No Rest until Blackheath Common by nigeruns

New York New York....

It’s a morning with a nip in the air. There is a gentle mist mixed with the wafts of smoke from smouldering bonfires. There is the pungent smell of spent firework and Guy Fawkes singed doublet and hose. I add a splash of colour to this monochrome back drop in my blue running kit, yellow woolly hat and the silver flash from the reflective strips of my Adidas running shoes, as I take to the streets that are covered in a grey autumnal shroud. But does anyone notice...? I make about as much impact as the bead of sweat that drops off the end of my nose. Plop.....!

A million miles away in New York however, it is 11c and the sun is shining. In the air there is the odour of beef burger and yellow cab exhaust fumes topped with a hint of cappuccino. What a great day to run a marathon as it is a day of colour and carnival on the streets of the city that never sleeps.  Unlike me, it is also the day for Paula Radcliffe to create an impact as the beads of sweat that drop from the end of her nose send out ripples to the world of distance running.  Splash....! Paula is back...!

A few weeks ago, we relished and agonised at her return to the sport, as she laced up her Nikes and took to the Great North Run. That day it felt like watching a dud Catherine wheel, it failed to spark. Had the great Radcliffe fire been extinguished...? The short lived answer to that question is, No, as today in New York she took your newspaper filled Guy Fawkes by the throat, and kicked the tabloid stuffing out of it. The spark had been rekindled and Paula Radcliffe exploded back to form.

This was classic Radcliffe, a runner in control of her own domain, confident in the driving seat, and, as ever providing thrilling entertainment. Who says that the marathon is boring when you have a, 'will she, won't she', scenario right up to the line. A TV soap opera would have filmed three different cliff hanging finalises. Here there was only one definite finally and if anyone wanted to change the script they would have to work hard to do it. Gete Wami, Paula’s co-star in many a marathon campaign, sat in Radcliffe’s shadow and within the last 400m dared to make one final effort to rewrite the script. But with the usual Radcliffe determination, Paula sailed past Wami to a decisive victory.

I may not have made an impact on the running world, but Paula Radcliffe has once more put the world of running in the public eye. Today she looked a different athlete. The birth of her daughter has brought a new glow, and there is a new determination. I feel that there is another chapter of the Marathon running handbook still to be written by Radcliffe, and for those who expressed doubt I think I can smell cooking... Humble pie anyone....? (4/11/07)