my breathing. It can be quite soothing.”
“Running gives me a lot of pleasure. It's something I'll always do, as long as I can.”
“To represent your country at a home Olympics is something special and I'm over the moon to be selected for Team GB. I was pleased to get the qualifying time in Berlin earlier this year and my sole focus is getting in the right shape for London.”
“I've been to three Olympics and I don't feel I've ever quite achieved my best at any of them.”
“I prefer just a women's race. It's a totally different game mentally.”
“I have been doing 120 miles a week, when normally I would do about 140.”
“It's important that athletes can compete on a level playing field. And youngsters coming into the sport can know that if they are working hard and training hard, they'll see a true reflection of where they stand and what they can achieve worldwide and not be swayed by people who are cheating.”
“From my training I can get a good idea of what I'm capable of.”
“I can't imagine living and not running.”
“The biggest danger is trying to put too much pressure on yourself, trying to get in too good shape.”
“If you look back at my marathons and ask whether I would swap one of them for my one balls-up, of course I would. But you can't choose. You have to make the best of it on the day.”
“I've had a lot of success over the years racing in New York, but the main point is that I feel the marathon is a different event, a lot more my event.”
“I have always run as hard as I can. You are not going to run any harder with or without men. You are running on your own two feet.”
“Every time I go out and race it's a goal to go out and run faster than I've done before.”
“You can be strong and true to yourself without being rude or loud.”
“Plenty of people who are 38 have run really well in the marathon.”