http://www.globerunner.org/blog/?p=299 Articles by Pat Butcher Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:57:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 http://www.globerunner.org/blog/?p=299#comment-786 James O'Brien Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:16:36 +0000 http://www.globerunner.org/blog/?p=299#comment-786 I write this being a big admirer of both Geb and Paula, while also accepting that there is nothing at all wrong, as Pat says, with chasing a few (hundred thousand) greenbacks. But Pat is also 100% right in questioning Radcliffe’s racing rationale. This came most forcefully to light during the summer when she ran the New York Half Marathon one week before the World Championships Marathon, ostensibly as a fitness test, and this on a foot only recently recently (semi-)recovered from surgery. Radcliffe ran very well to win that race in New York, in demanding conditions, but nobody was surprised when she eschewed the Berlin race. Similarly, there can be no surprise that Paula opted to run the ING New York City Marathon despite the fact that, by her own admission, there were days in the fortnight before the race when she couldn’t run at all. New York makes it worthwhile for her to appear in the Big Apple, as it should; however, these days, it’s the balance between chasing the dollar and building a rational racing schedule that can define an athlete’s career and determine his or her longevity. Personally, I hope that both Geb and Paula endure and prevail in London in 2012. The decisions of the latter, this year, indicate that I am going to be disappointed. - James O’Brien I write this being a big admirer of both Geb and Paula, while also accepting that there is nothing at all wrong, as Pat says, with chasing a few (hundred thousand) greenbacks. But Pat is also 100% right in questioning Radcliffe’s racing rationale. This came most forcefully to light during the summer when she ran the New York Half Marathon one week before the World Championships Marathon, ostensibly as a fitness test, and this on a foot only recently recently (semi-)recovered from surgery. Radcliffe ran very well to win that race in New York, in demanding conditions, but nobody was surprised when she eschewed the Berlin race. Similarly, there can be no surprise that Paula opted to run the ING New York City Marathon despite the fact that, by her own admission, there were days in the fortnight before the race when she couldn’t run at all. New York makes it worthwhile for her to appear in the Big Apple, as it should; however, these days, it’s the balance between chasing the dollar and building a rational racing schedule that can define an athlete’s career and determine his or her longevity. Personally, I hope that both Geb and Paula endure and prevail in London in 2012. The decisions of the latter, this year, indicate that I am going to be disappointed. - James O’Brien

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