Quotes By Paula Radcliffe

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.

I can't imagine living and not running.

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

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

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.

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

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 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.

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

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

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.