Quotes By Paula Radcliffe

No one remembers who came fourth.

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.

You can wish as hard as you like but all that really matters is the shape you're in on the day of the race. I've always felt these really big races aren't necessarily won by whoever is the fastest. They're won by the athlete who is the smartest and in the best shape on the day.

I'm not meek at all.

In the week before a race, I try to stay away from germ areas. I keep disinfectant wipes in my bag for when I have to use a supermarket trolley or something like that.

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

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

You can be strong and true to yourself without being rude or loud.

I can't imagine living and not running.

I deliberately returned slowly to training after Raphael was born and everything, apart from being bitten by a dog whilst out training in Monaco at the beginning of the year, has gone pretty well.

At big championships it's not the fastest person, it's the person who gets it right on the day.

I took a lot of bad things after Athens. I just learnt to deal with it. The problem was beforehand I had this feeling where I was trying to please everybody - I wanted everybody to like me.

I actually got a nice surprise about being a mother because I expected it to be harder and to have to make more adaptations.

I have always loved running on the roads, ever since I used to take part in relays for my club when I was 12 and 13. I felt really at home on the surface.

I am not going to let Athens affect the rest of my life.

It's important that athletes can compete on a level playing field. And youngsters coming into the sport can know that if they are working hard and training hard, they'll see a true reflection of where they stand and what they can achieve worldwide and not be swayed by people who are cheating.

A half marathon is a good way to have a bit of fun and race against those girls and learn a bit more about them.The world half marathon is a world championship at the end of the day and it's important. I've win it twice and it's a quality event.

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

I apologise to people when I need to.

For an athlete, the biggest pressure comes from within. You know what you want to do and what you're capable of.

I am not driven by any bitterness by what happened in Athens. I learnt a lot of lessons from it and probably came through it a stronger person in the end. There have been a lot of near misses, and that's taught me to keep persevering and that there is a chance it can come right.

I prefer just a women's race. It's a totally different game mentally.

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

Actually I don't choose to expose myself in public. I choose to compete; the other side just comes with the package.

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 don't like going away from my children.

I have been doing 120 miles a week, when normally I would do about 140.

I can swim I'm not bad, but not great.

To represent your country at a home Olympics is something special and I'm over the moon to be selected for Team GB. I was pleased to get the qualifying time in Berlin earlier this year and my sole focus is getting in the right shape for London.

Plenty of people who are 38 have run really well in the marathon.