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Paula Radcliffe, proud new mother & marathon record holder, returns to the track

Posted February 16th, 2007 at 3:00 AM by Kevin McGinn

Section: News & Results, Marathons

Paula Radcliffe has started running again just twelve days after delivering her baby girl. Her daughter, Ilsa, was born after 27 long hours of labor on January 17, 2007.

The world record holder runner gave an exclusive interview with “Hello!” magazine, a popular publication in the UK. “After five days I was doing lots of pushing the pram but I wasn’t doing much else.” She told the magazine with her husband, Gary Lough, by her side. She went on to say:

“I did my first little jog after 12 days and since then I’ve been running alternate days.”

Radcliffe had a dramatic conclusion to her pregnancy. An entire month went by while she showed signs of early labor. Her exceptional muscle tone made it difficult to gauge exactly what stage her pregnancy was at. Finally, on January 16, she went into labor and gave birth to a baby girl after more than a day of labor.

Although she has shown a drive to quickly get back into shape, there is no word regarding when she will be returning to serious competitive racing. However, the marathoner is no stranger to bouncing back from physical issues. As a matter of fact, her career has been riddled with untimely injuries, but she has always managed to bounce back.

Likening the experience of giving birth to running a marathon, she stated that she would take at least a month off before starting her rigorous training again; she allocates the same length of time to rest after completing a 26.2 mile race.

Paula and Gary plan on moving to a Colorado training camp with their newborn daughter. While she doesn’t believe that giving birth will affect her running ability, she did tell “Hello!” that she knows she’ll have to make some adjustments:

“What will be different is getting used to training on less sleep.”

Paula Radcliffe is more than just an athlete; she is a strong person. She has gained popularity in both the US and the UK for her accomplishments on the track as well as her ability to overcome obstacles to reach her goals.

Research sources and for more information: [European Athletics], [BBC], [Paula Radcliffe’s Official Blog]