Interview wth Paula Radcliffe
by Shannon Martin

Paula Radcliffe running in the ING New York City Marathon 2004.

Marathon world-record-holder Paula Radcliffe was named as recipient of the 2006 Abebe Bikila Award in New York City as part of the ING New York City Marathon 2006 race week festivities. The award, presented annually by New York Road Runners since 1978, honors a person who has made an outstanding contribution to distance running.

Radcliffe, 32, is the first British recipient of this award. Considered by many to be the best marathoner of all time, Radcliffe’s world-record 2:15:25 is more than three minutes faster than any other woman has ever run. Radcliffe has six career marathon victories: three in London (2002, 2003, 2005) and one each in Chicago (2002), New York (2004), and the IAAF World Championships (Helsinki, 2005).

Radcliffe’s accomplishments in distance running are certainly not limited to the marathon. She has also won three gold medals at the 2001 and 2002 World Cross Country Championship,s and the 1992 World Junior Cross Country Championships, three World Half-Marathon Championships titles (2000, 2001, 2003), gold medals at the 2002 European Championships and 2002 Commonwealth Games. She has the world-best times at 10K (30:21) and half-marathon (1:05:40), and the 10,000-meter European record (30:01.09).

Fast-women.com caught up with Radcliffe for a brief interview before a press conference at the acclaimed Tavern on the Green. Looking extraordinarily healthy at seven-months pregnant, Radcliffe readily shared her thrill about receiving the Bikila award, reminiscence about her running history, as well as her excitement with the new life that she carries.

Fast-Women.com: It’s so great to see you here in New York. How does it feel to receive the Abebe Bikila award?
Paula Radcliffe: It’s a big honor. Just the name alone, you know? Bikila’s name is so synonymous with distance running as also are the names of people who have won the award in the past [Lasse Viren, Grete Waitz, Alberto Salazar, Bill Rodgers, Tegla Loroupe, and Mizuki Noguchi to name a few]. It’s great to become part of that list.

FW: Let’s take a look back into your past when you first began running seriously. Who did you consider as your running role models?
PR: When I first started running, it was really more about me falling in love with running. Then, I remember watching Ingrid Kristiansen break the world record in the London Marathon. So, she was an inspiration then. Now, Liz McColgan is an inspiration, being that she is a mother as well. There’s not really one runner who stands out though; I think my inspiration has come from many people.

FW: When did you first decide that you wanted to take running super seriously and make it your career?
PR: That’s a hard one. There was never really a point when I wasn’t enjoying running. There wasn’t really a conscious point when I thought “I’m going to be a runner for a career.” I still went to University and while I was there, I was still thinking of getting a proper job when I graduated. I just stayed with running though, so it’s hard to really think of one point when I thought “This is what I’m going to do.” Probably though, after I won the World Junior Cross Country Championships, I realized that I could make it as a professional runner, that I could achieve things with the sport.