Dubai: Paula Radcliffe who holds the world record in women’s marathon, said aspiring athletes must not set limits on their goals in their pursuit to be the best.
Now in Dubai as a guest for the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon, the British ace offered tips in a chat with ‘Gulf News’: “My advice will be not to set limits for yourself and work very hard and to pay attention to all of the small details like recovery as well as the training, nutrition, sleep and everything. Try to be the best you can and if you are trying to make your best performance, then you can get the best from yourself. “
One of the most decorated contemporary athletes, Radcliffe is a three-time winner of the London Marathon in 2002, 2003, and 2005: three-time New York Marathon Champion winning in 2004, 2007 and 2008 and the Chicago Marathon in 2002.
Radcliffe never allowed the thought that Ethiopians and Kenyans can dominate her sport. “I think I was lucky, growing up when I was a youngster I did not just see Ethiopian and Kenyan runners at the top of my sport. I had lot of other good role models. I believed that if I work hard I can compete at the top and I think I set out to be the best I could be and see how far that could take me,” she said.
What, according to Paula then, is needed to become a good marathon runner? “May be, you need to be a little bit crazy (laughs) but also you must enjoy running. If you don’t enjoy something, it is much harder to get hundred per cent from it,” said the charmer, who was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year many times in her glittering career.
Radcliffe ended her running career last year and graduated to become one of the finest commentators. Speaking about her new role as a commentator, she said: “I am enjoying because it enables me to be close to a sport that I love and have a front-row seat. If you cannot be out on the course taking part, then I think the next best thing is watching it from proximity.”
