At the Berlin Marathon this weekend, 37-year-old Paula Radcliffe of England placed third, easily qualifying for the Olympic Games in London next year. Ms. Radcliffe holds the world record for the marathon, but this was her first such race in nearly 23 months after giving birth to her second child.
Ms. Radcliffe’s success in Berlin comes after a difficult year in which she considered retirement, reports New York Times reporter Jere Longman.
At her best, Radcliffe has redefined possibility for women’s distance running, wearing a nasal strip to aid her asthmatic breathing, knee-high compression socks to massage her calves and a titanium necklace, often seen on baseball pitchers, that is meant to improve blood flow and reduce muscle stress.
The familiar nodding motion of her head suggests both exertion and determination. It is not an elegant running style. Sometimes it seems that every step Radcliffe takes is uphill, yet she prefers to run from the front, pushing the pace, resolved to get to the finish line first.
She has won world championships in the marathon, the half-marathon and in cross-country and a European championship at 10,000 meters on the track. She has won prestigious marathons in New York, London and Chicago. She has extended a top international career through the births of two children. But Radcliffe’s body has been as fragile as it has been brilliant, operating in that narrow, redlining zone between the hum of inexorable victory and the rattle of breakdown. And her luck in four Olympics has been awful, empty of medals, full of disappointment.
Her buildup to Berlin has been accompanied by life-giving affirmation and career discouragement. The year since giving birth to her son was “the hardest ever,” Radcliffe said. Injury and illness made her consider retiring more than once. Doubt and frustration calcified and stabbed like a bone spur.
“There have been times when I’ve said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,’ ” Radcliffe said Thursday over lunch in a hotel in Potsdamer Platz. “Two minutes later, you change your mind. There isn’t anything else I’d rather do at this point.”
To learn more about Ms. Radcliffe, read the full story, “Two Steps Back. 26.2 Miles Forward,” and then please join the discussion below.
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