Paula Radcliffe quotes: nuggets from the marathon mogul.
“Stop dreaming. Start doing.”
“Never set limits, go after your dreams, don’t be afraid to push the boundaries. And laugh a lot – it’s good for you!”
“The biggest pressure comes from within. You know what you want to do and what you’re capable of. ”
“You’ve got to develop yourself, on your own, and listen to your own body telling you what to do. Whatever you do in life has to work for you.”
“My coach used to say, ‘This is a rough race plan, but when you go out there, you need to be able to think on your feet and be able to think about what’s happening in the race and to develop that and tune into that.’ That helps outside of sport or running and in your life in general, trusting that little voice that says, ‘Do this.’ Becoming a mom for the first time is a good example because you have no clue what’s going on, but trusting what you think is right makes you a bit calmer in the situation.”
“Don’t believe in having regrets. I’m a big believer in ‘no regrets.’ You give everything your best shot, are proud of the things that work out and accept the things that didn’t work out and kind of learn something from them.”
“Work on your strengths as well as your weaknesses. We have to work on our weaknesses, but we also have to recognize where we are strong and adapt to suit our strengths. And it’s also important to have a plan and stick to it.”
“Set a target and set intermediate targets – that way you will achieve so much more.”
“There are some things in life that are really, really big dramas and big deals and at the end of the day… most of the things we think about and worry about are not real disasters, especially when you think about what everyone else in the world is having to deal with. So, put it in that perspective and get back into what you love doing and allow that motivation and enthusiasm to come from there. Recognize that most people who have succeeded at something have failed at something along the way; that extra motivation and will fuel you.”
“Go in any direction. Seek out new sights… just on your strength.”
“You can’t become a winner overnight, or even in a couple of years. It takes time. You will lose and you will have to accept that, learn from it and believe that you’ll win the next one, knowing that you’ll probably lose that as well. All the time you have to keep believing that one day you will win.”
“No one remembers who came in fourth.”
“At big championships it’s not the fastest person, it’s the person who gets it right on that day.”
“I’m confident of what I want to achieve.”
“When I was 11 starting out, I had two dreams. One was watching Ingrid Christensen and I wanted to run as well as she did and run well over the marathon. I also watched the Los Angeles Olympics and I wanted to win an Olympic medal.”
“The goals I formulated through my career, I just wanted to be able to finish my career and say, ‘Yeah, I achieved what I was capable of.'”
“I am not driven by any bitterness by what happens. I learned a lot of lessons 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.”
“You can be strong and true to yourself without being rude or loud.”
“There’s always going to be somebody who takes a dislike to you and you can’t waste time worrying about it.”
“I apologize to people when I need to.”
“I try not to worry about things that I can’t control.”
“I’ve always been good at putting things behind me. I fall apart, do my crying bit and then put it away and move on.”
“You can’t magically [take] yourself back 10 years.”
“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.”
“You see, with me, when I’m nervous, I smile and laugh.”
“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.”
“From my training I can get a good idea of what I’m capable of.”
“The biggest danger is trying to put too much pressure on yourself, trying to get in too good of shape.”
“If you look back at my marathons and ask whether I would swap one of them for my one balls-up, of course I would. But you can’t choose. You have to make the best of it on the day.”
“Every time I go out and race it’s a goal to go out and run faster than I’ve done before.”
“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.”
“Running gives me a lot of pleasure. It’s something I’ll always do, as long as I can. I can’t imagine living and not running.”
“I don’t feel guilty in having pleasure.”
“That’s what I want when I look back at my career. I want to be able to say I gave it my best shot.”
“Yeah, ideally, I’d probably wish to be more anonymous. But scrutiny and success go together. And I want to be successful.”
“I have achieved a lot and I’m grateful for that – I’m just a bit greedy.”
