Quotes from Paula Radcliffe

I set myself some specific goals, but the key one is just getting myself into as good a shape as possible for one day this year: the Olympic marathon.

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.

I never plan to run at a certain pace. All my career my motto has been 'no limits.' I don't try to run with a set time in mind, sticking to set splits, because what happens if you're ahead of your splits - are you going to slow down?

I would be happy with an Olympic bronze. What I don't have is an Olympic medal.

I have not had the chance to go out there and do myself justice in an Olympic marathon yet. I have not been able to get to an Olympic marathon injury-free yet.

I've been to three Olympics and I don't feel I've ever quite achieved my best at any of them.

You can't magic yourself back 10 years.

In the marathon anything can happen.

There's always going to be somebody who takes a dislike to you and you can't waste time worrying about it.

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.

Never set limits, go after your dreams, don't be afraid to push the boundaries. And laugh a lot - it's good for you!

It's totally different from last year because I came in with good shape with no health worries so it was about going out there and running well and enjoying it.

Yeah, ideally, I'd probably wish to be more anonymous. But scrutiny and success go together. And I want to be successful.

You see, with me, when I'm nervous, I smile and laugh.

My dad always taught me 'have a plan stick to it', so here we had a plan and we stuck to it, all the family found it easier to do that.

Life is about juggling five balls in the air. They are health, family, friends, integrity and career/achievement.

At the first one we did it was pouring down all day, and it was lovely to see the big smiles on everyone's faces despite the weather. They really enjoyed it – particularly the kids.

It was a joyful last mile," she said in her book Paula: My Story So Far, about the real-life race, and she surely earned that joy. She had talked herself through near-exhaustion by counting to 100, by aiming at landmarks, and by thoughts like, "No matter how exhausted I might feel, a half-an-hour run is one I can manage." She pushed all the way, under 5 minutes for the last mile, never tempted to save anything for another day.