British athletics legend Paula Radcliffe needed a wheelchair after running her first competitive marathon in a decade at the age of 51.
The former world record holder finished the Tokyo Marathon in 2:57:22 on Sunday and is now gearing up for Boston next month.
But Radcliffe has revealed how the race didn’t go entirely according to plan and left her struggling to walk and in need of assistance.
“Things went pear-shaped”
Speaking on the paulasrunpod, she admitted: “I wish I’d gone off a little bit steadier! Things went a little bit pear-shaped when they announced to me before the race that I was the fastest in the field on the women’s side.
“It wasn’t ideal because, of course, I went off too fast… I’m really hoping in the morning I can get up and walk because when I finished I was sore and I was limping the last 10k.
“At the end I sat on the barrier in the middle of the road and waited for an Uber. It took about 15 minutes and when it arrived, I had to hop on one injured calf that’s just run a marathon to get it in it. I couldn’t walk. And then when we we got to the hotel and got out, we had to get a wheelchair.”
Radcliffe is aiming to complete the six major marathons by running in Boston next month. She ran London, New York, Chicago and Berlin during her career, before competing in Tokyo. That would secure a prized Six Star medal.
“Even sweeter”
She told the BBC that the experience of going through the perimenopause made completing Tokyo even sweeter.
The perimenopause typically starts a few years before the menopause, and can cause symptoms such as hot flushes, heavy bleeding and heart palpitations.
Radcliffe, who gave birth to her first child in 2007 and her second in 2010, was asked how different running feels to her now than it did during her competitive career.
She told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s very different. Not only the effects of perimenopause and managing the fatigue and fluctuations that come with that, energy and muscle recovery wise.
“When the children were smaller it was a little bit easier. There are lots of things to juggle now and it’s no longer my career – but it makes the achievement when you cross that finish line a little bit sweeter.”
