Britain's Paula Radcliffe put to rest any doubt about her fitness this morning in Portsmouth, England, flying through the 10 miles at the BUPA Great North Run in 51:11, according to a report published by Britain's Press Association. Her time was only 11 seconds shy of Sonia O'Sullivan's 2002 course record, and it was the fifth-fastest statistically valid time ever recorded for a ten mile distance, according to the independent Association of Road Racing Statisticians.
Radcliffe, 34, was using this race as a sharpener for next Sunday's ING New York City Marathon where she will attempt to defend her title over 2006/2007 World Marathon Majors champion Gete Wami of Ethiopia, two-time world marathon champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya, 2008 Boston Marathon champion Dire Tune of Ethiopia, and 2006 Boston Marathon champion Rita Jeptoo of Kenya, amongst others.
As in 2004, Radcliffe will come to New York after a disappointing Olympic Games Marathon. In Beijing last August she went into the race with the bare minimum of training due to a stress fracture she suffered in her femur last May. Limping badly as she entered the stadium, she finished 23rd in 2:32:38. She told reporters in a conference call last month that she had overcome the lingering effects of that injury and felt strong headed into New York. Her performance at today's race handily substantiated that claim.
The run in Portsmouth was Radcliffe's first-ever ten miler as a professional. As a teenager in 1990 she recalled running a U.K. championship race over the distance and "squeezed under the hour," she said on October 8.
Portugal's Jessica Augusto finished a distant second, but her time was not immediately available.
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