Radcliffe
to run in Durham
By David Martin, PA Sport
14 December 2000 - A dazzling distance race is on the cards with the announcement that Paula Radcliffe will run in the Great North Cross Country at Consett on December 30.
Still on a high after her superb World half marathon victory in Veracruz last month, today Radcliffe just shrugged her shoulders when learning she will face two old foes in the shape of Derartu Tulu and Gete Wami.
Radcliffe still remembers the disappointment of Sydney and how the Ethiopian duo sat on her tail for almost 24 laps in the Olympic 10,000 metres final before sprinting away over the final circuit and grabbing the gold and silver medals.
Having succumbed to their deadly sprint finishes there, where she slipped back to fourth position after having done all of the pacemaking, Radcliffe knows they will almost certainly run a similar style race and again pose an awesome task at the County Durham venue.
But Radcliffe also mindful that Tulu beat her for the World Cross Country title in 1997, while Wami handed out the same medicine in Belfast two years later and another dose later during the 1999 summer when also winning the World 10,000 metres gold medal ahead of Britain's team captain, insists she will not be overawed by their presence.
Radcliffe already eyeing the World Cross Country gold medal as her first target of 2001 said: "The most important thing for me is that the Great North Country is an event which fits in with the overall planning for the forthcoming year.
"Doing things for the right reasons has always been a priority and the fact that Wami and Tulu are in the event is a side issue. I have never been one to avoid people so I don't see why I should start now.
"Obviously I rate their achievements but at the moment they are simply just two other competitors in a race."
Following her successful foray in Veracruz, Radcliffe took a couple of weeks off from training then went off to Ireland for what is becoming the equivalent of a traditional service with ace physiotherapist Gerard Hartmann.
"It was just a general overall checkup," she said of the Limerick advisor who now nurses most injured elite British stars - including Olympic 800 metres Kelly Holmes - back to peak fitness.
Although she is spending Christmas with her family there will be no respite for Radcliffe over the festive season. They are travelling to her training base at Font Romeau in the French Pyrenees where she will continue her daily preparatory routine.
Admitting Durham is a special competition in the calendar for her, the Bedford athlete who will celebrate her 27th birthday racing in the Brussels Cross Country on Sunday, said: "It is an event I have been doing since I was 14.
"I think I have only missed one and then I was injured! It is special because of the crowds and the support I get, the quality of the event and also the fact I am competing in an event I have been part of right through my career."
